I remember loving two series of books when I was in grade school. I knew one of them was the Green Knowe series by L.M. Boston. I didn’t remember the name or author of the other series, though.
I’ve often wondered about that series. All I could recall was that there were some siblings who visited an island, and that there were treasure hunts and puzzles for them to solve. Not much to go on, huh?
But I found a reference to a series called the Liza, Bill & Jed Mysteries by Peggy Parish (who is best known as the creator of Amelia Bedelia). The name “Jed” sounded right to me, and some of the stories took place on an island. So I borrowed the books from the library. I read all of them except for The Ghosts of Cougar Island, because it was published in 1986, at which point I would have been too old to want to read it. The others were published in the late ’60s and early ’70s, making them exactly the right vintage.
- Clues in the Woods, B
- Haunted House, B+
- Hermit Dan, B
- Key to the Treasure, B+
- Pirate Island Adventure, B+
Are they the right books? Yes, I think so. There were many familiar scenes. I am certain that I read these books as a child. The only problem is that I have memories of a couple of specific types of puzzles that weren’t in any of the books. I can only guess that my memories of another book got lumped in with my memories of these.
These books are a little piece of the story of me, about what I like and who I am today. I’m glad to have recovered it. Consequently I am feeling a little guilty about giving them all B-level grades. But I could only judge them on the scale of what I like today. They are simple books intended for young readers, not a woman my age. I think they’d be perfect for, say, an 8-year-old.