Underground Rivers - University of New Mexico

Chapter 23 -- Girls, Too!
CHAPTER 23
GIRLS, TOO!
We'll start, as we did for the Boys Club, with serials and then catch some stand-alones. We can
do it all in a single chapter, however, because as a whole, girls aren't as infatuated with
underground rivers.
We include stories in which girls and boys together are main characters, rarely a problem for an
egalitarian Girls Club. Boys Clubs, on the other hand, tend to post "No Girls Alowd" on their
clubhouse door.
Girls Club Serials
Roughly half of Stratemeyer's publications were written for girls under a variety of pseudonyms,
but only two of this category contain underground river episodes.
Laura Lee Hope is the pseudo-author of four series written for girls: the Bobbsey Twins, Outdoor
Girls, Blythe Girls, and the Moving Picture Girls, 72, 23, 12 ands 7 volumes, respectively. The
Bobbsey Twins, were too young for the rigors of underground rivers and the three other girl
bunches were into activities deemed more appropriate for girls of their day.
Hoop is also credited with a dozen Make Believe Stories, The Story of a Candy Rabbit (1920),
being an example, and 20 Bunny Brown books, aimed at younger children.
Only in Hope's 14-book Six Little Bunkers is there mention of an
underground river, and only by deferring to the authority of an
elder male. From Six Little Bunkers at Uncle Fred's (1918)
"Well, you know there are engineers who make a study of all
kinds of water: of springs, lakes, river, and so on," explained
Uncle Fred. They are water engineers just as others are steam
or electrical engineers. I though I'd ask then for reasons for
springs going dry. Some of them may know something about
the water in Montana, and they can tell me if there are
underground rivers or lakes that might do something to my
spring."
DRAFT 1122//66//22001122
Uppddaatteess aatt hhttttpp::////www. .uunnm. .eedduu//~rrhheeggggeenn//UnnddeerrggrroouunnddRi ivveerrss. .hhttml l
267