The Bobbsey Twins
0Loading crowd target
0Loading crowd target
6correct to beat the crowd
40 free The Bobbsey Twins trivia questions with answers — literature quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
The Bobbsey Twins filled the bookshelves of American children for most of the twentieth century: two sets of twins in one cheerful household, with a new adventure almost every year from 1904 to 1979. The question people still ask most is the simplest one: what were the four children called? This quiz answers that first, then moves through the rest of the family circle: parents, household staff, cousins, pets and a schoolyard rival. It also covers well-loved scenes from the earliest books and the story behind the series, from the invented author on the covers to the rewrites that changed whole plots. It is for anyone who grew up with the old hardbacks, for collectors of vintage series books, and for readers meeting the family for the first time.
30 of 40 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What are the names of the older Bobbsey twins, a dark-haired boy and girl who look strikingly alike?
Bert and Nan
Bert and Nan are eight in the first book, which says the boy has his sister's brown eyes, brown hair and almost the same voice, only stronger.
Q 02What are the names of the younger Bobbsey twins, the short, stout pair with fluffy golden hair?
Flossie and Freddie
Flossie and Freddie are four when the series begins and are written as the opposites in looks of their older brother and sister.
Q 03Which pen name appears on every Bobbsey Twins book, though many ghostwriters did the writing?
Laura Lee Hope
Laura Lee Hope was invented for the series' 1904 debut, and at least nine people wrote under the name over the next 75 years.
Q 04Which fictional town is home to the Bobbsey twins, with their father's mill and docks on the shore?
Lakeport
Lakeport even made it into a title: the 1961 rewrite of the first book was renamed The Bobbsey Twins of Lakeport.
Q 05A 1960s rewrite of one Bobbsey Twins book turned Baby May from a foundling infant into which animal?
An elephant
An elephant took over in 1968: the 1924 story of an abandoned baby was scrapped for an all-new plot about a baby elephant, published under almost the same title.
Q 06Editors feared the Bobbsey twins would outgrow their readers, so what became of the children's ages?
Froze at 12 and 6
They froze at 12 and 6 for good, after the first four books had let the twins grow from eight and four to nearly nine and almost five.
Q 07What is the name of the Bobbsey family's cat, brought home as a kitten by the younger boy?
Snoop
Snoop begins the series as a tomcat, but after going missing in the fourth book he is mistakenly written as a she.
Q 08What does Mr. Bobbsey sell for a living from his yard and mill beside the docks?
Lumber
Lumber is the family trade, and Mr. Bobbsey shares it with his children: he has a mill hand saw sticks and boards to size for their winter building project.
Q 09Re-imagined Bobbsey twins named Amanda and Gil appear as characters in which CW mystery drama?
Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew began as a book series from the same syndicate as the Bobbseys, so the show could borrow the twins for its second season.
Q 10What is the name of the Bobbsey family's cook, who appears from the first book onward?
Dinah
Dinah is married to the family's man of all work and travels with the Bobbseys on holiday, standing guard over the pets on the train.
Q 11What is the name of the Bobbsey family's handyman, who is married to the household's cook?
Sam
Sam shares the surname Johnson with his wife, and the way the couple were portrayed was a main reason the books were rewritten in the 1960s.
Q 12Which school bully torments the older Bobbsey boy and smashes a shop window with a chunk of ice?
Danny Rugg
Danny Rugg lets the blame for the broken glass hang over his rival until the shopkeeper finally calls on Danny's own father.
Q 13What is the first name of Mr. Bobbsey, the twins' father, given in the first book's opening chapter?
Richard
Richard Bobbsey is introduced as a merchant with a large yard, docks and a planing mill, prosperous enough to keep two household servants.
Q 21In the first Bobbsey Twins book, the white 'ghost' in the house turns out to be a boy doing what?
Sleepwalking
Sleepwalking is the answer: the youngest child wanders the hall with his eyes shut tight, and his mother decides he must eat less before bedtime.
Q 22Where is the younger Bobbsey boy shut in after closing time, with only a kitten for company?
A department store
A department store closes around him after he dozes off in the weeks before Christmas, and the night watchman finds boy and kitten together.
Q 23In the first Bobbsey Twins book, Grace Lavine faints after overdoing which children's game?
Jumping rope
Q 14What is the first name of Mrs. Bobbsey, the twins' mother, used by her husband in the first book?
Mary
Mary is what her husband calls her when a sleigh ride is being planned; the children say Mamma and the narrator sticks to Mrs. Bobbsey.
Q 15Downy, the Bobbsey family pet that escapes from its box on a train, is which kind of animal?
A duck
A duck, small and white, Downy flaps up to the hanging lamps of the rail car and has to be shooed into a net.
Q 16Snap, the Bobbsey family's dog, can turn somersaults because he once belonged to which kind of show?
A circus
A circus train had wrecked on the line ahead of the family's own train, and the escaped trick dog simply followed the Bobbseys home.
Q 17Which job does the younger Bobbsey boy dream of, inspiring the pet name his father gives him?
Fireman
Fireman is the plan: Mr. Bobbsey calls the boy his Fat Fireman, which sends him tearing round the house shouting orders to an imaginary crew.
Q 18Mr. Bobbsey's pet name for his younger daughter in the early books calls her his little Fat what?
Fairy
Fairy completes it: being called the Fat Fairy always makes her laugh, and her father is still using the name in the thirteenth book.
Q 19The early Bobbsey Twins books were loose strings of adventures, but which genre later came to dominate the series?
Detective mysteries
Detective mysteries came to dominate, though few of the cases involved violent crime and quite a few involved no crime at all.
Q 20Which real metropolis is the great city the Bobbsey twins visit in the ninth book of the series?
New York
New York is where Mr. Bobbsey must spend several weeks starting a new business, and he keeps an old promise to his wife by taking the whole family along.
Jumping rope without a rest, she passes ninety before collapsing, and the friend turning the rope fears she has killed her.
Q 24Which craft do the older Bobbsey boy and a friend build one winter, using a bed sheet for a sail?
An ice boat
An ice boat named the Ice Bird is the result, and one wild ride on it ends with brother and sister thrown out at full length.
Q 25At which farm, home of Uncle Daniel, Aunt Sarah and cousin Harry, do the Bobbsey twins spend a summer?
Meadow Brook
Meadow Brook hosts two of the books: the country visit of the second volume and a return trip in the seventh.
Q 26Which cousin, a year older than the elder Bobbsey girl, lives at the seaside home called Ocean Cliff?
Dorothy
Dorothy Minturn hosts the twins for the month of August near the village of Sunset Beach, straight after their weeks on the farm.
Q 27What is the name of the houseboat that takes the Bobbsey twins on a summer cruise in book six?
Bluebird
Bluebird fits, Mr. Bobbsey explains, because it is painted blue, the same shade as his younger daughter's eyes.
Q 28Which family keepsake does a very fat lady carry off by accident in The Bobbsey Twins at School?
A silver cup
A silver cup, the younger twins' shared birthday cup, is in her hand when the train jolts to a halt, and she travels on with it.
Q 29The first Bobbsey Twins book opens with the children at the table building toy houses from what?
Shoe boxes
Shoe boxes get square holes cut for doors and windows, with scraps of dress fabric for carpets and tissue paper for lace curtains.
Q 30Which treat does the 'ghost' in white beg for in the first Bobbsey Twins book, giving itself away?
Strawberry shortcake
Strawberry shortcake, another piece of it, is all the figure wants, and the request tells the older boy exactly who is under the white.