The Bobbsey Twins on a Houseboat (Bobbsey Twins, #6)
by Laura Lee Hope
Mr. Bobbsey has bought a houseboat for the summer vacation, and the Bobbsey twins travel up the river on their way to visit Lake Romano and the beautiful waterfall there. Along the way, they meet a young boy who is beaten by his employer, and Mr. Bobbsey tries to stop the man from mistreating the boy. However, the man exacts his revenge by fencing off his portion of the river so that the Bobbsey houseboat can’t pass through his land on the way to the lake! The Bobbsey twins will have to figure out some way to help the boy and get their houseboat past this obstacle.
I used to love these books when I was a girl. The writing is very simple and the plot is straight-forward. Not much really happens. It’s mostly peaceful and happy with little adventures that resolve quickly. Just right for little readers.
Of course, the setting reflects an older time when gender stereotypes and racism was the norm. It is terrible, but I think it’s an important look at history to see how certain ideas were considered normal at one time, although they are known to be offensive now. It might be a good conversation to have with a child about how the only true moral compass that can be trusted to stand the test of time is the Bible.
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