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Book Series Recommendations - And Other Books!

I seem to be drawn to 'book series' as of late. Here is a short list of recent reads and one recent rediscovery!
I have read or listened (audio books) to all of these from the library and have no suitable pictures to share. So bear with me and the stock photos I found.


The Wingfeather Saga




 

I am about forty minutes away from finishing this series. The audio books are delightful. The last two books are read by the author Andrew Peterson himself.

Visit his website here and learn more about his music, books, and the Rabbit room. 

A bit of back story, I don't read fantasy books, they are not my thing at all. I love real life, biographies, history, and the like. But after listening to multiple podcast episodes from the Read Aloud Revival (I highly recommend this podcast and website!!) with Sarah and her guests gushing about it, and two long holiday trips I figured I'd give it a try if I could find the audio books.  I did, and there is no turning back now. These are the most beautiful books I've read in a long time. I'd really like to rate them above the Chronicles of Narnia (another fantasy series) but I haven't read those books in awhile so I'll be careful where I tread.

There are two kinds of fantasy books. 1) authors who are running away from the real world and its problems into a world of fantasy. 2) Authors who see the surreal and beauty (fantasy) in the real world and face and conquer their problems. Popular books that fall under this second kind of fantasy are C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, and Andrew Peterson's The Wingfeather Saga.

The books have a beautiful theme of mercy, love, and forgiveness running through them. The royal family that is trying to regain their kingdom again go through many battles (physical and emotional) and must learn to be brave, look through the eyes of others and give second chances...and third and fourth...
Want more info? Read this note to parents from Andrew himself about his series. He is a humble and delightful man. Someone I would be willing to leave my children in the hands of for four books.

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place


Maryrose Wood has compiled an intriguing story about three children raised by wolves and their governess. You may or may not be adding "ahwooo" to the end of normal words and family members names after reading this series. There will be six books total once the final book comes out, sometime around June of 2018. I was unaware that the series was not finished or I would have never started it. (I would rather doing my waiting all at once in the dark rather than hanging off a cliff in broad daylight)  But the series was so good that I'm willing to give it a shout out before reading the final book, and am anxiously awaiting the final fate of my juvenile fiction friends. (someday I will grow up and read adult books, but not today!)
Maryrose Wood has somehow given the sophistication and delight of years gone by and yet also added in modern tones and hilarious word helps along the way without making the book choppy or out of sync. This really was a super easy read, but still catchy and thrilling.

Little House Books


This is my rediscovery series! The extended Little House books about Laura Ingalls Wilder's grandmother, great grandmother, and daughter.
The Martha Years
The Charlotte Years
The Caroline Years 
The Rose Years
I remember reading these from the library when I was young and devouring them. I love broadening my knowledge of a story or person by reading "around"them.

Andrew Clements - Frindle, Report Card, The School Story



For my last recommendation I want to highlight an author - Andrew Clements.
I read his best known book Frindle first. I sat down and read straight through it. It is a middle grade chapter book, but also very hard to put down. I loved it so much that I told my husband he should read it, so the very next night he read straight through it. I moved on to other books after raving about Frindle on Facebook, but just recently I decided to see what else he had at the library and read School Story, and The Report Card. I was not disappointed.

These stories, and most if not all of Clement's other books, are what are labeled "school stories". Stories about everyday kids in school, dealing with everyday life. And while I was homeschooled and don't fully understand the emotions behind these books I can see that they are well written for their audience and obviously catchy enough to keep a couple of adults busy for an evening.

Have you read any of these series? What books would you add to this list? 

Sarah 

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