Parenting

Friday, November 27, 2009

A series of adventures

Book series seem tailor-made for stories of adventure. Once we’ve had a fantastic adventure with an author, we’re always ready to saddle up for another one. We know we’re in good hands and in for a great ride.

Our preschoolers feel the same way. There are certain characters and authors they would follow anywhere. The series below take them on thrilling adventures around the world, or sometimes just around the corner. Either way, they’re hooked, and so are we.

Crockett Johnson’s series about a boy named Harold and his purple crayon celebrates adventures of the imagination. When Harold wants to go somewhere, anywhere, he picks up his crayon and draws his way to a walk in the moonlight, an enchanted garden, outer space, the circus, the North Pole, and back home again. There’s no more intrepid explorer than Harold – he shows us how to get to anyplace we can imagine.

Angus is a little Scottish terrier dreamed up by the classic children’s author and illustrator Marjorie Flack. These tales from the 1930s have a refreshing gentleness and subtle humor, yet they are adventures all the same. Angus is learning his place in the world, and that means facing a daunting pair of ducks, a clever cat, and finding the way home. Through it all, he remains a true charmer.

Babar is King of the Elephants, and also the king of adventure series for young children. What a life he and his friends lead! In the very first scene of the very first book, a hunter fells Babar’s mother, and that calamity sends him on a series of adventures that include a coronation and wedding, a hot-air balloon ride around the world, building a city, and traveling to the North Pole – among others. A trip to the Land of the Elephants is one of the greatest adventures a young reader can have.

Read the rest of this article at The Savvy Source...

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Comments 1-3 of 3
  • chipnelvis's Avatar
    Posted by chipnelvis Tue Nov 3, 2009 7:32am PST

    For the little older set: The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart; Chasing Vermeer, The Wright Three, and The Coulder Game By Blue Ballet. Both series are fantastic. I love watching my kid's imagination come alive with these books. Both are incredible fantasies where kids need to solve impossible mysteries!

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  • deleta's Avatar
    Posted by deleta Tue Nov 3, 2009 9:13am PST

    We love the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It's on the old side but my daughter loves reading about the 'olden days and pioneers'. Let's throw in Nancy Dres too.

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  • The Savvy Source's Avatar
    Posted by The Savvy Source Wed Nov 4, 2009 9:57am PST

    All great suggestions! We considered adding Harry Potter, too. And my new favorite series is the Secret Series by Pseudonymous Bosch.

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