Summer ReReads P1

I don’t know about anyone else but I am the kind of person who likes to reread and rewatch my favorite things once a year. That being during the summer because I have a lot of time to relax and enjoy.

Why I chose these specifically, I don’t know really. Nostalgia probably. Also that I bought them all at the summer book sales so I just automatically associate it with summer. In general I think these series’ are underrated and more kids should know of these series.

Disney Girls by Gabrielle Charbonnet

This was done in the early 2000s just for the purpose of hyping up their own brand I suppose but I found it cute. It’s about a group of friends who each relate to a certain Disney princess whether it to be in personality or familial circumstance and just follows their adventures. It has the requisite moral lessons about growing up and such, it’s just quaint.

Kat the Time Explorer by Emma Bradford

I also enjoyed this book as another sort bit of historical fiction for kids. As the tagline says, “Sometimes history needs a little help” which is what Kat and her Aunt Jessica do after figuring out their grandfather’s mysterious contrapation can take them back to the past from Mongolian Empire to Renissance Italy. Seeks to inform and entertain and has little related crafts at the back of the book. Also just look at the cover illustration, it and the others inside, are gorgeous.

Creative Girls Club: Wellspring of Magic by Jan Fields

I loved how each girl was so unique and endevour to encompass different type of creative activity like dance, animalia, sports, writing etc. Very much reminds me of Barbie with its princesses, talking animals, the magic within you and magical adventure. So it’s generic but also entertaining. It had hints to a sequel and subsequent mystery to why they were chosen in the first place but alas never got a second book.

Callahan Cousins by Elizabeth Doyle Carey

This quartet for middle schoolers center around a group of four cousins who are finally old enough to head toward Gull Island to live with their grandmother by themselves for the summer. A family tradition and they are eager to get into adventures like their fathers did before them and make their mark. Of course, each girl grows and deals with family issues/secrets over the summer and gain develeopment. Plus the descriptions of Gull Island so remind me of summers in Maine.

Babysitter’s Club: BSC in the USA by Ann M. Martin

A series that defined a generation, I won’t go to into it, but I always reread this one book because one, the whole BSC cast is there even latecomer Abby. Two, it’s a road trip across the US, what can be more fun than that and see what they get up to in each state.

Magic Attic Club by S. Gayle

This children’s series is a bit of a proto-Magic Tree House. Same idea that one magical place can take you to various points in time and you have an adventure until you return back to the beginning. While it doesn’t specifically stay in historical places, it does do several like Ancient Greece, 1920s Harlem, and Spanish Inquisition driving the Romni out of Spain etc. So as you can see it does get a little heavy concerning those subjects. But some adventures take place in the present from being a prima ballerina to a magician’s assistant. All the adventures relate somehow to their current trouble and they all learn from it. Very fun.

Wonder Girls by Jillian Brooks

No not the KPop group as Google insists whenever I try to look it up. This lower school series isn’t really anything special as it delves into friendship problems, being the new girl, class elections etc. But I think it does get the feel of middle school in a quieter way. Not everything is an over the top drama, and emotional but its a struggle that can be solved with communication and such. Sort of operates on the idea that people are basically good and friends will try to have your back even if they make mistakes on the way.

Friendship Rings by Rachel Veil

This middle school series is a bit like above, only gets deeper into the nitty gritty of hormones that make everyone miserable, and the complexities of girl world. You know how girl friendships can be the most coveted thing but also rears jealousy, manipulation, possessiveness, nosyness etc. That’s not even getting to one boys are involved in the fray. Also just gets middle school in its messy nuance.

Girlhood Journeys by various

Like American Girl, this series focuses on girls in the past, but its approch is a bit shorter and more diverse, spanning from pre-colonial Africa to Peru to revolutionary France. It strives to impart a bit of history with these girls who are coming into their own, bending gender roles a bit to stretch out their abilities and figure out who they’ll be in society.

Wildflowers by V.C. Andrews

The famous author who wrote Flowers in the Attic, this is Wildflowers. Actually it’s a ghost writer under VC Andrews’ name, but it still follows in her soapy, incestuous veins. It is a short novella series about four girls who endure their own kinds of pain and sadness and try to heal together in a support group. I’m probably not doing it justice here, but I enjoyed it. It’s dated and very much like a Lifetime movie but if you like her previous works, I highly suggest this one.

Wind Dancers by Sibyl Miller

A cute little series for those who love magic and horses. Nothing too special as it follows these little horses as they navigate life for the first time, fascinated by everything around them and trying to figure out their powers. It also has nice illustrations. I mainly enjoy it for nostalgia reasons.