THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS SERIES
By Janet Aldridge
Notes
Titles
"Four clever girls go hiking around the country and meet with many thrilling adventures. These stories pulsate with the atmosphere of outdoor life." -- Altemus ad.
When the reader first meets this series, one burning question leaps to mind: what the heck is wrong with Grace "Tommy" Thompson? She is short schoolbus material if I've ever seen it -- she makes Bobby Belden or Betty from Roy's "Girl Scouts" series look normal. At 14, she lisps, babbles, frequently needs to "cuddle", hallucinates pink elephants when she eats too late at night, wants to sleep in her tentmate's cot because she's "thcaired of bearth", etc.
Anyway.
The Meadow-Brook girls seem to be some early domestic species of Campfire girl. They receive "honor beads" for things such as "sleeping with a window open for 30 days", "learning to recognize and describe three different cries a baby makes", and making soup five days in a row. Their camp uniform is an ankle-length, long-sleeved dress. This series is the missing link between Victorian-era girls' series and those of the 1920's which feature more independent, adventurous girls for whom the idea of a career (at least until they get married) is not entirely foreign.
Interestingly, Grace Harlowe and her friends make a few guest appearances in this series -- Meadow-brook girl Grace "Tommy" Thompson's cousin is Hippy Wingate, one of the "Eight Originals" in the Grace Harlowe series.
The series was published by Altemus and reprinted by Saalfield.
THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS UNDER CANVAS; or FUN AND FROLIC IN THE SUMMER CAMP -- 1913. H. Altemus. Saalfield.
THE MEADOWBROOK GIRLS ACROSS COUNTRY; or, THE YOUNG PATHFINDERS ON A SUMMER HIKE -- 1913. H. Altemus. Saalfield.
THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS AFLOAT; or, THE STORMY CRUISE OF THE RED ROVER -- 1913. H. Altemus. Saalfield.
THE MEADOWBROOK GIRLS IN THE HILLS; or, THE MISSING PILOT OF THE WHITE MOUNTAINS -- 1914. H. Altemus. Saalfield.
THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS BY THE SEA; or, THE LOSS OF THE LONESOME BAR -- 1914. H. Altemus. Saalfield.
THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS ON THE TENNIS COURTS; or, WINNING OUT IN THE BIG TOURNAMENT -- 1914. H. Altemus. Saalfield.
Source:
- WorldCat Holdings
- Altemus advertisement in Meadow-Brook Girls on the Tennis Courts