Chapter Books - Rainbow Magic Fairies

Oh my, where to begin with this series of many series. My wee four year old bookworm was first introduced to the Rainbow Magic fairies at her fourth birthday party. One of her little preschool classmates gave her five of the seven Rainbow Magic Weather Fairies for a gift. Little did I know then how big of a hit they would be. I have been a bit out of touch with the latest and greatest in the book releases, especially series. Our wee bookworm got so interested that we had to immediately go and find the last two of the weather series, plus we needed to find out how it ended.

As with many kids series, like my beloved original Nancy Drew being one of them, there is generally a set formula that is used to write these. No doubt author Daisy Meadows is using a method as well, especially being able to crank them out so quickly. From what I have seen there seems to be no end in the type of fairies the series will address. We of course started with the weather fairies, which follows the series introduction of "the" Rainbow Fairies. These being the color fairies. Then we moved on to the Petal Fairies for flowers. There are also fairies for dances, parties, jewels, pets, fun days, sports, and the all encompassing special fairies.

The books are written in a seven part series with of course seven fairies. The lead characters are tween age girls Rachel and Kirsty who meet in the first series and become best of friends. The stories goes sort of like Jack Frost causes some type of grief for a set of fairies in Fairyland and some how their magic item/being/or event has been sent to or affected in the human world where the girls are able to help sort it out. Of course, this all the while trying to avoid Jack Frost goblins who are pretty much bungling fools who are not too evil for the most part just make bad choices and hang out with a mean leader. The series can be read out of sequence, but it helps to go in order for some readers.

They are not scholarly books or scary, but are a bit of fantasy magical fun. One of my favorite times with my wee bookworm is curling up together on the sofa and reading away for the about 30 minutes it takes to read one of these out loud to her. She totally gets the story line and remembers the key elements that make the stories their own. Plus, a key liking for her is throughout the book on almost every page small illustrations can be found. A choice series pick for kids 4 to 8 and that enjoy a bit more complex story line than found in the typical early readers and picture books. Probably more of a girls series. Most of these books can be found either online or the larger bookstores. They are hard to get at several of our library branches as they are checked out most of the time.

Chapter Books - The Dragon of Lonely Island

Okay, I had this fairly interesting write up completed for Rebecca Rupp’s The Dragon of Lonely Island (2002), but for some reason it has disappeared. Unfortunately, for me once I empty my brain of its thoughts about a particular topic it seems also to have a retrieval problem. So, let me just say this about the book (re-release). It involves two sisters and a brother who accompany their fiction-writing mother for the summer to an island inhabited only by a caretaker and his wife, or is it? They are staying in their Great Aunt’s home and soon find that there is an adventure to be undertaken. While searching the house and the island they discover their Great Aunt’s secret friend Fafnyr, a tridrake. The three-headed dragon lives in a cave on the island. After overcoming a brief uneasiness the children come to know and cherish the story telling dragon. The tale is brief, but captivating and leaves the reader wondering, but luck would have it that the author has since written a sequel that I have yet to check out. It is a good quick summer read for probably 3rd graders and up.

Valentine's Day Board Books

Ah! Valentine's Day! Tomorrow we will celebrate loving others in generally and then also those that have an extra special place in our hearts. Here at our humble abode we have lots of love and lots to be thankful for on the romance day of the year that so many look forward to and so many dread.

We are celebrating simple as we have a winter snow storm in progress. The storm I am viewing almost like a layered cake. We received about 5 inches here so far at least that is what the say, but my husband shoveled about 12 inches out of the driveway and walkways this morning. Now, we are receiving several hours of the "icing", which will then be topped with another 5 or so inches of snow. Lucky for us, my sweetheart is able to work from home today in between the shoveling.

For the wee one, who turned the big "Two" over the weekend we found some special books to share with her tomorrow. The first two books are small little picture board books with sweet pictures of puppies and kittens with even cutier sayings. Kitty Love and Puppy Love were published by Dalmation Press in 2006 and we found them for $1.00 each in a large discount retailer's store a few weeks back. I haven't seen them elsewhere, but I'm sure will be well received by the wee one.

