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A musical mess

Grades 1-4

Main Author:	Keene, Carolyn (Author)
Other Authors:	Pamintuan, Macky (Illustrator)
Format:	Books Print Book
Language:	English
Published:	New York : Aladdin, 2014.
Edition:	First Aladdin paperback edition.
Series:	Nancy Drew and the clue crew ; 38.
Subjects:	Drew, Nancy > (Fictitious character) > Juvenile fiction.

Summary:	Grades 1-4 "The show must go on--and it's up to Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew to track down a missing performer in this musical mystery! It's opening day of the first Broadway musical to hit River Heights, and Nancy, Bess, and George are thrilled that they get to sit in the front row! The famed production of Francie is the talk of the town, especially because it stars a very talented pooch named Sammy! But on the day of the show it's clear that the Sammy onstage is an imposter--who ends up ruining the performance. It's up to the Clue Crew to find the real doggy star before the show leaves town. But with a long list of suspects and a practical jokester wreaking havoc around River Heights, this is an especially tough case to crack. Can the Clue Crew find the missing star before the curtain comes down for good? Or will this be a real musical mess?" -- from publisher's web site.
Physical Description:	73 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm.
Audience:	Ages 6-9
ISBN:	9781442495128 144249512X 9781480650343 (Paw Prints) 148065034X (Paw Prints)
Author Notes:	Carolyn Keene was the pseudonym that Mildred Wirt Benson and Walter Karig used to write Nancy Drew books. The idea of Nancy Drew came from Edward Stratemeyer in 1929. He also had other series, that included the Hardy Boys, but he died in 1930 before the Nancy Drew series became famous. His daughters, Harriet and Edna, inherited his company and maintained Nancy Drew having Mildred Wirt Benson, the original Carolyn Keene, as the principal ghostwriter. During the Depression, they asked Benson to take a pay cut and she refused, which is when Karig wrote the books. Karig's Nancy Drew books were Nancy's Mysterious Letter, The Sign of the Twisted Candles, and Password to Larkspur Lane. He was fired from writing more books because of his refusal to honor the request that he keep his work as Carolyn Keene a secret. He allowed the Library of Congress to learn of his authorship and his name appeared on their catalog cards. Afterwards, they rehired Benson and she wrote until her last Nancy Drew book (#30) was written in 1953, Clue of the Velvet Mask. Harriet and Edna Stratemeyer also contributed to the Nancy Drew series. Edna wrote plot outlines for several of the early books and Harriet, who claimed to be the sole author, had actually outlined and edited nearly all the volumes written by Benson. The Stratemeyer Syndicate had begun to make its writers sign contracts that prohibited them from claiming any credit for their works, but Benson never denied her writing books for the series. After Harriet's death in 1982, Simon and Schuster became the owners of the Stratemeyer Syndicate properties and in 1994, publicly recognized Benson for her work at a Nancy Drew conference at her alma mater, the University of Iowa. Now, Nancy Drew has several ghostwriters and artists that have contributed to her more recent incarnations. (Bowker Author Biography)

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