Volume I, The Secrets of Droon "The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet" was given three thumbs up by my children and their dad. (The kids are currently 6 and 8; boy and girl).The story begins with three children -- Eric, Julie, and Neal -- cleaning a basement. They soon discover a hidden staircase which drops them into the mysterious world of Droon where almost immediately they are plunged into danger when they meet Princess Keeah, a bad guy named Sparr, a good wizard named Galen, and a host of magical creatures that tend to have more appendages than one normally finds in our own world.
My kids loved the magic carpet, the strange creatures, and not-so-scary danger. In fact, after dad finished reading the book aloud, there was an immediate outcry to race out to the library or bookstore to pick up Volume 2. Pajamas not withstanding.
Considerations :::
The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet is a good Read-Aloud, especially if you take the shorter sentences and run them together. For children reading the book for themselves, the short sentences are, of course, an asset, so I wouldn't mark it down for that.
Reading Level -- This is one of the few books that I have found that has confused AR (accelerated reading) listings. On most sites the book was said to be at the Entering 3rd Grade level (3.0).
Given my own children's reactions, I would say give this series a try if they like adventure and mythical creatures. There is little in the way of violence or any objectionable material, unless you are adverse to introducing the notion of "magic" to your children. As it is a series, it's a good way to promote further reading.
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2 comments:
My 1st grader loves this series. We have to pick up a few at a time from the library to keep up with him.
I know, there's just something about this series that resonants with kids. Which reminds me we need to pick up another book in the series. We sort of got distracted by Mo Willems and Pigeon lately :o)
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