Many of us grew up reading Nancy Drew detective books. Did you know that they have been dusted off and revamped for a new generation of girls? In March, Simon & Schuster released four new Nancy Drew mysteries updated to reflect modern times.

Written in the 1930's, Nancy Drew books have passed down from generation to generation through hand me downs and re-released hardcover editions. Nancy Drew, if you remember, was a teenage sleuth who frequently got mixed up in mysteries that usually stemmed from cases her lawyer father was involved in.  Female friends Bess and George were there to assist Nancy with the case, and if he was free on a weekend from college, friend Ned Nickerson would drop in and briefly help as well. Nancy was a self-assured, confident young woman who served as a role model for many girls.

The 'new Nancy' has graduated high school, drives an environmentally-conscious hybrid car, and uses the Internet to help her solve mysteries. While still published under the same pen name as the original, Carolyn Keene, the stories are told in first person from Nancy's point of view. 'Hip' new terms, language, and trends are also included.

The updates hope to appeal to the 'tween' marketing segment - the group of 8-12 year old girls who wield enormous spending power via their parents. Simon & Schuster has secured licenses for Nancy Drew merchandise in order to create the multimedia synergy that is present today with the Harry Potter and Mary-Kate/Ashley Olsen empires. There are currently Nancy Drew video and computer games available and Warner Brothers is reportedly in development to create a feature film about the girl detective.

There are also websites set up for new Nancy Drew fans complete with links to books, games, apparel, Nancy information and even 'girl-empowering' websites. While this may seem foreign to those of us who remember Nancy Drew books as a treasured friends, it seems these days a multimedia approach is the only way to attract the all important tween demographic.

What remains to be seen is if this new generation of girls will take to the new Nancy and friends. If online message boards are any indication (and with this age group they seem to be) Nancy Drew will be around for at least another seventy years.