Friendship Day Books

Molly Saves The Day

In 1944, during World War 2, loved ones were away fighting the war, gas was rationed and families couldn't travel far. They saved their gas for necessary trips. Families couldn't even see their relatives during the holidays.

In 1944-1945 it was common for parents to send their children to summer camp. The children could get away from the stress of everyday life, and enjoy the outdoors.

Molly and her friends Linda and Susan are very excited to go to camp Go-on-Again. They have many challenges to learn at camp. Molly finds that she is very afraid of swimming underwater. Susan is having difficulty paddling a canoe, and Linda is afraid of bugs. When the camp girls are divided into teams and challenged to capture the flag, Susan and Molly are placed in a canoe together. Susan has difficulty rowing and she loses her ore, when both girls reach for the ore, the canoe tips over, causing the girls to dunk under water.

Molly and Susan reach shore, only to find that their whole team has been captured by the other team, and the jailer is their own best friend, Linda.

Will Molly and Susan get away? Will Linda capture her own best friends? How can Molly and Susan rescue their whole team? Will the girls ever be able to resume their friendship?

My daughter Karen enjoyed dressing her Molly doll in her camp Go-on-Again outfit, with a white blouse, red shorts and a blue neck scarf.

Outfit Pattern Set 1 For American Girl Dolls

The American Girls, Molly, Doll Dress Patterns

Molly's Magnetic Mini World (The American Girls Collection)
Molly's Paper Dolls: Molly and Her Old-Fashioned Outfits for You to Cut Out (American Girls Pastimes)

Molly Mini Doll (American Girl)

Jill Ammon Vanderwood
author: Through the Rug
Through The Rug: Follow That Dog (Through the Rug)

Of all the American Girls, Molly's our favorite and Molly Saves the Day our favorite Molly book. My six year old recognized that Molly, Linda and Susan, while away together at sleep-away camp, each had fears that they were forced to try to overcome. Molly is a very well-rounded character, and the fact that she is somewhat overly competitive (this shows up clearly during the camp color-wars) only makes her more realistic. She is nonetheless very likeable. Beyond Molly's character, however, my daughter simply found the book very exciting.

this book was relly good. it was about a girl in this coler war she and her friend are on the blueteam and there other friend was on the red team and how ever got the other teams flag and the blue team wins

i read Molly saves the day when i was 9 now im 10 and i really injoyed it! I`ve allways whanted to go to summer camp! But im not allowed `till im a teen ager so reading molly saves the day sort-of prepaired me for what it might be like! I`ve allways wanted to be brave reading Molly saves the day Kind of got me to face my fears a bit more! Thanks!

Mia

Molly returns in "Molly Saves The Day" as an enthusiastic ten-year-old headed off to summer camp for the first time ever. Along with her best friends Linda and Susan, Molly enjoys meeting the challenges of camp. Well, almost all of them- Molly is afraid of swimming underwater after she fell off the dock during a swimming lesson. In the final days of camp, the counsellors organize a game of Capture the Flag, which pits Molly and Susan against Linda in an all-out battle. Molly's team's plan backfires and leaves Molly and Susan to save their team from losing the game. But to win, will Molly and Susan have to betray their best friend?

I liked this book because it was fast-paced with a good dose of adventure while retaining realistic content. Molly is, as always, lively and lovable and I really enjoyed this installment of her series. I highly recommend this book to any fans of WWII historical fiction or the Molly series.

The first book in the Rockett series is the longest one and its totally exciting finding out what the characters are going to do and their reactions, one of the features of the book. Its funny because of the previous war between Rockett & Nicole [play the pM games] and finding out how Rockett uses her Nicole picture to give Nicole what she deserves...or does she?

The book was great! I loved how it accurately portrayed life in junior high. The interactions between the characters were typical of students in middle schools today. Rockett is stellar!

In the book, the main character has to switch schools. Of course, she has to decide who's who. The question is- who CAN she trust?

