40 Fun Facts About The Bobbsey Twins

What are the names of the older Bobbsey twins, a dark-haired boy and girl who look strikingly alike?

Bert and Nan are eight in the first book, which says the boy has his sister's brown eyes, brown hair and almost the same voice, only stronger.

What are the names of the younger Bobbsey twins, the short, stout pair with fluffy golden hair?

Flossie and Freddie are four when the series begins and are written as the opposites in looks of their older brother and sister.

Which pen name appears on every Bobbsey Twins book, though many ghostwriters did the writing?

Laura Lee Hope was invented for the series' 1904 debut, and at least nine people wrote under the name over the next 75 years.

Which fictional town is home to the Bobbsey twins, with their father's mill and docks on the shore?

Lakeport even made it into a title: the 1961 rewrite of the first book was renamed The Bobbsey Twins of Lakeport.

A 1960s rewrite of one Bobbsey Twins book turned Baby May from a foundling infant into which animal?

An elephant took over in 1968: the 1924 story of an abandoned baby was scrapped for an all-new plot about a baby elephant, published under almost the same title.

Editors feared the Bobbsey twins would outgrow their readers, so what became of the children's ages?

They froze at 12 and 6 for good, after the first four books had let the twins grow from eight and four to nearly nine and almost five.

What is the name of the Bobbsey family's cat, brought home as a kitten by the younger boy?

Snoop begins the series as a tomcat, but after going missing in the fourth book he is mistakenly written as a she.

What does Mr. Bobbsey sell for a living from his yard and mill beside the docks?

Lumber is the family trade, and Mr. Bobbsey shares it with his children: he has a mill hand saw sticks and boards to size for their winter building project.

Re-imagined Bobbsey twins named Amanda and Gil appear as characters in which CW mystery drama?

Nancy Drew began as a book series from the same syndicate as the Bobbseys, so the show could borrow the twins for its second season.

What is the name of the Bobbsey family's cook, who appears from the first book onward?

Dinah is married to the family's man of all work and travels with the Bobbseys on holiday, standing guard over the pets on the train.

What is the name of the Bobbsey family's handyman, who is married to the household's cook?

Sam shares the surname Johnson with his wife, and the way the couple were portrayed was a main reason the books were rewritten in the 1960s.

Which school bully torments the older Bobbsey boy and smashes a shop window with a chunk of ice?

Danny Rugg lets the blame for the broken glass hang over his rival until the shopkeeper finally calls on Danny's own father.

What is the first name of Mr. Bobbsey, the twins' father, given in the first book's opening chapter?

Richard Bobbsey is introduced as a merchant with a large yard, docks and a planing mill, prosperous enough to keep two household servants.

What is the first name of Mrs. Bobbsey, the twins' mother, used by her husband in the first book?

Mary is what her husband calls her when a sleigh ride is being planned; the children say Mamma and the narrator sticks to Mrs. Bobbsey.

Downy, the Bobbsey family pet that escapes from its box on a train, is which kind of animal?

A duck, small and white, Downy flaps up to the hanging lamps of the rail car and has to be shooed into a net.

Snap, the Bobbsey family's dog, can turn somersaults because he once belonged to which kind of show?

A circus train had wrecked on the line ahead of the family's own train, and the escaped trick dog simply followed the Bobbseys home.

Which job does the younger Bobbsey boy dream of, inspiring the pet name his father gives him?

Fireman is the plan: Mr. Bobbsey calls the boy his Fat Fireman, which sends him tearing round the house shouting orders to an imaginary crew.

Mr. Bobbsey's pet name for his younger daughter in the early books calls her his little Fat what?

Fairy completes it: being called the Fat Fairy always makes her laugh, and her father is still using the name in the thirteenth book.

The early Bobbsey Twins books were loose strings of adventures, but which genre later came to dominate the series?

Detective mysteries came to dominate, though few of the cases involved violent crime and quite a few involved no crime at all.

Which real metropolis is the great city the Bobbsey twins visit in the ninth book of the series?

New York is where Mr. Bobbsey must spend several weeks starting a new business, and he keeps an old promise to his wife by taking the whole family along.

