3 Children’s Books That Are Perfect For Adults
1. Curious World Of Dandy-Lion By Lorraine Hawley
Summary: This charming children’s adventure book is about Meredith Smart, a sensitive fifth-grade girl with a wild imagination that gets her in trouble. Meredith loves ketchup because it contains a non-toxic germ killer. She has no real friends, only imaginary ones. Thus she’s the only one who can see her Fancies (Floss, Fancy, Juniper, a talking-boy ladybug, and a rainbow-feathered bird.) She
Meredith has a neighbor called Mr. Dally who’s been trapped in his house, alone and sad, since his wife died. Meredith misses him and wants to be friends with him again; thus, she must get him out of his house because she believes his house is jinxed, and probably haunted. Now Meredith has two plans; she must forget and give up on her Fancies and find someone to help her break the jinx and save Mr. Dally.
But to break the jinx, she needs Billy, her bully from school. However, Meredith meets Jax, who becomes her friend. Jax agrees to help her, and he teaches Meredith that friends are hard to keep, especially if you hide the truth from them. Now Meredith becomes skeptical about her new friend. Is Jax real or a fig of her imagination? Is he going to help her convince Billy to save Mr. Dally?
Review: I enjoyed reading Lorraine Hawley’s new book enormously. It’s remarkable and sweet as it contains lovely illustrations from Meredith’s both magical and real worlds. Meredith is such a relatable character for those kids who struggle to make friends at school and who spend time in their imaginary worlds with their Fancies.
Lorraine Hawley’s story is authentic and utterly engaging; it’s no doubt that it will capture every reader’s heart. It’s masterfully crafted and presents a beautiful, original angle on looking at kids’ innocence, growth, and their mission to do good only to see other people happy.
Curious World of Dandy-Lion by Lorraine Hawley teaches children altruism, compassion, and patience with the people around them. It also teaches them to be sensitive to people’s pain and loneliness and to be like Meredith. It shows them that if they have a unique gift/talent that makes them seem weird to other people, they should not hide it or give up on it. No one should ever be ashamed of their uniqueness.
I absolutely loved this moving and well-developed tale that bursts with sweetness and fantasy on every page. It deserves 5 out of 5 stars, and I would recommend it to all primary and secondary school kids. However, I know for sure that it would appeal even to adults.
Favorite quote from Curious World of Dandy-Lion by Lorraine Hawley:
“‘Well, humans — all humans — are born with the ability to perceive our world. As young children, their minds are filled with innocence and fun. No one thinks twice when children talk to us. We’re their make-believe friends.’” [..]
“‘But as children grow, their ability to see our world changes, mostly because it’s no longer acceptable for them to notice us. Though sometimes they no longer choose to.’”
2. Edge Anomaly: The Spirit of Crescent Island by Meg Rabbit
This is a unique children’s science fiction book that will steal every kid’s heart. It’s about a fascinating civilization of animals full of color and rich in resources. Edge Anomaly by Meg Rabbit is a gripping children’s book suitable for adults, too. It contains a mesmerizing and exciting story that really engages your imagination due to the complexity of the mystery, realistic dialogue, and engaging adorable characters. It was quite an enjoyable read; I loved to immerse myself in the magical and exotic universe with talking animals that Meg Rabbit has crafted.
Summary: Throughout the pages of this book, we follow Edge, a twelve-year-old scientist who lives in a treehouse on Crescent Island with her mother. Edge studies insects and finds them fascinating.
One day, when she adventures too far from home, she falls into another creature’s trap. Seconds later, Edge meets Jessop, and because of him, she discovers that they both can talk and understand each other. Jessop tells her he’s an Avian, and when he asks her what she is, she can’t answer. She doesn’t know anything about her identity, the world, and things in general. But after talking with her mother and Jessop’s parents, Edge learns that she’s a unique Forax, and she and her mother are outcasts. From that moment, Edge and Jessop become friends. Jessop introduces her to his closest friend Xalma, also called The Chid Queen, a pretty skilled but lonely and jealous Amph.
Edge, Jessop, and Xalma spend a lot of incredible time together; they learn many exciting things about their world that seems threatened by danger.
I loved this book because it has a relatable character (Edge.) Edge learns about races and each creature’s role in the forest. She also learns that there are strict rules that must be followed and that there is a secret society that designs creatures to fulfill a purpose, and that tries to decide who is worth more than others.
Jessop tells Edge that Avias and Amphs are at war because they both want to control the Forax; they have different beliefs. However, while transitioning from childhood to adulthood, Edge goes on a mysterious mission. She has the power to save all the creatures that are in danger and to maintain the resources. Thus, this story is as humanly as possible, and it’s a portrait of our world.
3. The Way Of The River: Kellandale Wood (Book One) By Shan L. Spyker
Summary: The Way of the River: Kellandale Wood (Book One) by Shan L. Spyker is a beautiful middle-grade magical adventure book that every kid should read. It follows Elinora Wolton, a brilliant but hesitant fifteen-year-old who tries to look after her relentless sister, Tillie Wolton. Elinora and Tillie live a sheltered life at Kellandale, a quiet, isolated country estate with their family. Tillie is an adventurous and nosy girl who wants to learn what it’s up in the tower, where Sir William’s room is.
While inspecting Sir William’s room and looking out from the tower, Elinora and Tillie see a man. He’s on the bridge, and he throws something into the river within their property. They are both curious by nature and plan to follow the river to find what’s been thrown into it. But the river leads to Kellandale Wood, the malevolent forest their parents strictly forbade them from going near. (Kellandale Wood or Wyches Wood is a forest with a centuries-old reputation of being haunted. Unfortunately, that terrible reputation gave birth to terrifying rumors, legends, and tales. Those scary legends and stories have been passed down from generation to generation; they made people think Kellandale Wood possesses dangerous, powerful, and mysterious powers.)
But once ventured into the hunted forest, they discover a puppy and take him home. When they find out that their cousins are about to visit them soon, Elinora and Tillie send them letters telling them stories about the Kellandale Wood and the puppy, but they don’t believe a thing until proven otherwise. Incredible adventures await Elinora, Tillie, and their cousins from here.
Review: L. Spyker describes in a moving way the pain that animals feel when people treat them badly. The characters’ kindness, their courage to stand up to the danger and the forest animals, and thier manner of protecting themselves highly impressed me. I also loved the way animals communicated to the children their life stories.
The Way of the River: Kellandale Wood (Book One) focuses on cherishing, loving, and respecting all living creatures. It contains talking animals, a magical forest, a forest council, a messenger, healing water, and more. It’s about the evilness in humans and the tendency to destroy nature and hunt, take in possession, and even kill animals for selfish reasons.
Shan L. Spyker has crafted this impressive story to encourage kindness and compassion toward all living beings around us and the environment. She uses this magical adventure to show that in a world suffering from greed, threats of animal extinction, social injustice, and threats to the environment, we all should be more attentive to animals and nature with every occasion we get.
Shan L. Spyker is a promising fantasy writer. The little readers will very much appreciate this magical adventure with extraordinary characters and creatures that will steal every reader’s heart.
The Way of the River: Kellandale Wood (Book One) by Shan L. Spyker will draw not only children but also readers of all ages into a magical land with heroic characters, fantastic creatures, unforgettable adventures, and terrifying evilness. I rate it 5 out of 5 stars.
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