One of the joys of reading series books is the familiarity with the characters, setting, and even plotline. Readers have the chance to spend an extended amount of time with individuals for whom they've grown to care while watching them evolve. In some cases, it feels as though the protagonist of a series is growing up alongside readers, affording them a chance to problem-solve, stretch, take risks, and find themselves after a rebellious stage or a stumble or two. The worlds inhabited by some characters in a series are often so elaborately described that readers can pick up right where they left off in the previous title. Series books often are wildly popular and gain quite a following, even spanning generations as in the case of J. K. Rowling's phenomenally successful Harry Potter series (1997-2006). In the case of nonfiction series, they allow readers to explore a topic in depth or from unique perspectives, perhaps a particular ecosystem or math concept. This week's reviews focus on series books sure to fly off the book shelves.
Ages 4 to 8
Pennypacker Sara. (2015). Completely Clementine. New York NY: Disney-Hyperion.
Parents and teachers interested in nurturing readers might want to take a look at the delightful Clementine series written by Sara Pennypacker and illustrated by Marla Frazee. The inaugural title, Clementine (2006), follows the adventures of a creative free spirit who names her younger brother after various fruits and vegetables and her cat after beauty protects. There simply is no one quite like Clementine, and there is plenty of evidence throughout the seven books in the series with the eagerly anticipated seventh title, Completely Clementine, due out next month. Also highly recommended in addition to perennial favorites Barbara Park's Junie B. Jones series (Random House) and Megan McDonald's Judy Moody series (Candlewick) are Wong Herbert Yee's Mouse and Mole series (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) and the Lulu books (Albert Whitman), especially Lulu and the Hedgehog in the Rain (Albert Whitman, 2014) by Hilary McKay.
Ages 9-11
Gantos, Jack. (2014). The Key That Swallowed Joey Pigza. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. New York, NY: Macmillan.
This roller coaster of a series of five books focusing on Joey Pigza made its debut in 1998, and opened readers' eyes to how it might feel to have ADD and to live in a family more dysfunctional than yourself. In the final title, Joey tries to settle into a school routine after his mother's attempt at homeschooling him, but it's a toss-up as to whether things are worst at home or at school. As if Joey doesn't have enough to contend with as he tries to get himself on an even keel, his mother checks herself into the hospital and leaves Joey in charge of his baby brother. Somehow, with the help of some friends, Joey pulls things together, even managing to clean up the house. Filled with humor and pathos, this book leaves readers hopeful for the Pigzas. Fans of this author will want to reread all them to trace Joey's journey and experience again all the joys and pains of life as a child in the Pigza family.
Gray, Susan H. (2015). Exploring Our Rainforests: Harpy Eagle. North Mankato, MN: Cherry Lake Publishing.
This photo-filled informational text highlights the Harpy Eagle, one of the fascinating denizens of the rainforest. It's doubtful that readers have ever seen a picture of one before, which will make the book's photos fascinating. Seeing its enormous talons and its wingspread makes it obvious why this bird is such a successful hunter. Readers will learn a great deal about the bird's hunting habits, where it lives, and what it eats as well as the looming danger to its future due to habitat loss. This series with a rainforest focus also includes titles that provide information on spider monkeys, red-eyed tree frogs, chimpanzees, poison dart frogs, anacondas, and reticulated pythons. The text is easy to digest, and each series contains maps so readers can locate the range of the species being highlighted.
Lu, Marie. (2015). Spirit Animals: The Evertree. New York, NY: Scholastic.
With a different author for each book in this series, readers have the chance to explore the world of Erdas in seven different books. Once just like every other youngster, Conor, Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan, have their worlds turned upside down when they realize that they have special bonds with spirit animals who help them in their battles. Each of them has a connection with a different animal with unique abilities. In each of the titles in the series, they have faced challenges, followed a quest to earn certain talismans, and grown stronger and wiser. Although they have faltered at certain points and even suspected one another, they have eventually learned to trust themselves and their spirit animals. But can they defeat an enemy that seems relentless and older than time. The seventh title will reveal their fate.
