The first book in The Keepers Trilogy by Jackie French Koller is A Wizard Named Nell. As Janan began reading on her own, I still wanted to find books I could read to her at bedtime. LGRs are children first and Janan still wanted me to read her bedtime stories. So, I had the bright idea of finding books I believed were just above her reading level for that special nighttime ritual.
The premise of the story is the kingdom of Eldearth, which has always been protected by a Wizard of Light, is in jeopardy because the current Wizard is getting too old to keep out the bad guys (sound familiar? This is very similar to the premise of The Fairy Realm series Janan loved so much and seems to be a common Fantasy genre theme.). Of course, in Eldearth, only boys can become the next Wizard of Light (by successfully completing a quest), but Nell is determined SHE will complete the quest and become the first female Wizard of Light in Eldearth's history.
Nell is a strong female character who not only shows drive and passion, but compassion and heart, as well. While I love a good, strong heroine, my favorite aspect of this book became the fact that Nell finds she needs her male counterpart, Owen, throughout the story. Showing a beautiful balance of masculine & feminine energy working together for the greatest good. Because of this, both boys & girls will love this book.
The book is typically rated in the 4th to 6th grade range, but Janan read all three at the age of 5 or 6. Yes, SHE read them. As often happened with many of the bedtime stories I believed I'd discovered (and thought were above her reading level), after about the first or second chapter she would take over and complete them on her own.
This is a trilogy, so for those who find they enjoy A Wizard Named Nell there are two more to follow. The Wizard's Apprentice and The Wizard's Sceptar.
One word of warning! Make sure you have Book 2: The Wizard's Apprentice waiting in the wings, because though you will know Nell completes the quest at the end of Book 1, you don't know if she becomes the Wizard of Light until Book 2!
Janan wanted to ring in on this series! Here's what she had to say:
"I LOVED this book because it had wizards and the author was a very good author. I really like the way she writes."
While I could post about nothing but picture books, I know many of you with LGRs are looking for books they can read independently. The Fairy Realm Series by Emily Rodda is a MUST have for any child who loves fairies, elves, mermaids and magic.
As with many of Janan's favorite books, we discovered the first book of this series at the local used book store and I still, on occasion, see them when we're out perusing the shelves.
There are ten books in the series. The main heroine is a little girl named Jessie. Her job is to save the Realm (which you learn was ruled by her Grandmother, Jessica, before she fell in love with a human and moved to our "mortal" world) from opening to the "Outlands" where trolls, goblins, dragons and many other less than hospitable creatures live ruled by an evil Queen, Valda, who wants to take over.
One issue I have - as with many children's books (for some strange, unknown reason) one parent has died. In this series, Jessie's father is the passed on parental unit and her grandfather is also gone. However, on the positive side, Rodda does create an amazingly strong connection between Jessie and her grandmother.
Any child who loves magic and the fact that a child can solve problems to "save the day" will devour this series. At the end of the first book, Jessie is given a charm bracelet, which grants her access to the Realm. And, in each subsequent book she gains a charm for her bracelet.
Online it's listed for 1st or 2nd graders (depending on where you look), but Janan read this series at around 4 and often returned to it time and again (certain books more than others). A little harder to find than some of the more popular fairy books associated with tv, cartoon and movie fairies, but definitely worth the search!
