Kids love series books, at least in my opinion, kids love series books. They like the continuation of the story, the growth of the characters, the new adventures in every episode. Lest you think I may be generalizing a little too much, I can tell you that some of the most commonly checked out books in our library are:The Magic Tree House
Junie B. Jones
Clementine
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Harry Potter
All series or sets of books with the same cast of characters. There is something about the familiarity and safety of those books. They also make great jumping off points to get kids into other stories. That's why I'm always on the look out for new series to add to our collection. The Imaginary Veterinary fits that bill perfectly!
Ben Silverstein is "banished" to stay at his grandfather's for the summer. Like any kid he is seriously bummed that he won't be playing video games with his buddies all summer, but instead, helping his grandfather in a small, middle of no where town. Shortly after arriving he is advised to avoid that trouble maker, Pearl Petal. When they both start seeing the same unusual figure flying about town, they get together to investigate.
What they discover leads them to the closed down factory on the hill. Upon further exploration they find that it has been transformed into an animal hospital. Not just any animal hospital, a hospital for curious creatures. In the first episode, The Sasquatch Escape, Ben leaves the door open and a large hairy beast escapes. Ben and Pearl are then assigned the task of tracking and trapping the creature to return him to the hospital.
Author Suzanne Selfors has tapped into something here. It's a series and it's about things kids are fascinated with, strange creatures. The Sasquatch Escape is already flying off the shelves and has a list of students with a reserve on it. I'm sure the second in the series, The Lonely Lake Monster will be the same.
I agree that many children love books in a series. I know that my students like consistency and reading books in a series gives them that. I feel that when students find a character that they can identify with, they don’t want the book to end. In many series, each book can focus on one event at a time that the character goes through. This gives the character longevity and keeps the students interested in what will happen next.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, I am always looking for new books that will keep my students interested in reading. I had never heard of The Imaginary Veterinary series before reading this blog. It is definitely a book that I would like to read to or with my students and get their feedback on it.