This is a good realistic fiction book. It's very realistic. Perfect for ages 8-11.
The best parts of the book were the CONFESSION SESSIONs, where you get to see what all the minor characters are thinking.

Definitely a good book.

The first book of Rockett's World was great!!! It sometimes involves friendship problems and solutions that can really help when it comes to me. Really like there is always somebody like Nicole in everyday life. You might not know how to solve it, but after reading this book, it gave me some kind of idea of how to be a true friend and the make decisions.

Who Can You Trust? is one of my favorite books because I was able to find out what the charecters are thinking at the end of each chapter. It focused on how some kids really act and what someone would do in that situation. I LOVED IT!

I thought that this was a good book. This book focuses on Valentine's Day, and all the crazy stuff that can happen on Valentine's. Maria and Ken's Valentine Day is kind of funny. I have to say that I'm so glad that this book finally mentions Elizabeth. Elizabeth has a secret valentine. I love how the author leaves a cliffhanger in this book, makes it a lot more interesting. I can't wait to read the next book to find out who was sending Elizabeth those notes. Andy and Dave are also mentioned in this book, I hope that Dave goes through with his promise. Will and Melissa's storyline is interesting. I really don't have any sympathy for Melissa, and I don't know why Will just doesn't remain single. I would also like to see Melissa's friends not follow her around like she's there leader.

This book was great.It included a little about everyone's love life plus there was alot of suspense in the end in terms of who is elizabeth's secret admirer.Like evryone else,Ithink it's Todd 2 cause she was talking about him in the start of the book and they have to get together to set the pace with svu.I really want to read the next book and see who it is.Francine is at her best in this 1!

This is one of the best SVHSY books, because it focuses on all the characters. Will invites Melissa to dinner, and she lies and says she has a family thing. Her secret plan was to actually meet Will and take him to dinner herself. Only when she came to pick him up at the zine office, he was kissing erika brooks! Meanwhile, Maria finds a bunch of flowers on her desk and figuires they are from Ken. So she buys him two tickets to see Friction. When he sees the tickets, he buys her earrings, so she buys him balloons! But Ken never sent her the flowers in the first place, because they agreed to keep valentines day low-key. They eventually find out and have a good laugh about it. Also, Liz is finally over Conner and totally ready for someone new. She starts getting secret admirer notes, but the author doesnt tell who it is. (well, actually I KNOW who it is. I think its Jeffrey French. Im pretty sure its him.) Jessica, on the other hand, shares a nice valentines day with jeremy. Tia has no boyfriend, but she got flowers thinking they were from trent, but they were really from jessica, because jessica wanted to get tia and trent back together. Andy thinks Dave does not want to be seen in public with him when he sees him in the park, but Dave apologizes and they make up.Basicly, it's a great love story!

This book was revloving around one thing- Valentine's day and how everyone takes it. I was so glad to see Liz FINALLY move on with the whole-Conner-thing. She deserves better treatment! I wasn't really sure who it was-Liz's secret admirer is a BIG surprise to me! I'm glad Jessica and Jeremy are doing so well. I think Jade and Evan are over-analyzing everything, and Ken and Maria's day was really funny-but kinda predictable. Andy's day is pretty good-he sees Dave again. Conner and Alanna--unnnmmmm...

This was one of the best Sweet Valley Senior Year books. It was mainly about Liz and gets a secret admirer. It sorta left you hanging in the end, but i think it is jeffrey because in one of the future SVSY books the description says jeffrey is elizabeth's boyfriend now. It was also about the will/erika saga and how melissa catches them kissing. Anyway it was full of suspense and stuff and was REALLY good.

I have never before had the pleasure of reading Judy Moody, but as I noticed all the kids at school pretty much worshipping her, I figured I would give her a shot. She is a spunky little heroine without being cliche and therefore a great role-model to third grade girls everywhere! This particular adventure deals with the difficult process of making new friends while still keeping tabs on the old, a situation that complicates a class project. The writing is bright, simple, and wonderfully inclined to wander into randomness, but that is part of the intense charm.

