The Bobbsey Twins at Cedar Camp

In Short

When Mr. Bobbsey heads into the North Woods to track down a lost shipment of Christmas trees, the entire Bobbsey family joins him for an excursion to Cedar Camp. The getaway turns into a serious rescue operation after a sudden blizzard sweeps through the forest. Bert and Nan go missing during a nutting trip and take shelter with a solitary local, while younger twins Flossie and Freddie slip away into the snowdrifts to join the search. Filled with runaway sleds, sawmill mishaps, and desperate hunts for food, the story shows how small-town children navigate unexpected peril with innocence and pluck.

The Story

Life for the Bobbsey family in Lakeport begins with lighthearted domestic chaos. Freddie Bobbsey tries to surprise the family cook, Dinah, on her birthday by trapping a live mouse in a box, which promptly escapes and sets off a room-wide scramble. Soon after, as Thanksgiving approaches, younger twins Flossie and Freddie attempt their own version of charity by trying to bring ragged neighborhood children home for dinner. Yet family life shifts focus when Mr. Bobbsey, who runs a timber business, learns that a massive shipment of Christmas trees has gone missing somewhere between Cedar Camp and Lakeport. To locate the lost shipment—or harvest new trees before the holiday season passes—he packs up his family in their heated automobile and drives them into the North Woods to stay in an empty logging cabin.

At Cedar Camp, the children immerse themselves in the novelty of lumber-camp life. They ride log carriages at the turbine-powered sawmill, hunt for nuts, and explore the pine-needle slopes. The environment carries real danger, however: while trying to turn an overturned wheelbarrow into a pretend sawmill, Freddie accidentally tips Flossie down a slippery hill into the icy waters above the dam. A lumberman named Jake Peterson wades in just in time to pull her out before she is carried over the waterfall.

The primary ordeal begins when Bert and Nan wander off on a chestnut-gathering trip just as a fierce early-winter blizzard rolls in. Unable to find their way back through the swirling snow, the older twins take refuge in the lonely cabin of an elderly woman named Mrs. Bimby, whose husband, Old Jim, has failed to return from a trip to the village. As the storm locks down the forest and Mrs. Bimby's food supply dwindles to tea and condensed milk, Bert uses an old shotgun over the mantelpiece to shoot a wild rabbit outside the door, securing a potpie that keeps them from starving. Meanwhile, back at Cedar Camp, Old Jim turns up safely, but Mr. Bobbsey realizes his older children are lost in the wilderness.

As Mr. Bobbsey organizes a search party of lumbermen, Flossie and Freddie decide to secretly tag along behind, attempting to bring a heavy bear robe and a self-packed lunch to Mrs. Bimby. The small children quickly become lost themselves in the deep drifts, finding brief shelter under the low branches of a pine tree alongside a friendly dog named Rover. Bert, having set out from the Bimby cabin to scout for help and try to melt drinking water in an old tin tomato can, encounters a wildcat in the brush. Rover manages to drive the beast away, leading to a joyful reunion between Bert and the younger twins. Exhausted, cold, and nursing an injured leg, Bert carries Flossie piggyback through the worsening storm until the search party finally tracks their footprints and brings all four Bobbsey children safely back to the warmth of Cedar Camp.

How It Unfolds

Trouble at home Freddie releases a trapped mouse as a birthday gift for Dinah, causing chaos in the Bobbsey kitchen before the family restores order and turns its attention toward Thanksgiving.

Setting off for the woods Mr. Bobbsey discovers that a crucial shipment of Christmas trees is missing, prompting a family road trip to a remote logging cabin at Cedar Camp before deep winter arrives.

Danger at the dam While playing game versions of logging operations near Pine Brook, Freddie accidentally knocks Flossie into the freezing stream, requiring a swift rescue by a lumberman before she reaches the waterfall.

Trapped by the blizzard Bert and Nan are caught in a sudden, blinding snowstorm while searching for chestnuts and seek shelter in the isolated cabin of Mrs. Bimby.

