'Gee, Nancy, You're So Smart!' ; Nancy Drew Seeks a New Generation of Readers, but Some Teachers Would Prefer That She Stay out of the Classroom

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As a fourth-grader, Desiree Koh wanted to be Nancy Drew. She and a couple of her classmates started a "detective agency" and tried to crack small cases - from a thief stealing kids' lunches to finding a missing pencil. During recess, they would hide under their teacher's desk, hoping to catch the thief in action.

The cases were never solved. "But I would always think, 'What would Nancy do?' " says Koh, a lifelong fan who grew up in Singapore and now lives in Chicago.

This month, Simon & Schuster is giving the classic series a makeover. The titian-haired sleuth is now a strawberry blonde and she volunteers at an animal shelter. She's traded in her blue Mustang …