Wild Things: YA Grown-Up discussion
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Dragon Keepers #3, The Dragon in the Library, is listed with a publication date in May 2010 - so that's something to look forward to in the not too distant future :-)
There is a "Weather Fairies" Series. When I go to work today I will get the author. I know that the "Vet Volunteers" series has been popular also.
Dustin wrote: "At the end of last summer, I started reading The Magic Tree House series with my son. The quality of the books really improved when we got to the Merlin Missions. We have now read the entire series..."You didn't mention grades so I'm thinking that the series my kids reading group rates at the library might work for your kids. The 2nd and 3rd graders love Geronimo Stilton and so I keep it but have to agree it's not my favorite. Here's the other series we do: Judy Moody/Stink by Megan McDonald, Shredderman by Van Draanen, Dragon Slayer's Academy by Kate McMullen, Cracked Classics by Tony Abbott, Time Warp Trio by Sciezka and some kind of graphic novel series (Peanuts this year, which they loved). Hope that helps! I need new series to add to this, not popular ones like Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Magic Treehouse, a bit more obscure but good ones. Any more series?
Thanks for the suggestions Tlc! Yeah, I didn't mention ages or grades :-) My kids are 4 and 5 1/2 - I am actually reading these books to them at bedtime, they're not reading these types of books independently. So I guess, I'm kinda trying to find books I would enjoy too. MTH, Droon, and Dragon Keepers have been fun. I'll have to look into that other series by Abbott that you mentioned. :-) I'm not gonna read Wimpy Kid to them that's for sure - I think the books are funny but I have issues with the smart alecky attitude.
My DD is 6 and she's really enjoying these series:Cam Jansen, beginning with Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds
Junie B. Jones beginning with Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective
Rainbow Magic #1: Ruby The Red Fairy, Crystal The Snow Fairy: The Weather Fairies (and all the other fairy series by this author -Daisy Meadows - animals, jewels, days of the week, musical instruments, sports, dances, flowers..they seem endless but she loves 'em = )
The Magic School Bus series - both the graphic novel type The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body, and the chapter books Magic School Bus Chapter Book Boxed Set and The Magic School Bus Chapter Book Boxed Set, Books 9-16
Might be an oldie, but still a goodie - how about Little House on the Prairie?
Also, Flat Stanley is cute and my DD enjoyed all the sequels (think there are 4).
I've also found some good suggestions over in Listopia - lists like best series for girls, etc.
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show_ta...
Have to look for some of the other series suggested here - thanks for the thread!
EA: Whoops! Forgot about Amelia Bedelia (!) and we're liking the Wishbone series (like these: Wishbone Classic #09 a Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Prince and the Pooch, and Robinhound Crusoe)
Carolyn, Thanks for taking the time to list these series. There are some really good suggestions here :-)
You're welcome! = )Thanks for the thread - I'll be checking out the Droon and Pixie Tricks series - she's already reading the Magic Tree House books and liking them.
Carolyn wrote: "You're welcome! = )Thanks for the thread - I'll be checking out the Droon and Pixie Tricks series - she's already reading the Magic Tree House books and liking them."
Have you got to the Merlin Missions yet? Once you reach those - they are fantastic! I loved Last year's Good Night For Ghosts about Louis Armstrong
The pixie tricks books are very short (might be too young for your daughter - maybe not :-) half the book is filled with stickers & activities (if you get a library copy don't expect to find any stickers left in the book, though :-)
Try Secrets of Droon. There are actually two series. Start with the thinner ones. We haven't gotten to the Special Edition (SE) books yet - I think they give a more in-depth story on characters. My favorite of the Secrets of Droon so far is book 8: The Golden Wasp
And, again I highly recommend The Dragon Keepers books by Kate Klimo :-) They are really good.
I guess the Pixie Tricks sticker pages are only in books 1&2. We're just starting book 3, so I didn't know :-) I think each book does originally come with stickers though.Here's part of what it says in the back of book 3 about Pixie Tricks Stickers:
"Place the stickers in the Book of Tricks. You can find your very own copy of the Book of Tricks in the first two books of the Pixie Tricks series, Sprites Secret and The Greedy Gremlin. When Sprite and Violet catch a pixie, stick its sticker in the book."
Pixie Tricks books are written by Tracey West.
I've added the Dragon Keepers books and Droon series to my tbr kids list - thanks!If the Pixie Tricks books come with stickers in them, my library probably won't carry the series. = ( But I'll look for them. Thanks for the heads-up!
In the Magic Tree House books, we've only read up to book 3 - Mummies in the Morning so far, but she got the boxed sets up to #20 for her birthday last month, so we'll be reading through them all.