Hunting for survival With the Bimby cupboard nearly empty, Bert uses a shotgun to shoot a rabbit in the snow, allowing Mrs. Bimby to cook a life-saving potpie for the stranded children.

A secret search party Determined to help, Flossie and Freddie sneak out of Cedar Camp into the deep drifts to find their missing siblings, only to become lost in the woods with a stray dog.

Found in the snow Bert fends off a wildcat, reunites with the lost younger twins, and carries Flossie back through the storm until their father and the loggers trace them to safety.

The People

• Bert Bobbsey: The older twin brother, dark-haired and adventurous. He wants to prove his self-reliance, which leads him to step up when trapped by the storm, taking charge of a shotgun to provide food and carrying his younger sister despite his own injury.
• Nan Bobbsey: Bert's twin sister. Thoughtful and observant, she keeps a steady head during crisis moments, spotting the rabbits outside the snowbound cabin window while helping keep Mrs. Bimby's spirits up.
• Freddie Bobbsey: The younger, chubby twin boy who wants to help everyone around him—whether by catching mice, playing fireman, or rescuing his missing siblings. His impulsive schemes frequently cause unintended accidents, but his good intentions never flag.
• Flossie Bobbsey: The youngest sister, light-haired and playful. She longs for fun and sweet treats, enduring icy river dunks and long trudges through deep snowdrifts with resilient, childlike humor.
• Mr. Bobbsey: The twins' father and owner of a Lakeport lumber business. He aims to protect his commercial investment in the seasonal tree harvest while keeping his family safe, driving the search effort when his children disappear in the blizzard.
• Mrs. Bimby: An elderly woman living in a remote forest cabin. Isolated by the storm and lacking food while waiting for her husband's return, she offers shelter to Bert and Nan and guides Bert in handling the shotgun.

In Its Own Voice

"Now, Freddie, what possessed you to do a thing like that--to give Dinah a mouse for her birthday?"

Mrs. Bobbsey gently scolds her youngest son after his attempt at a surprise turns the dining room upside down.

"I--I dumped her in! But I didn't mean to. We were playin' sawmill with the wheelbarrow, and I gave Flossie a ride, an' I slipped on the pine needles, and she rolled down the hill."

Freddie tearfully confesses his part in sending Flossie into the cold waters of Pine Brook.

"Hold it close against your shoulder, then it won't kick so hard," Mrs. Bimby whispered in his ear, as she helped him get the shotgun in place...

Mrs. Bimby coaches young Bert as he aims at the rabbits outside her window to keep the group from starving.

What It's Really About

Beneath its simple episodic adventures, the story explores the dual nature of the natural world—its visual charm versus its physical peril. The narrative contrasts the cozy, comfortable domestic security of small-town middle-class life with the raw, uncompromising environment of the North Woods. In Lakeport, danger takes the minor form of a loose mouse or a schoolyard bully stealing a sled; in the pine forests, nature introduces real threats through freezing currents, sudden blizzards, starving cupboards, and wild predators. The book emphasizes sibling loyalty and rural self-sufficiency, suggesting that even small children can draw on practical resourcefulness, composure, and mutual support when faced with unexpected environmental hardships.

Why Read It Today

The Bobbsey Twins at Cedar Camp offers modern readers a clear, nostalgia-rich glimpse into early twentieth-century popular juvenile fiction. Its appeal lies in its straightforward storytelling, rapid pacing, and cozy atmosphere, where domestic warmth constantly triumphs over outside danger. Readers interested in historical children's literature will enjoy seeing how series fiction of the 1920s presented themes of outdoor adventure, family structure, and seasonal celebrations.

The book is explicitly designed for young audiences, which means the language is simple, the characterizations are direct, and the narrative beats repeat familiar patterns. Modern readers should note the presence of period literary conventions, including exaggerated dialect used for domestic servants like Dinah, which reflects the stereotypical character tropes common in popular commercial publishing of that era. Despite these dated elements, the core narrative—focusing on children exploring snowy woods, constructing improvised shelters, and looking out for one another in a storm—retains a gentle, timeless charm.

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