Kid's Perspective (Age 6)
I read these aloud to my 6 year old & she really enjoys them. She would probably give these a 4-5 star rating. She loves guessing how the "problem" will be solved (how will the girls get back to Never Land or Get back home, etc.) She definitely wants to continue them. From her perspective: great series
As a parent, I have mostly pros & a few knit-picks
PROS:
- This is one of the FEW series I have found that don't contain bullying behavior, inappropriate language or word choices (ex: stupid, idiot, kill, punch). You wouldn't think that would be hard to find in CHILDREN'S BOOKS, but it is! I appreciate the very mild/G-rated content here. This is definitely boosting my rating to 4 stars despite the cons I have
- It is whimsical but also gives my 6 year old that hope of fairies or magic being possible. At the least, it inspires her to believe and it is precious
- I think the ratio of words to pictures is great for early readers. My 6 year old enjoys the pictures that occur every few pages. I would think by 8+ she wouldn't need as many. The beginning of each chapter has the exact same tree branch but scattered through the leaves are tiny objects related to the chapter ahead. She loves guessing why a certain object is there before we read on
Cons (if I am knit-picking)
- Sometimes when we end the book, I ask myself, "did anything happen? what was the actual plot?" TBH, there isn't *much* of a plot and, if so, it is the same plot each time. Again, love it for my 6 year old but she will outgrow this closer to its intended audience.
- Lack of diversity. Sure, two characters are standing-in as the chosen Latinx folk, but it is very much white-presenting. All the fairies are white. There has maybe been the mention of ONE male fairy but he was not referred to as "fairy" but instead some other name. I think there isn't anything wrong with a boy identifying as a fairy and he could have been a fairy. But whatever...
- By book 3, I did have some authority-respecting questions. The character lies to her parents and endangers her sister by her choices. This was just a teaching moment for me as a parent to help my daughter understand why XYZ could result in XYZ. But it was minor!
Overall: I would recommend for ages 5+ as beginner chapter books to read aloud. Older kids who can read on their own will love it, too. It is innocent + mild.