"Violet hardly ever got in a bad mood. She didn't see the point. Being in a bad mood just keeps you from feeling happy. And that's silly."-Pixie Tricks, book 3: The Pet Store Sprite pg.1
Carolyn wrote: "My DD is 6 and she's really enjoying these series:Cam Jansen, beginning with Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds
Junie B. Jones beginning with [book:Junie B. Jones ..."
Thanks for all the ideas - I forgot about Cam Jansen and I didn't know that Magic School Bus was out in graphic novel form! I do have a Kid's Request month in my rate it and read it book club and they often pick Junie B. Jones, Captain Underpants and Baby Mouse. Parents don't seem to like the first 2 normally (too smart alecky.) I personally love all 3 and can't wait to see what they vote on this year!
Tlc wrote: "I do have a Kid's Request month in my rate it and read it book club and they often pick Junie B. Jones, Captain Underpants and Baby Mouse. Parents don't seem to like the first 2 normally (too smart alecky.)"I'm afraid I might be one of those parents ;-) We tried reading Junie B. Jones and I quietly took it back to the library. I haven't read Captain Underpants but since I don't like Sponge Bob Squarepants ....
We own all the Junie B. Jones due to the fact that my kids were 3rd graders when we read them, since it's really a spoof on younger kids rather than a realistic one. My favorite is Junie B. Jones Peeps in her Pockets. She was afraid to go to the farm with her class because the rooster would peck her head into a nub. We laughed through most of that book. Try again when your kids are older.
Tlc wrote: "Try again when your kids are older. "Good Suggestion :-) It does sound funny Ha! Ha! Ha!
I want to see that movie with my kids :-) I didn't even know it was based on a book! It seems Hollywood gets their best ideas from books but the films never seem to measure up to the printed story.
I renamed this thread "Children's Series" because it's more than Magic Tree House and Secrets of Droon :-) I've discovered another great Series : 39 Clues. So far there are 8 books. I'm guessing there will be 39? Each book reveals a clue.
Dustin wrote: "I renamed this thread "Children's Series" because it's more than Magic Tree House and Secrets of Droon :-) I've discovered another great Series : 39 Clues. So far there are 8 books. I'm guessing there will be 39? Each book reveals a clue."Good idea on renaming the thread! = )
From the description for Book #1, looks like this would be a better series for older kids (9-12) - they have to do a lot of the 'clue' work online. There will be 10 books in the series, I hope the series is still worth reading/makes sense after the whole contest thing is done with, because otherwise it sounds good for tweens, but my oldest is 6, so we have a couple of years yet...
"The 39 Clues is Scholastic's groundbreaking new series, spanning 10 adrenaline-charged books, 350 trading cards, and an online game where readers play a part in the story and compete for over $100,000 in prizes.
The 39 Clues books set the story, and the cards, website and game allow kids to participate in it. Kids visit the website - the39clues.com - and discover they are lost members of the Cahill family. They set up online accounts where they can compete against other kids and against Cahill characters to find all 39 clues. Through the website, kids can track their points and clues, manage their card collections, dig through the Cahill archives for secrets, and "travel" the world to collect Cahill artifacts, interview characters, and hunt down clues. Collecting cards helps: Each card is a piece of evidence containing information on a Cahill, a clue, or a family secret.
Every kid is a winner - we'll give away prizes through the books, the website and the cards, including a grand prize of $10,000!
My son listened to book 1-2 on Audiobook CD - he's only 5 1/2 he enjoyed them but warned me that "they're a little scary". I don't know if my son's interests are a good gauge or not. My daughter is 4 and has very different interests. She likes hearing the same stories over and over. One of her favorites is Magic Tree House - Dolphins at Daybreak.We're not doing the online thing with 39 Clues - I think the books can still be enjoyed without that aspect. Also, since we're borrowing the books from the library, the trading cards are gone.
I'm on book two now - glad to know there's only 10 planned and not 39 :-) I like books that both My kids & I can enjoy. Magic Tree House and Secrets of Droon have been pretty good (I prefer MTH - Merlin Missions :-). My son & I are reading our first Special Edition of the Droon books right now - it's quite a bit longer than the regular books.
"A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest." -C.S. Lewis
Carolyn wrote: "Great quote!"Hopefully, It's accurate :-) I pulled it off Good Reads Quotes.
C. S. Lewis quotes are always so amazing!
I started reading Ramona the Pest and I'm quite impressed! I like this a lot better than Junie B. Jones :-) I guess there's even a movie - haven't seen it.
