When You Can't Read Just One; Book Series have Readers Hooked

One of my fondest childhood recollections is of a small library near our summer cottage at the tip of Long Island. Compared with our hometown library, there were few titles, but there were series of dark-covered hardbacks, lined up spine out —Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Little Maid, Dr. Doolittle, and Freddy the Pig. I would borrow seven or eight a week, reading them on the porch at night while June bugs thumped against the screen.
Children’s authors and publishers still know the magic of a good series. If members of the target group—preteen girls dreaming of boyfriends, or preschoolers clamoring for silly stories—get hooked on one book, they will want to read all of the series.
In one type of series, the books feature the same character or characters, like the Andi O’Malley books by Celeste M. Messer (AshleyAlan Enterprises), or the Judy Moody chapter books by Megan McDonald, cleverly illustrated by Peter Reynolds (Candlewick Press). The characters are usually curious, get into trouble, have confrontations or adventures away from adults, and learn to solve problems and confront evil. They represent what many of us longed to be as we were growing up.
Another type focuses on a theme, such as nature, mystery, history, bilingualism, multiculturalism, science fiction, or natural disasters.
A third type relies on an author/illustrator being so delightful that readers look for additional books by that person. For example, Quentin Blake, an award-winning British author and illustrator of Roald Dahl’s books, enchants readers with his new picture book Loveykins (Peachtree), about a kind-hearted elderly lady who finds an orphaned baby bird. Her care is much too human, too lavish, and too gourmet, so Loveykins leaves the nest, with amusing but tender consequences. Readers will want more from Blake.
The newest offerings from publishers of children’s books in the United States and Canada show that series are flourishing. Here are some highlights for 2003:
Romance and Adventure
An engaging series for preteens, penned by Norma Charles, comes from Sandcastle Books, (Beach Holme Publishing). In Criss Cross Double Cross: Sophie, Alias Star Girl, To the Rescue, Sophie LaGrange, a poor, French-Canadian fourth-grader, faces the snobbery of other children. Her nemesis, Elizabeth, comes from a wealthy family. Sophie longs to rescue someone, just as Star Girl, her comic superheroine, does. Her wish comes true under unexpected circumstances.
Perfection Learning publishes books for youngsters who are reading below grade level, and need a story to grab their interest. The “David” books by Linda Sibley involve a contemporary African-American family and a time machine invented by Grandfather. The books take the adventurous David back in time to periods such as the San Francisco earthquake or Underground Railroad, sometimes with almost disastrous results. Lessons about history and tolerance are part of the exciting mix.
NewSouth’s Junebug Books division offers an excellent series of African-American Profiles for Young Readers, representing such notables as baseball great Hank Aaron and Johnnie Carr, an activist and longtime friend of NewSouth’s editor in chief, Randall Williams.
Take Ten Books (Artesian Press) has released a romance series, including Crystal’s Chance, by Susannah Brin. The slim books, identifiable by their hot-pink spine, designed to grab the attention of preteen girls who like to mix adventure with romance, can be quickly read, easily carried, and shared with girlfriends.
Mother Nature is Big
A growing number of publishers are offering nature and wildlife series for preschoolers through middle readers. Most recognize that children are curious and want facts. Peachtree offers a captivating batch for very young children. The simple, but informative, text and realistic illustrations in About Insects, by Cathryn Sill, illustrated by John Sill, should stimulate inquiring minds at an early age. The afterword includes additional information for discussion when those inquiring minds stump their parents with bedtime questions.
Birdsong Books has won awards from the Parent Council and the Diamond State Reading Association for The Robins in Your Backyard, written and illustrated by Nancy Carol Willis. Her newest offering is Raccoon Moon, a BookSense selection and recently named to the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Awards Notable Books for 2003. Both are part of a natural science series aimed at preschool or early elementary children. The illustrations are realistic and informative, showing, for example, how the embryo looks inside an egg.
Small children will also enjoy Wild Babies by Margriet Ruurs, with paintings by Andrew Kiss (Tundra Books). The babies are depicted realistically in their natural habitat, with minimal, but instructive, text. Soundprints, with the Smithsonian Institution, publishes a wildlife series for early readers, featuring the roadrunner lynx, lizard, and prairie dog.
Although not part of a series, No More Garbage, by Gail Gilkey, illustrated by Kathy Kittell DiOrio (Windy Hill Press), fits the interests of young children concerned about the environment and wildlife. Readers are gently reminded that wild animals should not be captured as pets, but that sometimes it is all right to touch one if you are trying to rescue it.
