The Fashion Disaster

Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew #6

by Carolyn Keene, Macky Pamintuan (Illustrator)

Paws on parade!

River Heights is hosting its first fashion show -- for dogs! Proceeds will go to the Rollover Rescue animal shelter. The Clue Crew is excited because not only will the day be filled with tons of cute pooches, but Nancy's own puppy, Chocolate Chip, will be a model in the show! But of course, there are some bumps along this fashion show's runway when someone steals a special basket of gourmet dog biscuits. They belong to doggy-diva Lola, a fancy poodle who's the star of the show! Can the Clue Crew sniff out this doggy-biscuit burglar?

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Detective, Chapter Books, Novels

88 pages, Paperback

First published February 6, 2007

About the author

Carolyn Keene is a writer pen name that was used by many different people- both men and women- over the years. The company that was the creator of the Nancy Drew series, the Stratemeyer Syndicate, hired a variety of writers. For Nancy Drew, the writers used the pseudonym Carolyn Keene to assure anonymity of the creator.

Edna and Harriet Stratemeyer inherited the company from their father Edward Stratemeyer. Edna contributed 10 plot outlines before passing the reins to her sister Harriet. It was Mildred Benson (aka: Mildred A. Wirt), who breathed such a feisty spirit into Nancy's character. Mildred wrote 23 of the original 30 Nancy Drew Mystery Stories®, including the first three. It was her characterization that helped make Nancy an instant hit. The Stratemeyer Syndicate's devotion to the series over the years under the reins of Harriet Stratemeyer Adams helped to keep the series alive and on store shelves for each succeeding generation of girls and boys. In 1959, Harriet, along with several writers, began a 25-year project to revise the earlier Carolyn Keene novels. The Nancy Drew books were condensed, racial stereotypes were removed, and the language was updated. In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.

Other writers of Nancy Drew volumes include Harriet herself, she wrote most of the series after Mildred quit writing for the Syndicate and in 1959 began a revision of the first 34 texts. The role of the writer of "Carolyn Keene" passed temporarily to Walter Karig who wrote three novels during the Great Depression. Also contributing to Nancy Drew's prolific existence were Leslie McFarlane, James Duncan Lawrence, Nancy Axelrod, Priscilla Doll, Charles Strong, Alma Sasse, Wilhelmina Rankin, George Waller Jr., and Margaret Scherf.

Reviews

[Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Jenn Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Schu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy, George, and Bess participate in River Height's pawtastic dog fashion show.
While there, they meet Maya, owner of the renowned poodle and dog diva, Lola, and Maya's friend Nicki. Lola, the show's star, only responds to her favorite treat, which disappears and is replaced by a store-brand cookie. Lola refuses to walk the catwalk, and the local news publishes an article that points the blame at Bess, who Maya enlists to give Lola her special treats. The Clue Crew has always helped others, but now it is time for them to help themselves. The Crew follows the clues to reveal what happened to Lola's biscuits and save the day!
Another cute Clue Crew, but I do have my criticism. Maya's parents were horrific; agreeing to allow Maya to lie is an awful thing to do. I also thought the Doggy Craft should have been outlined with pictures on how to assemble the dog frame.
Overall, a cute mystery; I recommend it to fans of Nancy Drew.

[Wynona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Nancy Drew!

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and cute.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started collecting Nancy Drew books a few years ago and The Clue Crew series is a really fun one. It follows an 8 year old Nancy and her friends as they solve mysteries in their neighbourhood.

This one takes place at River Heights first ever dog fashion show. When someone appears to have sabotaged diva poodle Lola's star appearance on stage, the clue crew are on the case to clear their name and find who the culprit was.

At less than 100 pages it was a really fun quick read and I do recommend the series as they are fun to read.

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know. I really dislike the idea of "divas" (in the negative sense vs. female performers), and letting PETS become them is even worse, since pets don't have the self-governance to have a change of heart and become better, er... animals for it. So the fact of Lola being spoiled rotten being the "mystery" for this book, and solving the mystery being a matter of finding out who pulled a prank feels like a fool's errand.

