Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

If you’ve been living in America or Europe for the last decade, you probably heard of Harry Potter before. Many people had suggested these books to me to read, but I always resisted and said that they were just for fantasy-lovers. Boy, was I wrong.

The first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, is about an 11-year-old boy, Harry Potter, who has been living with his horrible aunt and uncle, and their spoiled, bratty son, Dudley, ever since his parents died. He hates it there, because he is very different from the Dursley’s. While Mr. and Mrs. Dursley live very ordinary lives, and are very ordinary people, Harry, (though he doesn’t know it) is a wizard. So when a letter arrives from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry sets off on the Hogwarts Express, not knowing what awaits him there.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is about a boy who finds out his true identity, and realizes that he has a big role to play in the huge battle of Good vs. Evil in the Wizard world. Will Harry rise to meet the challenges before him, or will the dark side prevail? There are so many things to love about this book:  mystery, adventure, and friendship. Even the descriptions of life at a boarding school are interesting.

The only reason this book may not be for you, is if you strongly dislike anything to do with witchcraft or wizardry, even if it is harmless. Also, I wouldn’t recommend Harry Potter to younger children, because if you end up liking the first book, and want to read the rest of the series, the story can get pretty intense and violent toward the end. There are 7 books in this series:

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone- Year 1
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets- Year 2
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban- Year 3
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire- Year 4
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix- Year 5
6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince- Year 6
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows- Year 7

I hope that, if you read this book, you love it as much as I do.

American Girl Series

Step back in time and fight in the Civil War or put on some moccasins as you read The American Girl series by various authors. Enjoy stories that you’ll never forget!

The American Girl series is a group of 6-book series that star 12 different girls in 11 different time periods. There is a different girl in each of the books

• Kirsten, who lived as a pioneer in the 1800’s
• Samantha, who lived in a Victorian home during the turn of the century
• Molly, who fights along with her country during World War 2
• Kaya, who is a hardworking American Indian
• Cecile and Marie-Grace, who develop a friendship as they walk the streets of New Orleans during the 1850’s
• Addy, who fights for her rights as a black person during the Civil War
•  Felicity, who bears her obnoxious petticoats during the Revolutionary War
•  Julie, a young girl growing up in the turbulent times of the 1970’s
• Josefina a Hispanic-American growing up during the 1820’s
• Kit, who dreams of being a reporter during the Great Depression
• Rebecca, a girl growing up in a Jewish family living during 1914.

My favorite character is probably Molly, because I’m particularly interested in that time period. The reading level for the basic series is 8-12, though there are American Girl Mysteries, which continue some of the girls’ lives with a bit of mystery. Those books are best suited for ages 10 and up, and are some of my favorites.  If you are more interested in modern-day girls, every year beginning in 2003, the American Girl franchise has released a “Girl of the Year,” complete with her modern day issues that girls from the 2000’s can relate to.

Like the title suggests, these books really are better for girls, but I have heard of some boys enjoying them as well, because in the end, they are just good stories.

If you really get into the American Girl world, you can buy dolls (and all their accessories) at the American Girl stores, or play games and do other activities on their website, www.americangirl.com.

The Magic Tree House Series

The wind started to blow. The tree house started to spin. It spun faster and faster. Then everything was still. Absolutely still.

These are the words that begin each adventure for Jack and Annie in the Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne.  In this series (47 books and counting!) a brother and sister find a magic tree house in the woods. The tree house whisks them back to different time periods and Jack and Annie have to go on missions to help people, save an animal in distress, or break a spell.  In the books, Jack is the bookworm and I think that if I were one of the characters in the books I would be Jack because I’m the bookworm of my family too. I have read all the books written so far, and my favorite is Dolphins at Daybreak, which is #9 in the series. The reason that’s my favorite book in the series is because my favorite animal is the dolphin, (I think I might’ve mentioned that in my post about Dolphin Tale) and when Jack and Annie are in distress themselves, dolphins come and give the pair a ride to shore!

The reading level is best suited for ages 6-10, though my brother started reading the series when he was 5, and he caught up to me in only 4 months! He is eagerly awaiting the next title in the series, which will be released in July, called A Perfect Time for Pandas, because he is obsessed with pandas. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the genre of the series. The books don’t exactly fit into one genre, it’s historical fiction, adventure, and a hint of fantasy. The following is a list of the books currently published, and I think there is something here for everyone.