The other book we found for her is by Sarah Wilson and illustrated by Melissa Sweet. This particular version of Love and Kisses was released as a board book in 2002 and earlier as a picture book in 1999. The caption reads "Blow a kiss and let it go, You never know how love will grow!" The simple yet humorous short story follows a kiss as it is first shared between a girl and her cat and then amongst various other animals. So, to you and yours we wish you a day filled with more than normal amounts of love and fun.

Chapter Books - The Goose Girl

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale 2005

I enjoy fairy tales, but do not often venture into the chapter book length ones. The Goose Girl for me almost borders on being a fantasy book versus fairy tale, but there is no mistaking the basics that keep it in that category. The author definitely has a way with words. The text is filled with descriptive writing and the pages are loaded with unique similes and metaphors. The bases to the story has a familiar Cinderella quality to it, yet is still different enough that you really don’t notice it at first.

There are many twists and turns in the plot and the situations at times can be uneasy for animal enthusiasts. As the reader follows the life of Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kilendree, at times the unusual names and circumstances can be a bit confusing if one doesn’t read carefully. Stories with this type of complexity I find can trip up a reader who occasionally will skim pages with an over abundance of imagery like myself. Definitely worth reading, but the suggested age is 4th grade and up. I will go out on a limb and actually say maybe 5th grade and up, but think those a little older would really enjoy this. It is lengthy so would recommend for a cold or snowy weekend reading. As a side note for some of the younger readers, when I can’t figure out the correct pronunciation for character’s name or most of them like in this book, I usually give them a nickname. For Anidori-Kiladra, I used Andi.

Chapter Books - Cam Jansen and the Valentine Baby Mystery

Cam Jansen and the Valentine Baby Mystery by David Adler 2006

Looking for a fun book to give as a Valentine gift to your elementary reader then I would try David Adler’s latest Cam Jansen mystery or any of his others. The Cam Jansen series is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Adler has a proven record of attracting young readers and with this simple yet fun mystery series he sets Cam and her friends out to problem solve in their own unique way. Although the book’s covers sometimes suggest more of a girl’s series, the stories would definitely appeal to boys as well since Cam’s best friend Eric is usually by her side through out each adventure.

The Valentine Baby Mystery has Cam awaiting the arrival of a new brother or sister on Valentine’s Day. However, as usual with Cam there is always a mystery to solve no matter where she is. This time it takes place at the hospital. In addition to this book, the library has a number of Valentine Day book selections so be sure and check them out and read something special with your young Valentine.

Chapter Books - Pride and Prejudice

Ah! One of my favorite books was authored by the English writer Jane Austen, who happens to have been born today December 16, 1775. So, I say celebrate by reading one of her many wonderful novels. My personal favorite is Pride and Prejudice although Sense and Sensibility is a close second. Pride and Prejudice is unique to me in that it is considered a children’s classic, but is also widely enjoyed by adults. For me I would group this book with titles such as Little Women or Wuthering Heights, but I didn’t really have any interest in it until adulthood.

Although I have always considered Little Women to be more of a traditional children’s classic I tend to think books by Austen and even Bronte more in terms of young adult and up. So, when I see them on the shelves in the juvenile section of the library and bookstores, I am reminded these are good options for those more mature middle grade readers. Plus, it reminds me of a very advanced student I once worked with who was in the fourth grade and had just finished Anna Karenina by Tolstoy. She had asked me for some other works of similar quality, but for some reason I hadn’t thought of Austen (nor had I read Tolstoy). Suggest away to all those seeking a good book or author.

Board Books - Animals A to Z

When life is crazy and you want a little slow down then I suggest an ABC book of the fun kind. One of my favorite author/illustrators, David McPhail has a really cute and clever Animals A to Z board book that will add pleasure to anyone’s day. At first glance it appears the book is a pretty straightforward ABC book, but then you start to realize there is more to it than that.

For instance, the first page starts of course with letter “A” where we find an ant and armadillo, but wait. The ant is conversing with the armadillo while standing under an apple tree with an arrow through an apple as an airplane flys overhead and an alarm clock sits in the corner. So, let’s see that is two “A” animals with four additional correlating “A” objects. It goes on like that throughout the alphabet. Only the letter “X” is missing a “companion” object, but in all fairness that really is a tough letter.

