Dot and Dash at the Seashore

by Dorothy West
copyright 1940

You may have never heard of the Dot and Dash books by Dorothy West, but you are most likely quite familiar with some of her writing.  Her real name is Mildred Wirt Benson, but she has also been known as Carolyn Keene.  The same author who wrote these three Dot and Dash books pictured here also wrote 23 of the first 30 Nancy Drew books.

There are five Dot and Dash books total, written from 1938 to 1940, all detailing the adventures of a little girl, Dot Davidson, her mischievous dog Dash, and their friend Roger.  They are written for a younger audience than the Nancy Drew books, but I could see glimpses of the teenage sleuth in the young friends.  

In Dot and Dash at the Seashore, the children use detective skills to catch a man who not only injured the beloved Dash in a hit-and-run, but had previously seriously injured a child in the same way.  Not bad work for seven year olds!  

I laughed when I read about Dot and Roger and their plan for a lemonade stand.  The children agreed that it would be a perfect way to raise money, yet Dot was dismayed because the housekeeper should not be bothered to squeeze all the lemons.

“Oh, you don’t make lemonade with lemons any more,” said Roger quickly.  “You make it out of powder.”

“I never heard of that way.”

“You buy it at the store, Dot.  It costs a nickel a package.”

I have a suspicion that many children these days aren’t aware that you can make lemonade from actual lemons!

The brutal winter we are experiencing is what drove me to read this title first.  Imagining the stifling heat of the summer sun and walking on the soft sand is just what I needed!  Summer will surely come again, right?