While not the first fictional spy, James Bond is clearly the most notable. But notability doesn’t necessarily mean best. Spy fiction has exploded in just about every era with international conflict, inspiring every kind of spy—from the smooth and suave to the tough and heartless to the resourceful and tech-savvy and every kind in between. …
Everyone knows Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, and the Hardy Boys, but what about the best female sleuths from pop culture? Women have been solving crime and catching bad guys in books, television, and movies just as long as men—only they’ve been doing it better. Let’s face it, women do almost everything better. Call it female…
Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriet the Spy was my first brush with the notion that writers were spies. At nine I was Harriet, furiously scribbling in my notebook as I peered under gates and through knot-holed fences in my neighborhood. I spied on my family too. Great fun, until my intelligence activities were discovered. Writers are natural…
All the buzz has been about the latest James Bond flick this fall—who doesn’t want to disappear into the world of spies, even if it’s just in your imagination? Guess what: kids love all things spy too. Looking for a good fast-paced spy book for your middle-grader? Here’s a list to get you started: The…
When I was in fourth grade the coolest kid I knew was Harriet the Spy, the sixth grade heroine, age 11, of the eponymous children’s book by Louise Fitzhugh, published in 1964. Harriet’s an obnoxious brat with OCD traits who takes notes on everyone and everything around her. She doesn’t just take notes, she adds…
