Grace- Mystery

Wow! What a fun night! Last night my family and I had some dear friends over to play a Nancy Drew game with us. "The Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake".

At my house we always hook our computer up to our great big TV, and then play them as a family. My Mom actually gets a kick out of them more than I do. We solve puzzles together, yell at each other, and love getting scared when the bad guy/girl shows up.

I have always loved mysteries. When my brother and I first learned to read, some of the first books we ever read were "The Boxcar Children". We read dozens of them, devouring each one and solving the mysteries on our own. Then we moved to Hardy Boys, which still is almost my favorite. The first one I ever read was, "The Secret Agent on Flight 101". It is still one of my all time favorites.

I discovered Nancy Drew a bit later, but was hooked line and sinker. I mean, a girl detective? Wowsers! I found Trixie Belden not too far down the library shelf, and since then have been an avid fan.

In fact, one time when my family went to the library, my mama said to my daddy,

"Mark, we should get Galen and Grace some nonfiction." I asked in my innocent ignorance,

"What's nonfiction?" Mama burst out laughing, and then explained. After that we added a few more substantial books to our inventory. But I still love mysteries.

You are always wondering what is going to happen, you are picking up clues before Nancy or Frank do. You are warning Joe to look out behind him before, oops, too late! Oh well, he'll be back up in the next chapter. You are telling Trixie not to loose her temper again, or listening to Gertrude Chandler Warner describe yet another delicious Alden children meal. I just love mysteries!

Some loving friends of mine introduced me to Nancy Drew games. "The Scarlet Hand Mystery" is the first one we ever played. After that it was, "The Final Scene". The excitement of solving puzzles, opening secret doors, and finding ways to defeat the villain is just unbelievable!

Since we have played more games all of my family has gotten better at these games. We have gotten quick, smart, and become a better team that we used to be. It is so fun.

Maybe you could try it sometime. You could audio record a mystery book, use one for a read aloud, play a game, or make up a mystery for your own family. If they love mystery as much as we do, then it will be a success!