Science and War
Children interested in nature facts are often also interested in science. Timely because of the recent shuttle tragedy is Max Goes to the Moon: A Science Adventure with Max the Dog by Jeffrey Bennett (Big Kid Science). This picture book, illustrated by Alan Okamoto, is part of a series by scientists and teachers. Sidebars provide scientific detail about outer space and its exploration, while Max takes “one giant leap for a dog.”
Also timely because of concerns about war, Annick Press Ltd. has recently launched a new series for middle readers called “Outwitting the Enemy: Stories from the Second World War.” The first book is Ultra Hush-Hush: Espionage and Special Missions, by Stephen Shapiro and Tina Forrester.
About Other Cultures
Several publishers have produced picture books to help youngsters appreciate various cultures. New titles include Pelican Publishing Company’s New Moon Cloud’s Blanket, by Rose Anne St. Romain, illustrated by Joan C. Waites, and from Raincoast Books, The Song within My Heart, by David Bouchard, with brilliant illustrations by Cree elder Allen Sapp. Beating drums and chants of the pow-wow teach respect for the stories of the older generation. Also from Pelican is a series of fairy tales and folklore from various countries, like Lucky O’Leprechaun in School, part of a series written and illustrated by Jana Dillon.
A Soundprints series on other cultures features the poignant My Sister’s Wedding: A Story of Kenya, by Waithira Mbuthia, illustrated by Geoffrey Gacheru Karanja, and filled with information about Kenya.
Barefoot Books has created a series niche by retelling folktales from around the world. The stories are unusual; the art is elegant. One of the newest, a Puerto Rican folktale There’s a Billy Goat in the Garden, is retold by Laurel Dee Gugler and cleverly illustrated with fabric pieces by Clare Beaton.
For bilingual youngsters, Maval Publishing creates Spanish and English versions of each of its books. Jean Cumings’s Luna, about leatherback turtles, is an informative picture book for young readers.
Learning to Read
Kids Can Press has developed several series aimed at helping children learn to read, one featuring Franklin, a green turtle who has his own TV series. In Franklin Stays Up Late by Sharon Jennings, illustrated by Sean Jeffrey, Shelley Southern and Jelena Sisic, the turtle stays awake at a “stay-up-over,” but at dawn he falls asleep, missing his mother’s pancakes.
Atori also offers a series geared to teaching youngsters to read, complete with CDs. Written by sisters Mair Tini Luchetti and Mariellen Tini Sluko, both educators, and illustrated by Erin Marie Mauterer, the picture books, such as Finny Finds Friends in the Forest, are heavy on alliteration and letter and sound recognition. The CDs tell the story, reinforcing the education elements, and will have parents and kids singing along with “Read me a story; read me Atori.”
Just for fun
A thoroughly delightful series by for young readers from Rising Moon, by award-winning author/illustrator Jean Ekman Adams, stars Clarence (a pig) and Smokey (a bouncy purple horse). Laugh-aloud art in Clarence Goes Out West and Meets and Purple Horse, Clarence and the Purple Horse Bounce into Town, and Clarence and the Great Surprise, with winsome text about the adventures of these friends, may make it difficult for children (and adults) to settle down at bedtime.
Special Niches
A heartwarming, honest, and well-written collection of books for young children comes from Child & Family Press. These are stories about adoption (The Coffee Can Kid, by Jan M. Czech, illustrated by Maurie J. Manning); separation (The Kissing Hand, by Audrey Penn, illustrated by Ruth E. Harper and Nancy M. Leak), and working parents (The Busy Mom, by Sharon Murphy Yates, illustrated by Joan C. Waites). While written with special markets in mind, these books are good reading for everyone.
The “Look What I See! Where Can I Be?” series by Dia L. Michels, with photographs by Michael J.N. Bowles (PlatypusMedia), stimulate an infant or toddler’s curiosity about the new experiences that occur upon waking from a nap. Importantly, baby always ends up “safe and warm” in a family member’s arms.
Series are Serious Business
It’s not always easy to sustain the concept of a series without faltering. Many promising authors have been hailed for an outstanding first book only to fall flat with subsequent ones. Fortunately, today’s market is rife with series that are properly focused, targeted, and appealing.
Like I did with the library of my childhood summers, I predict that children and parents will continue returning to library or bookstore shelves to satisfy their hunger for a tasty series that has hooked them after one bite.