A Summer Spell

The "Magic Kitten" series has already been translated into French, so my nine-year-old daughter is reading the French version of these. My daughter has been more of a "go girl" into sports and dance and we have had a hard time getting her interested in reading anything outside of school (although she likes to read simple books in English to her little brother). The "Magic Kitten" series is "problem solved." She is riveted, and is re-starting the series after picking up number four (4) accidentally while on vacation. We let her read one a day after her homework and exercise, and she I fascinated. Something about the "magic kitten" series taps into the imagination of eight and nine-year old girls. My wife and I pre-screen everything our children see or read (we are devout observant Catholics) and my wife found nothing objectionable in this series. It is just enough of a blend of imagination, fantasy, adventure, problem solving, small moral lesson, and thrills. While it does include "magic" it does not rise to a level of occult concern. We have found that this book has helped her *want* to read other books on her own while she is waiting for the next one in the mail (since we have to order them and they arrive with infrequency). We can't say that this is a consistent "magic bullet" for every family, only that this series clicked with my daughter and worked for us and helped her want to read on her own and motivated her to read other things too. Try one and see if it works for you.

My daughter is in 1st grade but reads above grade level. I have struggled to find her books that keep her challenged AND still interested in reading. She devoured this book in 2 days which she hasn't done with other series' - even ones she enjoys. She would put the book down and tell me all about the story and then ask to read more. It has a nice story line, not scary at all with a nice ending. We have had a bit of issue with the Magic Treehouse since she is very imaginative and the tension in the story would bother her all day and even sometimes impact her sleep. This series' will definitely be one we collect.