Mini Reviews: Series for Young Readers

Hello lovelies!

Since I’m working towards my MS in Library & Information Science with a concentration in children’s librarianship, I thought it’d be good idea to read up on some popular series for younger readers. When I was younger, the only series on the same level that was out (or popular at the time) were the Magic Tree House books. So I’m clearly far behind on all the current series. So off to the library I went! Below are three of the first ones that I read 🙂

Ivy + Bean (#1) by Annie Barrows & illustrated by Sophie Blackall

Ownership: Borrowed from Library
Genre: Elementary Series / Transitional / Contemporary
Publisher:  Chronicle Books
Published: 2006
Pages: 113
Price: $5.99 (paperback)
Place: Amazon,  B & N, Book Depository, GoodReads, IndieBound

Review: Bean is a seven-year old girl who loves to do things her way. She likes having fun, going on adventures and not being bored. Plus, she really likes to annoy her older sister Nancy, who Bean thinks is going through a bossy stage. Bean’s mom really wants her to play with the new girl across the street, Ivy, because she’s the same age as her, but Bean thinks Ivy’s boring. Then one day Ivy comes to Bean’s rescue and they quickly fall into an adventure together. Maybe Ivy isn’t so boring after all!

I wasn’t the biggest fan of this one. I thought the new friendship aspect was cute and Ivy’s imagination was fun to read about & Bean’s quirkiness also made for a unique character. However, I just couldn’t get into this one as much. That isn’t to say anything was wrong with the story. I just think that the writing didn’t click well with me. On the other hand, the illustrations were really great and I thought they did a good job of breaking up the text on the page and adding to the storyline. A lot of young readers come into the store having loved reading them. I’m probably going to read the next few to see if I just need to ease more into the series. Overall, a cute story, but not my favorite popular young readers series.

Rating:   

Clover’s Luck (Magical Animal Adoption Agency #1)
by Kallie George & Illustrated by Alexandra Boiger

Ownership: Own
Genre: Elementary Series / Transitional / Soft Fantasy
Publisher:  Disney Hyperion 
Published: 2015
Pages: 128
Price: $5.99 (paperback)
Place: Amazon,  B & N, Book Depository, GoodReads, IndieBound

Review: Clover has always felt that she was unlucky. Then while wandering the woods near her village she comes upon a flyer for a volunteer at a Magical Animal Adoption Agency. She follows the directions to the adoption agency and meets Mr. Jams, the Agency’s owner, and he agrees to let her become a volunteer. Then he shows her all the magical creatures in the Agency and Clover quickly falls in love with the animals. Then Mr. Jams goes away on a rescue trip and leaves Clover in charge for a few days. While looking after the Agency a witch in disguise comes after the magical creatures. Will Clover be able to outsmart her in time to protect the animals and find them good homes?

Clover’s story was super sweet. I really enjoyed reading about her experience with the Magical Animal Adoption Agency and seeing her take charge in Mr. Jams’ absence. All the magical animals were cute and I loved reading about which ones that Mr. Jam’s had at the Agency. Plus, I thought it was sweet to read about the animals that did get adopted throughout the story. Seeing Clover grow as a character was a joy as well. I loved how George wrote Clover’s character arc within this story. Overall, this was an adorably, sweet read and I can’t wait to continue within the series to see what other animals Clover gets to help with! I’d definitely recommend it to younger readers!

Rating: 

The Secret Promise (Rescue Princesses #1) by Paula Harrison 

Ownership: Borrowed from Library
Genre: Elementary Series / Transitional / Soft Fantasy
Publisher:  Scholastic Inc. 
Published: 2012
Pages: 114
Price: $4.99 (paperback)
Place: Amazon,  B & N, Book Depository, GoodReads, IndieBound

Review: The Secret Promise follows Princess Emily who travels with her family to Mistberg Forest to attend the Mistberg Grand Ball where she and other princesses and princes will be presented to all the Kings and Queens of the land. While at the castle, Princess Emily meets three other Princesses: Princess Lulu, Princess Jaminta & Princess Clarabel. The girls quickly become friends which comes in handy when Princess Emily discovers someone’s plotting to hurt the deer who live in Mistberg Forest. Princess Emily and her new friends use their intelligence, savvy and newly learned ninja skills to try and save them!

This story was pretty sweet. I loved the spunk each of the Princesses had and I thought this story did a great job of setting up the rest of the series. Princess Emily had a lot of cunning and I enjoyed reading from her perspective within this book. I also enjoyed that the princesses were tasked with a feasible mission and that they were independent and able to solve the mission on their own with just a little assistance from a trusted maid. I think this series would be a hit with younger readers and I’d recommend it for  them as well. I also enjoyed the friendships that were formed and the strong female characters presented. I did have a slight problem with the characters. It seemed that some parts of the princesses were stereotyped. I felt that Princess Jaminta had the most stereotyped characteristics and I wish that there weren’t any stereotypes at all. But otherwise, I enjoyed the story overall. 🙂

Rating:

Have you read any of these popular series for young readers? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Let me know of any other series I should check out! 

Happy Reading!

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