It gets solved, of course, by way of tactics that definitely only work on suspects who will definitely turn themselves in once slightly cornered, a la Encyclopedia Brown. I'm not saying it's a BAD book, just... a little contrived.

Still recommended for young mystery fans, anyway!

[Kara Kuehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story, especially for dog lovers (more specifically, shelter dog lovers).

Things to be aware of in “The Fashion Disaster”

Language:
- 2 “dumb”

Additional Notes:
- The girls (Nancy, Bess and George) trespass into someone’s trailer.
- Maya (the girl who owns the diva dog, Lola) begs her parents to go along with her fancy made up story about where Lola came from instead of sharing that she was a shelter dog. Her parents actually agree to keep up this lie.

[Chloe (Always Booked) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This book was cute enough and I'm really glad it was not a superficial fashion situation for the girls. The book is surprisingly about a dog fashion show. There's a famous dog named Lola (owner named Maya) and she refuses to walk the runway because her treats were switched from the kind she liked to a kind she won't eat. The girls sort of struggle to come up with a suspect list and I kind of struggled to care, but as with all the other books, everyone has good intentions and it was an honest oops. Cute read, but maybe binging this series isn't our best idea.

[Ashby Albright · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the story but I was disappointed in the change to Bess's character that I guess the younger series portrays. It would seem to be that, in this day and age, Bess being a slightly heavier person and not technology inclined would fit in. Book was good overall though.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it was funny when Nancy, Bess, and George were in the other people's camper and the dog licked George. I liked when the dog would not go down the runway because the treats were not the right kind.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe the book deserves a five star review, but it just didn't hold up to the Nancy Drew Books from when I was a child. it still had a really cute story line though. I think I'll look up an original Nancy Drew and reread it to see if my memory is good or not. :)

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, a fashion show for dogs! Proceeds are going to the local animal shelter. But when the diva dog that is in the show baulks, Nancy and her friends are accused of switching the diva dogs la te da treats. Nancy and her friends have to find out who switched the treats.

[Nam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the fact that it is about dogs. Hate the fact that it is about fashion shows. Would be 3.5 if I could rate it half.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew is full of children's idea of a mystery. Carolyn Keene's books deserve each a 5-star rating.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know all of my reviews for these books are pretty much the same, but I can’t help it. These books ARE super adorable, and I love reading them!

[Kelly Choy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very average read

[Eliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book, it is cute, exciting, and enthusiastic!

[Natasha Isaacs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice for children, nosy people!

[Hillary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty solid eight-year-old Nancy Drew mystery. Very cute.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute read-perfect for the intended age range!

[Ayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

so silly!

[Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite character is Nancy Drew because she is a detective. The Fashion Disaster is about somebody's dog ate Lola's Bone Appetit dog biscuits and left Lick My Chops biscuits which Lola didn't like. The Clue Crew solved the mystery once again! I like The Fashion Disaster becuase of the dog fasion show, it was a good book.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

We are slowly making our way through the Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew series, before I introduce our girls to the classic stories I loved so very much as a child. This was not my favorite book of the series, but it definitely entertained our girls. They loved the idea of the "pawtograph!"

[Shelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nancy, Bess, and George's fashion designs win a contest and they're chosen as models in an international fashion show, but a prankster wants to shut down the show before they've had a chance to walk the runway. Another fun entry in the series.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly higher rating than most Nancy Drew drivel since this one has a positive message to adopt shelter dogs, and even points out that one can get a purebred dog from a shelter with no "issues."
Malcolm says, "I like teenagers; remember, there's teenagers at the dog shelter?"

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked that there were two mysteries to solve in this book. I was concerned that the boys in my class wouldn't be as interested because of the fashion show theme, but there was a good balance of dog and fashion to keep everyone waiting for the next chapter.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My girls like reading these shorter versions of Nancy Drew. This one is fun for the dog lovers out there.

[Lilly Fife · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my type of book.
It talks about fashion, and a mystery!
It was too easy but super fun!!!!!

[Meagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

funny book

[Prashansa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Idiotic! Never expected a Dog-Fashion show in this book by the name and cover. Blow!!!!

[Shreya suresh]

nice book