Ann M. Martin just released a prequel to The Baby-Sitters Club- LOVE IT!
Dustin wrote: "I started reading Ramona the Pest and I'm quite impressed! I like this a lot better than Junie B. Jones :-) I guess there's even a movie - haven't seen it."
Yes, there is a movie coming out with Selena Gomez as Beezus. Its release date is in July.
I LOVED The Babysitter's Club series when I was younger. They are pretty simple, and they're fun. I especially loved the mysteries- they made me feel really smart/cool, like I could be a detective too... There is also a series called the Once Upon a Time Series, where several authors write short (150-200 ish page) retellings of fairy tales. Some of them would probably be more appropriate to wait until your daughter was older (The Scarlet Moon and Spirited in particular) but I think a lot of them are fun, and with you reading them aloud, might go over well. I love fairy tale retellings of all sorts, and these are pretty basic, but sill very pleasant and fun to read.
Kellee wrote: "Yes, there is a movie coming out with Selena Gomez as Beezus. Its release date is in July. "Oh good, it isn't out yet :-) I thought I was really out of touch. There is a little advertisement on the cover that says something like "Read the book, then watch the movie. Now a major motion picture." Thanks for the info. We might have to go see it this summer since we're reading the books :-)
This one seems to be one of the most popular Once Upon A Time Books. A Retelling of The Princess and the Pea:Violet Eyes: A Retelling of the "Princess and the Pea"
One of my favorite children's series is Catwings by Ursula Le Guin. These are such wonderful stories, and I'm not even a cat lover.
Thank You Kathy!!! I'm gonna go to my library today and get me some Catwings! My daughter loves cats :-)
Catwings is great! I read them in elementary school. I read them around the same time that I read Bunnicula.
Little House in the Big Woods is good for younger children. Laura is 4 and 5 years old in that book.
I don't know, Little House on the Prairie bored me to death as a child, both the books and the show. It might be worth a second try, but both of my grandmothers were addicted to the show and everytime I went to their houses it seemed to be on. I got overdosed and overexposure on the prairie.I got me some Catwings from the library yesterday :-) I remember reading these books when I was little! I think I used to own them even.
Dustin, I'm so glad you got you some Catwings. LOL! Enjoy!
Dustin, I love the books, but hate the TV show, ruined the whole story!
Maybe I'll try again then :-) is Little House in the Big Woods, the best one to start with?
Little House in the Big Woods is number one in the series... There are 9 of them. It makes the most sense if you read that one first. I loved the books when I was a kid, but never really got into the TV show. I thought it looked dumb. (But that might have been because in my 8 year old fantasy brain I was Laura, and that little girl looked nothing like me...) :)
Ashley wrote: "Little House in the Big Woods is number one in the series... There are 9 of them. It makes the most sense if you read that one first. I loved the books when I was a kid, but never really got in..."
LOL - I was the complete opposite! I never read the books (believe me this is out of character, I read A LOT, especially books that people tell me are great) but I adored the TV show - even got up "early" every day to watch it!
I just finished the Fudge series by Judy Blume with the last of my three kids (Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, Superfudge, Fudge-a-Mania, Double Fudge), and I have to admit, it almost makes me want to have another kid for an excuse to read them again. I loved them as a kid, and loved them even more as an adult. So funny, and so much of the humor was over my head back then. These are great read-alouds.
My newest favorite children's series is Marty McGuire by Kate Messner. Marty is quickly becoming one of my favorite protagonists in any children's book. She has a great imagination, isn't embarrassed about who she is and is just so funny. You should check them out. 
Wild Things: YA Grown-Up
Books mentioned in this topic
Little House in the Big Woods (other topics)Catwings (other topics)
Ruby the Red Fairy (other topics)
Fudge-a-Mania (other topics)
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Judy Blume (other topics)Daisy Meadows (other topics)
In December, we started reading The Secrets of Droon Series, which is pretty good. In January we found The Dragon Keepers series. Unfortunately, there's only 2 books published in the series so far, but I just looked it up and #3 is now listed on goodreads - I'll have to look into that :-) The second in the series was even better than the first.
We recently started reading the Geronimo Stilton series. I'm not a big fan of this series but my son likes them so I read them w/him.
My daughter & I started reading the Pixie Tricks books but there are only 8 in that series.
Anyone have any recommendations of other favorite series for the same age group as these I've mentioned? I'm especially interested in finding more books for girls because with The Secrets of Droon and Geronimo Stilton books I'm pretty well covered for a while on the boys books :-) Any recommendations are appreciated. Thanks!