This book makes the alphabet fun and grows with the reader. Most kids will only first “get” the animal part of it, but it builds into a fun game of find the other items that begin with the same letter. The illustrations of course are captivating to the young ones and many include comical features such as a bear reading a book in a boat or a crocodile wear a crown. For all ages, but especially babies up through 1st grade will really enjoy this book. (It is also available in paperback too.)

Board Books - Zoophabet ABC

There are so many great reasons why I like board books. Even as the wee one grows older and is becoming quite good with handling traditional picture books, we both still like a board book’s ability to withstand rugged “book loving”. A recent find that the wee one and mama like is an ABC book. Ahh, do not turn away just yet let me explain why this ABC book is in the entertaining class versus the don’t bother group. I know there are a lot of ABC books out there that are just borrrring.

However, Zoophabet ABC by Kathryn Knight and illustrated by Cathy Heck I think is just adorable from the point of artwork and its content. I picked this up at that mega huge worldwide discount chain store for the upcoming holiday drive. It takes the reader through the idea of what animals would you put together to start a zoo(phabet). The text does a really nice job in finding animals for every letter (including “V” and “X”) along with humorous situations. For instance, would a rhinoceros wear ribbons on her tail and horns? We have found a number of ABC books that are fun and I think I might just start adding one here every week. This particular book would be good for little ones up through about 5 years old. I am not sure, but it appears the distribution on this book is limited for now and will be more widely available at the first of the year. It was a fall 2006 release.

Chapter Books - The Hundred Dresses

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes and illustrated by Louis Slobodkin 1944

Talk about a book from the past. I had never heard of The Hundred Dresses until I was browsing through the library’s juvenile shelves a few weeks ago. There were three copies in various dust jacket covers, so I thought this is an interesting title I think I will take it with me and look there is a silver Newbery honor sticker. The fact this was written in 1944 and the copy I checked out is from 1971 would surprise some for still being on a shelf in the library system with the continual abundance of new books to stock shelves with. Of course, anything that has an award tag especially of the Newbery kind will be found for years to come in almost any public library or bookstore. But, I must say this smallish chapter book still has appeal and relevance in today’s time.

We meet three elementary age girls whose only real connection is they share the same classroom. Peggy is the popular well-to-do girl, Maddie is Peggy’s best friend, and Wanda is the new girl from the very poor side of town with the funny last name. No one really notices Wanda at first. She keeps to herself, has difficulty in speaking in front of the class, and wears the same blue dress everyday to school. What starts off as a simple statement from Wanda one day as the girls all admire the new dress a classmate is wearing turns into a daily “funning” by the girls. Wanda casually mentions that she has 100 dresses in her closet at home. Since she wears the same dress every day no one believes her and it becomes a game to ask Wanda about her dresses everyday.

The “funning” of Wanda by Peggy and the other girls in class is just a polite way of saying mocking, harassing, or polite bullying. Maddie always accompanies Peggy during these meetings, but says little because she wonders if she stood up to Peggy if she then will be the next target of ridicule. Plus, she thinks what is the harm in poking a little fun it isn’t as if Wanda has told the “truth”. Maddie’s home situation isn’t quite on the same poverty line as Wanda, but she doesn’t have the things Peggy does and could be seen in a different light if she didn’t go along with the popular “opinion”.

After several days of being absent from class, which no one notices, the teacher reads a letter to the class from Wanda’s father. It tells of how he is moving with Wanda and her brother to the big city where people are more accepting of families with funny last names. How Maddie and Peggy react to the news is interesting and realistic. Are they to blame? How can they fix the situation? Did Wanda really have 100 hundred dresses? The author does a great job in bringing the emotions and thinking process of this age group together in a simple and quickly read chapter book. The artist use of vague features and little color for the figures helps keep the story pliable and current as well.

This would be a great book to blow the dust off and read aloud in a classroom setting. From what I have seen there is even a teacher’s guide that goes with it. Of course, I am not sure how current the guide is. The story I think would be a good one to demonstrate to students how “funning” has side effects and consequences that may not always be seen. Would recommend for 2nd grade on up.