The Doll Book of the Month Club: Tammy, Adventure in Squaw Valley

   Talk about coming down to the wire! Our internet was off since Friday night, and only just got back on today. Just in time for the Doll Book of the Month Club entry for August. This post could have been better, but I finished the book last Friday, and was going to write the post that night before I forgot what I wanted to say. Thanks Frontier!)

  I seem to be finding a lot of Tammy stuff lately. (Not my stuff. It's all 'Tammy' stuff, and believe me, there's probably way too much of it.) I mean Ideal's Tammy. I've been finding things like the doll, and things associated with her. One of those things is this book, which I got at an antique mall during a recent Fun Day outing.

  "Tammy, Adventure in Squaw Valley" is one of those Whitman hardbacks from the 60's, and it resembles the Robin Kane or Donna Parker books in more ways than one. 

The writing is pretty par for the course, and so are the illustrations. 

That's not to say that that's a bad thing. I enjoyed those books as a kid. I can see where kids of the era probably enjoyed this Tammy book. 

And having said that, I do have to say that it's not perfect. The entire first chapter is character exposition. We learn all about how great Tammy is, what an annoying little sister Pepper is, how much Tammy's brother Ted is an all around great student and typically superior acting big brother. 

Tammy comes home to find that Mother has a secret.

  The 'Adventure' is mostly what happens to Tammy and Ted at the ski resort in Squaw Valley, which they are staying at for a family wedding. I don't think that's what the title is referring to, but it takes most of the book, with only a couple of only slightly out of the ordinary happenings in the meantime, to get to the actual adventure.  

  Tammy is described as being 16 years old. She plays baseball at school, and likes archery and tennis. Tammy, in her doll form, had an archery set, and a tennis set. This book contains a lot of Tammy trying to ski, and the doll also had a ski set, complete with skis and a skiing outfit that completely matches the ski outfit Tammy buys for the trip in the book. I am wondering how much the book was seen as a commercial for the doll and her clothing sets.

  If you collect Tammy dolls, the book is a nice addition to your collection. Not only that, but the book can sort of make the doll 'come alive' for you, since she's given a personality. Tammy is sensible, stubborn, and feisty. (Why thank you. Yes I am!) You even get to know her family and what they were supposed to be like.  As I said, the 'adventure' took a while showing up, and it was sort of like 'Lionel Twain' described some of the mystery writers' books in "Murder by Death", in that they made it impossible to solve the mystery, by leaving out clues, and introducing characters in the last five pages that were never in the book before. But the book was a nice leisurely 'adventure' anyway, and then got exciting at the end.

  If the illustrations look familiar to you, it may be because illustrator Haris Petie  was responsible for the illustrations in many books, including some mysteries featuring Trixie Belden, another heroine included in the 60's Whitman line up. Author Winifred E. Wise seems best known for another Whitman book about a teenaged girl, "Minnow" Vail.

  That's the book for the month. See you again soon!