The Happy Hollisters at Mystery Mountain (#5 in the Happy Hollisters series)While returning from New Mexico to the airport in their rented bus, the Hollister children stop to buy cowboy suits. Mr. Hollister, with an eye for items to sell in his store, The Trading Post, discovers the suits are designed by Marie Vega, the wife of an old college friend. Mr. Hollister contacts the Vegas and the whole Hollister family is invited to spend a few weeks on the Vega ranch.Meanwhile, the children have met Helen and Jack Moore, youngsters about Pete's age, who are staying at a dude ranch not far from the Vegas' and Mystery Mountain. Jack has a map that leads to the cave of the ancient doll makers, the long buried secret of the mountain. Complications set in, however, when the Hollisters and the Moores meet the boy Willie and his friend the mysterious Mesquite Mike. Not only does the map disappear, but word is around that a rustler is taking sheep from the ranchers in the area.Here is another exciting Hollister adventure. What happens to the children when they spend a night on the desert? Is there really a monster in Mystery Mountain? And who could the rustler be? All these questions are answered in this fast-moving story.First published in 1953, these charming mystery-adventure stories, faithfully reproduced, are now available in paperback and eBook for the first time! Written for boys and girls between the ages of six and twelve, The Happy Hollisters are wholesome books, with an accent on humor and good, clean fun. Integrity always pays off and right wins over wrong. This is a perfect gift for the young reader in your life. Parents, grandparents, and teachers love these books for their healthy celebration of life in simpler times. Kids are thrilled with the fast-paced action and will not want to put them down. Over seventy action-packed illustrations make the story - and the Hollister family - so vivid that the reader has a feeling of really sharing in on the adventures of this lovable and interesting family.
About the Author: The Happy Hollisters by Jerry West was actually written by Andrew E. Svenson, a prolific yet somewhat anonymous, writer of books for children. Jerry West was the pen name assigned to Svenson when he started writing The Happy Hollisters for the Stratemeyer Syndicate, a book packager well-known for its development of children's book series including Tom Swift, The Bobbsey Twins, The Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew. Many of these series were intended to have long publishing lives, and were written by multiple authors using the same pseudonym. The Happy Hollisters, however, were all written by Andrew Svenson, whose identity as Jerry West was kept secret until several years after his death in 1975. Andrew Svenson was born in Belleville, NJ, in 1910, and his interest in writing started early. He was editor of his high school newspaper and yearbook at Barringer High School in Newark, and then went on to study Creative Writing at the University of Pittsburgh. After his graduation in 1932, he worked as a reporter and editor for the Newark Star Eagle and the Newark Evening News. During this time, Andrew Svenson was encouraged by his friend and co-worker Howard Garis (author of Uncle Wiggily) to try his hand at juvenile fiction. Svenson joined the Stratemeyer Syndicate in 1948, where he contributed to established series as Franklin W. Dixon (The Hardy Boys) and as Laura Lee Hope (The Bobbsey Twins). The first volume in The Happy Hollisters was published in 1953 by Doubleday & Company, and he was made a partner in the Stratemeyer Syndicate in 1961. As he wrote and developed 33 titles in The Happy Hollisters, he was also creating additional series for children under other pen names: Bret King by Dan Scott and The Tollivers by Alan Stone, the first series written for and about African-American children. Andrew Svenson wrote more than 70 adventure and mystery novels for children, which were published in 17 languages and sold millions of copies. The Hollister family was modeled on his own family and he often used Svenson family events and travels as the foundation for The Happy Hollisters books. He also kept copious newspaper clippings for story ideas, and interviewed hundreds of school children and teachers for additional suggestions. These ideas were worked into his storylines, adding an educational element that was appreciated by parents and educators alike. Children loved the books for their elements of danger and excitement geared to their comprehension level.