1. Dinosaurs Before Dark
2. The Knight at Dawn
3. Mummies in the Morning
4. Pirates Past Noon
5. Night of the Ninjas
6. Afternoon on the Amazon
7. Sunset of the Sabertooth
8. Midnight on the Moon
9. Dolphins at Daybreak
10. Ghost Town at Sundown
11. Lions at Lunchtime
12. Polar Bears Past Bedtime
13. Vacation Under the Volcanoe
14. Day of the Dragon King
15. Viking Ships at Sunrise
16. Hour of the Olympics
17. Tonight on the Titanic
18. Buffalo Before Breakfast
19. Tigers at Twilight
20. Dingoes at Dinnertime
21. Civil War on Time
22. Revolutionary War on Wednesday
23. Twister on Tuesday
24. Earthquake in the Early Morning
25.  Stage Fright on a Summer Night
26. Good Morning, Gorillas
27. Thanksgiving on Thursday
28. High Tide in Hawaii

Merlin Missions

29. Christmas in Camelot

30. Haunted Castle on Hollows Eve

31. Summer of the Sea Serpent

32.Winter of the Ice Wizard

33. Carnival at Candlelight

34. Season of the Sandstorms

35. Night of the New Magicians

36. Blizzard of the Blue Moon

37. Dragon of the Red Dawn

38. Monday with the Mad Genius

39. Dark Day in the Deep Sea

40. Eve of the Emperor Penguin

41. Moonlight of the Magic Flute

42. A Good Night for Ghosts

43. Leprechaun in Late Winter

44. Ghost Tale for Christmas Time

45. A Crazy Day with Cobras

46. Dogs at the Dead of Night

47. Abe Lincoln at Last!

The Mandie Series

For those of you who have been sitting on pins and needles to figure out what my all-time favorite book series is, please listen for the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Today I’m going to introduce you to…(drumroll please) The Mandie Series by Lois Gladys Leppard!

This mystery series is set in the mountains of North Carolina in the early 1900’s and follows Mandie Shaw in her adventures. When Mandie’s dad died, it seemed like that was the end of the world to her. But her good Cherokee friend, Uncle Ned, helps Mandie escape from her stepmom, who treats her terribly. She sets out to find her Uncle John and discovers her real mother, who her father was previously married to.  My favorite character in the books is Celia, because when Mandie goes to finishing school, she doesn’t know anyone, but then a shy girl from Richmond, Virginia comes along, and she becomes Mandie’s best friend. I like how Celia is always there for Mandie whenever she goes on an adventure. I also like Snowball, Mandie’s cat, who was a gift to Mandie from her dad before he died. Snowball is also in every Mandie mystery and usually finds a lot of helpful clues. Go Snowball!

The reading level for this series is 8 and up. There are 40 books in the series, and I am going to list them all, because I love to type.  The books were out of print, but now some of the first ones are back in Christian book stores, because there have been a couple of movies made out of the first books. My favorite book is Mandie and the Fiery Rescue, which is set in Ireland, and it ends with Mandie rescuing a little girl from a burning building, and Mandie’s grandmother ends up adopting the girl as her own.

1. Mandie and the Secret Tunnel
2. Mandie and the Cherokee Legend
3. Mandie and the Ghost Bandits
4. Mandie and the Forbidden Attic
5. Mandie and the Trunk’s Secret
6. Mandie and the Medicine Man
7. Mandie and the Charleston Phantom
8. Mandie and the Abandoned Mine
9. Mandie and the Hidden Treasure
10. Mandie and the Mysterious Bells
11. Mandie and the Holiday Surprise
12. Mandie and the Washington Nightmare
13. Mandie and the Midnight Journey
14. Mandie and the Shipboard Mystery
15. Mandie and the Foreign Spies
16. Mandie and the Silent Catacombs
17. Mandie and the Singing Chalet
18. Mandie and the Jumping Juniper
19. Mandie and the Mysterious Fisherman
20. Mandie and the Windmill’s Message
21. Mandie and the Fiery Rescue
22. Mandie and the Angel’s Secret
23. Mandie and the Dangerous Imposters
24. Mandie and the Invisible Troublemaker
25. Mandie and her Missing Kin
26. Mandie and the Schoolhouse Secret
27. Mandie and the Courtroom Battle
28. Mandie and Jonathan’s Predicament
29. Mandie and the Unwanted Gift
30. Mandie and the Long Good Bye
31. Mandie and the Buried Stranger
32. Mandie and the Seaside Rendezvous
33. Mandie and the Dark Alley
34. Mandie and the Tornado!
35. Mandie and the Quilt Mystery
36. Mandie and the New York Secret
37. Mandie and the Night Thief
38. Mandie and the Hidden Past
39. Mandie and the Missing Schoolmarm
40. Mandie and the Graduation Mystery