Not So Baby's Bookshelf

The Tiara Club #1: Princess Charlotte and the Birthday Ball

Reading Level -- about 1.4ish? Age 6-9 according to the cover
Length -- 69 pages
Chapter Book -- pictures nearly every page
Warnings : teenage characters, magic
Rating: 3 Stars!!

This book is the first in a series called "The Tiara Club," and is aimed at those just making the transition to chapter books. The story itself is something of an adapted fairly tale -- the story of five young princesses who have just arrived at the "Princess Academy." The plot of the story revolves around attempting to retrieve dresses for the ball. One of the princesses (Charlotte) acts very "un-princesslike" in chasing after the carriage, her shout resulting in the trunks and dresses falling into the river. Luckily the girls are able to demonstrate their "true friendship" and earn back the right to attend the ball -- and with a little fairy dust they even have dresses to wear.

Overall the writing is pretty trite, and the story itself is fairly predictable. It's a good entry into chapter books for your early reader - something a bit more challenging, but definitely not going to win any awards or be a treasured memory. The print is large, and a picture takes up at least half of every other page. As an added bonus, there is a sheet of stickers about halfway through, and if you want to you can visit a website listed on the cover and use a "hidden" word to unlock games. (The website is pretty much a let-down, however, so I'd avoid building it up. There are a couple of games and a printable coloring sheet, but not much else. To help you get the idea of the hidden word, in this first book it is in chapter 3 in the picture of Queen Gloriana at her desk.)

The only hesitations I'd point out is that these girls are "teenage" princesses, and the story introduces two older princesses who are a bit snooty and look down on our heroines. These two older characters basically "flunked out" of the princess class the year before and now have to re-do their first year. They continue to play a role in later books as well, so be ready. There are some references to not liking people, or other princesses not being as "cool," and definitely some superiority among the 5 friends -- an attitude I don't endorse in my daughter. We just made sure to mention that behavior "wasn't nice," and then moved on. There is also some use of magic -- to test Charlotte's quick thinking, and also to "fix" the dresses, but it's fairly innocent.

My daughter (who was just under 5 when she read it) flew through it in less than an hour, but loved it. (It took me about 7 minutes to read the whole book.) The pretty pink color of the cover, the pictures, and the ease of reading - not to mention the princess theme! - made it a quick favorite. Several months later, however, it's been forgotten at the top of a shelf. I'm not conviced it was really worth the $3.99, but she says it was!

Happy Reading!!

Big Apple Barn #1 - Happy Go Lucky

Reading Level -- about 2.1
Length -- 96 pages
Chapter Book -- few pictures
Warnings : None
Rating: 5 Stars!!

This sweet book is the first in a series by Kristin Earhart tracing life at a friendly riding farm called "Big Apple Barn." This story follows Happy Go Lucky, a young horse who has just been transfered to Big Apple Barn. Confused and lonely, Happy Go Lucky takes the advice of a fellow colt and "disobey's" his rider in the ring, resulting in feeling embarassed and sad when he learns he's let down his new owners. A friendly mouse in the barn explains to him that the colt wasn't TRYING to cause trouble, he just wanted different things than Happy does. Happy, of course, gets a second chance, and is able to follow what HE knows is right and prove he is an excellent riding horse.

As a parent I loved this book-- the lessons it teaches ( rely on your own definition of right and wrong, not what your peers tell you; choose to do what is right; etc) are familiar ones. One lesson that is equally important, but often ignored is the idea that your friends may not be TRYING to mislead you, but simply want different things. Happy doesn't have to ignore his friend, or make a major moral stand - he simply learns to make his own decisions instead of being a follower. Wholesome, moral, age appropriate. The main characters are animals, and the human beings are portrayed as nice and good as well.

From a child's view, my daughter loved this book. The words and writing were solid, and kept her engaged. The chapters are short, and the book is not a difficult read ( it took her about 2 hours of reading spread over 2 days -- took me about 25 minutes of skim-reading) but it is a fun read. Best of all, it's only the beginning of a great new series! I'll keep you posted on the next couple of books as we read them!