Robin Kane: The Mystery of the Blue Pelican

Robin Kane #1

by Eileen Hill

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Childrens

188 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

A pseudonym used by Nicolete Meredith Stack.

Stack is thought to be the first author to tackle the Trixie Belden series, although there is much debate about which books were actually written by her. She was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1896 but lived in Webster Groves in St. Louis, Missouri for most of her adult life. Stack wrote other children's books under her own name and various pen names, including the Robin Kane series by Eileen Hill for Whitman between 1966 and 1971.

Stack is said to have written five books in the Trixie Belden series between 1961 and 1971, but Who's Who in the Midwest claims that she wrote eight titles between 1961 and 1966. There were eight Trixie Belden titles published between 1961 and 1966, but it is doubtful that she wrote them all.

James Keeline in his article, Trixie Belden "Schoolgirl Shamus", believes that books 7, 9 and 16 can be attributed to Stack but there are others that may have been written by her.

Reviews

[Christian West · Rating 3 out of 5]

13 year old Robin Kane has a one track mind - her favourite horse Nugget who belongs to her best friend Mindy (whose father is a movie and tv producer). Nugget gets stolen very early in the book during a totally unnecessary subplot regarding a movie shoot and a famous Irish film star (begorrah, look at me leprechauns, potatoes potatoes potatoes). Robin loses her mind and can't think of anything else but her horse, so ditches her job being an extra on the unnecessary movie shoot and rides off with Mindy to find the horse. On the way they encounter some evil cattle rustlers who Robin wants to confront and say "where is my horse?" but Mindy talks some sense into her by reminding her that the cattle rustlers have a big gun and just talked about murdering their colleague. After Mindy convinces Robin to talk to the sheriff instead of chasing after the men with guns, she then promptly ignores the horse for a few chapters whilst she goes to the beach. Then follows a ridiculous plot about finding a homeless man and his son because they must have the horse. Oh, and there's some cattle rustlers to catch as well.

Robin is a very annoying teenager (and I've read a lot of books from this time period about annoying teenagers) and I don't believe she's a great role model. People praise her for being a tenacious detective, but what she's really interested in is saving her horse, no matter what the cost to herself and those around her. She spends half the book pining for Nugget, and the other half playing the good girl and entertaining her film star guest. Interestingly she doesn't seem to pine for Nugget whilst entertaining, so maybe that shows some sort of development (or a psychopathic mind that can totally segment her horsey obsession when needed).

Oh, and there's a lot of casual racism throughout. The housekeeper keeps their house "indifferently and lazily" because she's Mexican, the Irish movie star is made to feel comfortable with endless leprechaun references, and the only reason Robin seems to believe that the homeless man is not a baddy is because he's the white character in the Mexican outlaw group (and a Vietnam vet to boot!).

Even with all the above, the book was still okay to read. Just quite annoying in parts.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hadn’t heard of the Robin Kane mystery series before but when I found this upside down cover edition, I had to get it. “The Mystery of the Blue Pelican” is the first of six books about this teen-age sleuth. Some have referred to her as the “Trixie Belden of the West Coast” or “Trixie-lite” but I haven’t read any Trixie books yet so I can’t compare. I did enjoy Robin, her family and friends though. I found that Robin is a persistent, and fearless girl.
This story is about Robin’s love for the next door neighbour’s horse who gets stolen. In the midst of being an extra in a movie, befriending the young star, Robin leads the way to find the palomino. Twists along the way and several illustrations added to the enjoyment of the story.
Now to find the other 5 books and some Trixie Belden’s.

[Katlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was pretty good. I was a tad disappointed that the main character was so worried about about her pet that she wasn't being considerate of the people around her. To me it marred her likability as a character, but she did improve some over the course of the book. The book as a whole had a good wholesome feel. The main characters loved their family and had good relationships therein and I don't think that the main character was too feministic. She certainly had some moments where she could have been more teachable, but she did develop better character traits during the course of the book. The kids are young enough (at least at this point in the series) that they are all just a group of friends none of the boyfriend/girlfriend things that appear in other series of this type. Maybe not a series that I'll keep on the shelf (still thinking), but it was worth trying.
I guess I also need to keep in mind that this is a book about young kids solving mysteries written for young kids who would like to be solving mysteries. Not necessarily for a big girl like me. ;)

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nancy Drew, Jr. :)
A bit younger than Nancy, Robin is 13, but just as plucky. Probably not quite as good as the Nancy Drew books, but a good intro to the genre, for the slightly younger set. There are some moments of danger, but no harm befalls our heroine or her friends. One of the characters is beaten and left for dead, though this action takes place off-screen. Typical racism/classism for the era, but not as bad as I've seen in other books. All in all, a good read for the junior sleuth-type.

[Melodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read these books when they first came out. I remember getting them for Christmas when I was about 10. I loved them then. Would they hold up now? Probably not, but for a kid in the mid-60s they were great fun!

[Dina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in sept 2008

[Jm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read Robin Kane mysteries when I was on summer vacation and needed reading material. Five and Dimes, such as Sprouse-Reitz and our local Freeway Variety, carried Walt Whitman books and, being already a Nancy Drew fan, I started in on Kay Tracy and Trixie Belden. Robin Kanes are harder to come by, so I was thrilled when I could snag the first 3 books again.

Life in a small coastal Californian town can be fun when you are a teenager who likes to swim, surf, picnic, ride horses, and solve mysteries with your friends and family! Robin and her best friend, Mindy, engage in all these activities when Mr. Hunter, Mindy's film-making single father, discovers the theft of cattle from his nearby ranch, as well as Robin's favorite palomino, Nugget. The only clue is a crudely drawn blue pelican on the fencing of the cattle yard.

Together with her brother, Kevin, best friend Mindy, Michael (Mindy's brother), and Moira, the teen star of the current movie, she hits the trails in search of the horse she loves. But Robin and Mindy discover instead something really dangerous - cattle thieves who are willing to kill to make away with the herds of cattle they have stolen.

Will Nugget and the cattle be found and returned safely? Will Robin and Mindy discover the truth without risking their lives too much? Will the reader get peckish, reading about all the food teenagers eat in the abundant California sunshine and moonlight? Olden days nostalgia abounds! Not a bad re-read and glad to visit again.

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not great writing; it's not a great book. The 4-stars is purely based on nostalgia. This is a 1966 version of a combo Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys series. I had this whole series when I was in middle school and loved it (I was less discerning about my literature then). I unfortunately sold the entire set at my mom's garage sale more than 45 years ago, and regretted it ever since. Recently I've been on the hunt to restore my collection. I finally succeeded, thanks to Etsy and six different vendors. I paid more for them than what they are worth...but again, nostalgia. For a much better middle grade/pre-teen mystery series I would recommend James Howe's Sebastian Barth books. But I'm so glad to welcome Robin Kane and her friends back into my library.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A snoozy story. The beginning of the story, with the making of a movie, sounded interesting but then turned into a hunt for missing animals.

[Sarah Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read from a bygone er. I definitely want to read more about Robin.

[Michael Vawser]

USD12.70 on Biblio.com

[KP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought these when they were first published as a 13 year old! Did not know there were 2 more books in the series, and in researching them, saw that it ended at 6 books. Giving them to my 9 year old grand daughter, and if she likes them, I will try to get the last 2. (But not at the $895.00 price I saw online. They are not worth that!)

[Susan Roitmire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sort of an extra trixie belden story. Same kinds of characters etc...good books.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was given this book when I was in the hospital with a broken ankle just before 8th grade. Never tire if reading it.