SOLVED. MG Fantasy book series read ca. 2010 author began with Cow. [s]

[Suzanne]

When my son was in 3rd grade in 2010, he read a series of books from the school library. He was not an especially precocious reader, so this was definitely a a middle grade (not YA) chapter book series. I remember that the author's last name was close in the alphabet to the author of a different well-known series. I think the books next to the books my son was reading was Cressida Cowell's How to Train Your Dragon series.
So, I am not mistaken, the author of the series my son was reading was a woman whose name came later than (but close to) Cressida Cowell in the alphbet. (It could have been a man, but I am remembering it as a woman.)

I don't remember much about the books themselves. I am pretty sure they had a fantasy (mythical creature? adventure?) element to them. They would have been "cozy" (not dark or scary) and not gross or overly tongue-in-cheek (i.e., not captain underpants-esque). The art on the cover was straightforward and attractive, not very garish or cartoonish. The books were relatively short, so they were on the thinner side.

I am reasonably sure the author was NOT Cressida Cowell, Suzanne Collins, Chris Colfer, Bruce Coville, or William Corlett. I do not think the author had another more popular series (at least not at the time.

The books were in paperback in 2010, but I sense that they are likely not to have been hardcover first. I want to say that there were 3 or 4 books in the series. It was not wildly popular as far as I know, so it likely never had much more than that at any point in the future.

[Capn]

Susan Cooper wrote The Dark Is Rising Sequence - main character Will Stanton turns 11. Many editions.... titles are Over Sea, Under Stone, The Dark Is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King, Silver on the Tree... were the books your son read definitely new releases at the time? Or new editions? :)

[Suzanne]

Good suggestion, thank you. I don't think these are it.

I can't say for sure that the books my son was reading were new releases, but I did not get the sense that they were older books in a new edition.

This Dark is Rising series is also definitely darker than ths series my son read. I remember the covers looking rather cheery (pale yellows and lime greens) rather than ominous at all.

[Rainbowheart]

Debbie Dadey, maybe the Keyholders series?

This Side of Magic is the first book.

[Suzanne]

Thanks! This isn't it, but it's quite similar.

[Rainbowheart]

Dang, I was hopeful!

I'll keep looking. Could the author's last name have been in the early D's?

[Suzanne]

Found it! I was wrong on a couple of counts. It was not a woman author, it was a man, and it WAS Bruce Coville, though I said it wasn't! (Sorry!)

It was one of his less popular series, Moongobble and Me:
https://www.goodreads.com/series/6645...

Thanks for your help, all!

[Kris]

Glad you found your book series, Suzanne. The Dragon of Doom (book 1) of the Moongobble and Me series by Bruce Coville.

[Rainbowheart]

Great news, happy you found it!