In this one, Trixie and her gang visit her uncle's farm in Iowa. She catches sheep bandits! I really like that Trixie as presented as having negative thoughts about her friends, behaving somewhat badly, etc. She's more "real" than other old-fashioned girl mystery heroines. ( )

I loved this series when I was growing up; I thought Trixie was a lot more fun than Nancy Drew, and these were some of my all-time favorite books. I read them as an adult, though, a few years ago, and found that they haven't, IMO, stood the test of time well. They are obviously dated, and there are some messages that I don't think are appropriate anymore (mostly the way Trixie is treated differently - and often poorly - because she's a girl). ( )