Be Nancy Drew Contest Winners

Hey again everyone,
It's the moment you've all been waiting for, the contest winners! I can't tell you how many great entries we recieved so don't be discouraged if your story wasn't chosen, they were all amazing and it was a very close call.

Hope you enjoy reading these!

WINNER #1: Sarah
"I first became utterly hooked on Nancy Drew when I read The Quest of the Missing Map in third grade.
Nancy was everything I wanted to be. She was brave, she was confident, and she was clever. She was beautiful, and had loyal friends and a handsome boyfriend who would rescue her from whatever perilous situation she found herself in.
But most of all, she was smart. She was incredibly smart. Nancy could pick any lock, follow any clues, and catch any crook. I read her books religiously, storing away information from her various escapades. I learned how to pick a lock with a bobby pin, how to lift fingerprints, and how to keep a criminal talking to bide more time.
I learned life lessons too, about honesty and integrity, about curiosity and wit. But the lessons I learned most from Nancy, and the ones that I use every day, are the importance of quick thinking and the power of observation.
I was eleven, and home alone with my two year old sister when these skills became especially important. We were walking down the stairs, her hand in mine, when I stopped short.
There was a man standing in our doorway, a seedy, unfamiliar man. But he was holding something very familiar: my mother’s wallet.
“Hi!” my sister said, and I quickly hushed her, never taking my eyes off the stranger as we slowly descended the steps.
He looked around nervously. “Is your mother home?” he asked. He didn’t give me a chance to answer, however. He dropped the wallet on the carpet and ran out the door. I stood by the window and watched as he crossed the street and disappeared behind a house.
Almost automatically, I picked up the phone and dialed those three numbers everyone knows, but hopes they never have to use.
“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”
It felt like a movie. It couldn’t be real, there couldn’t have been a stranger standing in my door just five minutes before.
I told the dispatcher what had happened, giving her a full description of the burglar.
“Dark hair,” I told her, looking back in my memory at the brief moments I had seen him. “A long nose, and eyes that are too close together. He was wearing white tennis shoes, jeans, and a black jacket with writing on the back.”
She stayed on the phone with me until my mom came home. Then the real circus began.
The police arrived. I answered all their questions as best as I could, repeating my description and showing them where he had run off. I watched in fascination as they fingerprinted the doorknob, and as they took the canine around the yard to get a scent.
About an hour later they called to tell me they thought they had him. My mom and I followed an officer to a spot a few miles away, where they had the man in handcuffs.
It was him alright, just as I remembered.
In the end he confessed to over a dozen break-ins in the neighborhood. It felt good to know that my thinking skills and quick reaction helped bring answers to others, too.
And when I was interviewed for the news that night, who did I credit with giving me those quick thinking and observational skills?
Why, Nancy Drew of course!"

WINNER #2: Leah
"Curiosity is a very important skill that every detective should have, without curiosity a mystery could never be solved. As for me, I’m a very curious person, and had gotten a bright idea one day! I had heard several stories in my lifetime about treasure hunters and how they have found wonders right in their own back yards. I couldn’t stand it no longer so I had to go and find me some treasure! I wanted to know what kind of mysteries were beneath my feet, but I couldn’t do it alone. I felt like I needed an assistant. I went and asked my six year old little brother if he wanted to join me on my hunt and to be my side-kick. Of course his answer to my question was YES! We marched out to the chicken shed and I grabbed my shovel and he grabbed his plastic shovel and we both walked to a place that looked right for digging. After digging for a bit we both heard something that sounded like we had hit something big! Our eyes met and we both looked at each other in silence for a moment and then our eyes went back to the ground to where we heard that sound. It was a false alarm, and what we really hit was a rock! This didn’t stop us from digging and continuing our search in finding treasure. While digging awhile longer I wasn’t aware that I’d had dug something up in the mean time, but my little brother was aware of it though. He said with excitement in his voice “I found something”! Sure enough he’d found some kind of object. I was speechless and it took me a moment before I could tell him what a good job he did on finding it. When I finally got my words out his response was “I’m a genius”! He was so proud of himself and I was too!
This reminds me of Nancy Drew: Ransom of the Seven Ships, when Nancy went to Shark Cove to go dig in the sand to try to find some kind of treasure. It took her many attempts of digging and in those attempts she found items that weren’t worth a buck, but finally she found what she was searching for.
After me and my little brother dug up this unknown mystery item we went to our dad to see what he thought it could be. He told us it was a part of a piece of an old pipe. It was so disappointing to us both thinking that our treasure would be valuable! Now everyday my little brother asks me if I want to go digging with him. Even though we haven’t so far found any valuable treasures, I will always treasure this memory in my heart!"