Ages 12-14
Kinney, Jeff. (2014). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul. New York, NY: Amulet Books/Abrams.
It's hard to believe the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series publishing craze began back in 2007 and it shows no signs of slowing down. Teachers or parents looking for a sure-fire way to ignite reading excitement in youngsters need only purchase one of the nine titles in the series and leave it lying about somewhere. The author takes his protagonist, the true-to-life but often annoying Greg Heffley through the usual events in a middle grader's life—dealing with sibling rivalry, figuring out how to one-up a friend, and coming up with creative ways to get rich quick or build muscles without much effort. In the latest installment of the series, the family heads off on a road trip for some much-needed family bonding time. If something can go wrong, it does, as often happens on vacations like these. Part of the series' appeal surely must be its universality since just about everyone will relate to how messed up things get on this road trip. Perhaps it isn't true that the family that plays together stays together, but readers will laugh at every misstep along the way while keeping their fingers crossed that none of this ever happens to them.
Ages 15+
Gier, Kerstin. (2013). Emerald Green. Trans. by Anthea Bell. New York, NY: Henry Holt.
The marvelous Ruby Red Trilogy, begun in 2011 with Ruby Red, ends on a high note in this action-filled final installment. Having fallen madly in love with Gideon, her fellow time traveler, Gwen is nursing a broken heart since she feels that he has only been pretending to love her back. While the two engage in witty repartee and avoid talking about matters of the heart, they also keep shuttling back and forth in time. As they do so, they realize not all members of the time-traveling society to which they belong are to be trusted, and Gwen has been earmarked for death. Even those who dislike time travel books will delight in this series since it has so much going for it—mistaken identity, romance, humor, and even witty comments on high school and high society. Readers will need a scorecard to keep up with all the different characters and alliances, but they won't need one to appreciate the description of the various time periods through which the characters move, complete with authentic dress and demeanor. Gwen's jealousy over the attentions of an older woman intent on charming Gideon heightens the book while revealing how young and inexperienced she is. While Gideon is polished and worldly, Gwen is not, and wears her heart on her sleeve, which makes her even more endearing to readers. Things get pretty complicated as some of the characters meet each other coming and going throughout time, but teen readers will relish all the sexual tension and heart-pounding scenes set in the dark.
Howard, A. G. (2015). Splintered Series: Ensnared. New York, NY: Abrams/Amulet.
Continuing where Splintered (2013) and Unhinged (2014) left off, the author takes Alyssa to AnyElsewhere where she hopes to find her beloved Jeb and her mother. Readers will love how she manages to escape from the asylum where she's been kept after the disastrous prom that resulted in disappearances for which she is blamed. Fans of the series will find its conclusion just as delightful and filled with wonder as its predecessors as Alyssa comes into her own and does battle with the Red Queen to save Wonderland from the evil that is destroying it and wreaking havoc on its magic. There are incredibly sad characters such as a princess who keeps forgetting everything she knows and must relearn it all anew each day, places of extraordinary beauty, and secrets revealed about Alyssa's own father. Although the author has clearly drawn inspiration from Lewis Carroll and his own Alice books, she has clearly staked this territory out in her own fashion, complete with wonderfully bizarre creatures, whispering plants and insects, more than a hint of evil, and a love triangle in which it just might be possible for Alyssa to have everything she has ever wanted.
Barbara A. Ward teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in literacy at Washington State University, Pullman. She spent 25 years teaching in the public schools of New Orleans where she worked with students at every grade level, from kindergarten through high school as well as several ability levels. She is certified in elementary education, English education, and gifted education. She holds a bachelor's in communications and a master's in English Education from the Univeristy of Tennessee and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of New Orleans.
These reviews are submitted by members of the International Reading Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG)and are published weekly on Literacy Daily.