In the first Bobbsey Twins book, the white 'ghost' in the house turns out to be a boy doing what?

Sleepwalking is the answer: the youngest child wanders the hall with his eyes shut tight, and his mother decides he must eat less before bedtime.

Where is the younger Bobbsey boy shut in after closing time, with only a kitten for company?

A department store closes around him after he dozes off in the weeks before Christmas, and the night watchman finds boy and kitten together.

In the first Bobbsey Twins book, Grace Lavine faints after overdoing which children's game?

Jumping rope without a rest, she passes ninety before collapsing, and the friend turning the rope fears she has killed her.

Which craft do the older Bobbsey boy and a friend build one winter, using a bed sheet for a sail?

An ice boat named the Ice Bird is the result, and one wild ride on it ends with brother and sister thrown out at full length.

At which farm, home of Uncle Daniel, Aunt Sarah and cousin Harry, do the Bobbsey twins spend a summer?

Meadow Brook hosts two of the books: the country visit of the second volume and a return trip in the seventh.

Which cousin, a year older than the elder Bobbsey girl, lives at the seaside home called Ocean Cliff?

Dorothy Minturn hosts the twins for the month of August near the village of Sunset Beach, straight after their weeks on the farm.

What is the name of the houseboat that takes the Bobbsey twins on a summer cruise in book six?

Bluebird fits, Mr. Bobbsey explains, because it is painted blue, the same shade as his younger daughter's eyes.

Which family keepsake does a very fat lady carry off by accident in The Bobbsey Twins at School?

A silver cup, the younger twins' shared birthday cup, is in her hand when the train jolts to a halt, and she travels on with it.

The first Bobbsey Twins book opens with the children at the table building toy houses from what?

Shoe boxes get square holes cut for doors and windows, with scraps of dress fabric for carpets and tissue paper for lace curtains.

Which treat does the 'ghost' in white beg for in the first Bobbsey Twins book, giving itself away?

Strawberry shortcake, another piece of it, is all the figure wants, and the request tells the older boy exactly who is under the white.

Which book-packaging pioneer is believed to have written the very first Bobbsey Twins volume himself?

Edward Stratemeyer wrote little of the series afterwards: volumes two and three are attributed to Lilian Garis, a former newspaper reporter.

Howard Garis, credited with over two dozen Bobbsey Twins books, created which rabbit hero of newspaper stories?

Uncle Wiggily first appeared in a Newark newspaper in 1910, and Garis went on writing a new story about him six days a week for decades.

Andrew Svenson, a Bobbsey Twins ghostwriter, based which other family series on his own household?

The Happy Hollisters appeared under the pen name Jerry West, and after Svenson's death the syndicate assigned the rights to his widow.

Which publisher, founded in 1898, is known for its Bobbsey Twins, Hardy Boys and Tom Swift series books?

Grosset & Dunlap is equally known for its photoplay editions, and the firm later became part of the Penguin group.

Which spine colour marked the 1960s picture-cover Bobbsey Twins editions, replacing green bindings?

Lavender spines and back covers gave the run its nickname, the purple edition, and it did away with dust jackets.

A 1971 Bobbsey Twins book with a red, white and blue title visits which historic Virginia town?

Williamsburg, Virginia's restored colonial capital, is where the twins solve volume 64 of the 72 books in the original series.

Which publishing giant bought the book packager behind the Bobbsey Twins and the Hardy Boys in the 1980s?

Simon & Schuster took over, and from 1987 a paperback line called The New Bobbsey Twins ran to thirty all-new stories.

On which lake, where their father keeps his docks, do the Bobbsey twins love to go boating?

Lake Metoka also holds Blueberry Island, which the family reaches by a small steamer in the tenth book of the series.

Which hit series, begun in 1899, came from the creator who later launched the Bobbsey Twins?

The Rover Boys ran to 30 volumes under the pen name Arthur M. Winfield and sold over five million copies.

What do the Bobbsey twins first call their new kitten, before the little girl demands a grander name?

Blackie is the boy's first choice, but his twin sister rules it not aristocratic enough for the kitten he carried home.