The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet

I wasn't particularly "taken" with this story, but my six year old son, 8 year old daughter, and my husband thought it was very good. [Thus the 4-Star rating] The story is one about basement cleaning, a hidden staircase that leads to a mysterious world...(and you probably derive the rest of the plot from that little bit :) The magical world is Droon, and there are three children that fall into it. There they meet a princess, a bad guy named Sparr, a good wizard named Galen, and a host of magical creatures that tend to have more appendages than one normally finds in our own world. The book made a good Read-Aloud, especially if you took the short sentences and ran them together. For children reading the book for themselves, the short sentences are, of course, an asset, so I wouldn't mark it down for that. As for the reading level, this is one of the few books that I have found that have different AR (accelerated reading listings) listings. Generally though, it was said to be at the entering 3rd Grade level (3.0). Given my own children's reactions, I would say give this series a try if they like adventure and mythical creatures. There is little in the way of violence or any objectionable material, unless you adverse to introducing the notion of "magic" to your children. As it is a series, it's a good way to promote further reading. We finished it tonight and my own crew are already talking about an excursion to acquire volume 2 tomorrow. Pam T~ mom and reviewer for www.BooksForKids-Reviews

Even though these books are way out of my age group I love them. The story begins when Eric, Neal, and Julie find a secret door in Eric's basement that lead to the magical land of Droon. The encounter many strange creatures and meet a princess named Keeah who needs their help to defeat Lord Sparr who wants to take over Droon. This is another great magical book and I highly recommend it at whatever age you are. If you like Harry Potter you will love this one too!...

My son just loved the Droon series! he is thrilled with the adventures of Eric, Neil, etc... My mother gave him this first book in the series as a gift and he instantly wanted to know if there were more. He reads them over and over and over again. He even talked me in to reading them! While they are not thrilling fantasy for adults, they are just perfect for emerging readers. I highly reccommend this entire series!

I can't recommend this series enough. As my son's attention span increased (as he was nearing his fourth birthday), I turned to chapter books to offer him some variety (and reduce my boredom). Having experimented with dozens of alternatives, Tony Abbott's Droon series is my son's (and, let's be honest here, my) unequivocal favorite. I'm still astounded by my son's fascination with the magical world of Droon, a parallel universe where good versus evil wage an intricate, ever-evolving struggle against a rich, fantasy-laden backdrop. I genuinely enjoy reading these books aloud. We've read all of books in this series, and we've read most repeatedly as we await the next installment. Each story builds upon its predecessor, so The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet is definitely the place to start. The books offer characters for every child to identify with; boys may prefer the bespeckled Eric or the more rambunctious Neal, girls may favor the quick-thinking Julie or Princess Keeah, the junior wizard -- all four (plus the adorable spider-troll Max) contribute mightily to the team's effort. Tony Abbott packs these books with vivid descriptions and non-stop action without frightening young readers (or listeners). Open the basement door and visit Droon - you won't be sorry.

I bought a class set of this book for my third grade class. They absolutely loved it and begged to be able to read it every day! They couldn't wait for the next books in the series to come out. It was easy to read and follow the adventure.