I read Judy Moody Around the World In 8 ½ Days. It was great for the following reasons. I think whoever reads this book will understand it very well because it had very clear writing. Second of all, Judy is very creative because she could make pickle flavored gum. Third of all, this book is funny and you see that in the chapter headings. Some of these are "Eatsa Pizza," "Club Snub," "Heebie Jeebie" and "Bratellino Frattellino." Last of all I think one of the illustrations is fuuny. It is a striped furry spider with 8 legs.

I think Judy Moody Around the World In 8 ½ Days was bad because there was some name-calling in the book. Also because there is a fight between Judy Moody and a guy named Frank who was playing her dance music too fast.

In summary, these are all the reasons that I felt this book was bad and good.

In the book there is a girl named Amy Namey. Judy doesn't like her but as the book goes on they become friends. If you like Judy Moody books, you will like this one. I think it would take weeks to go around the world. Will she do it in 8 1/2 days? Read to find out!

Beautifully done pen and ink drawings set the mood for this light read with a serious story.

Judy Moody meets a girl whose name also rhymes, and also shares her dedication to offbeat interests. With Judy suddenly feeling that she's lost her identity -- she's no longer one-of-a-kind -- we all wonder if Judy will make this girl her nemisis, or become her pal!

Young readers will read Judy Moody: Around the World in 8 1/2 Days over and over again. Kudos once again to Megan McDonald for a great read!

My third grader just LOVES Judy Moody. These books really got her back into the habit of reading.

This is the second best book that I have ever read. The first is Karen Day's next book (No Cream Puffs) coming out in May.

I happened to get into bed late the night I read Tall Tales, intending to read a bit, get a taste for the story, and put it down until the next night. Karen Day is responsible for my night of not enough sleep - I actually didn't put it down until it was finished. Tall Tales is one of those rare books that take you gently but firmly by the hand and don't let go until you reach the end. I read with trepidation and hope, waiting to see what would happen.

The beauty of this book lies in its realism. Meg and her family could be your neighbors or perhaps even your own family. Karen Day is a master of creating characters who rise from the pages and seem to have life and breath of their own. You will continue to think and wonder about them after you have closed the book. Isn't that the hallmark of a great book?!

As an adult who also reads novels for young adults, I found the book's utter lack of the cloying sentimentality which can creep into the genre so refreshing. People of any age will enjoy this story and I highly recommend it.

Kudos to Karen Day for writing such an accurate and upbeat book about a family struggling with alcoholism! Tall Tales is not preachy or showy and that's what's so brilliant about it. The power of the story lies in its understated and subtle wisdom. How challenging to write a book for middle schoolers which includes a dysfunctional family without making it "a downer". And how refreshing to see a nurturing mother trying her best without being blamed. As a child psychologist, I love how accurately Day portays the ways that Meg copes with her family's secrets. Day's hypnotic message that its OK to want more out of life and love comes through loud and clear. I hope that young teens read this book and see how empowering it can be to enlist others to find a way out of family pain.

Karen Day's TALL TALES tells of Meg, starting sixth grade in yet another new school, and determined to find a best friend. When she meets Grace she believes she's finally found that friend - but Meg has family secrets, and must invent some big lies to hide them. A moving story of what makes for friendship - and what's involved in lying - evolves.

"Tall Tales" isn't flashy. It doesn't leap off of the bookshelf and start screaming about how necessary it is for you to buy buy buy. There are no sparkles, flashy lights, or marauding dragons in evidence. It's slow. Soft. A book manages to tell its tale in a supremely careful fashion. I'll level with you here: It's good but it doesn't stick in your brain the way a gaudy Clique novel might. If you're looking for fireworks and lightshows, direct your attention elsewhere pronto. If, instead, you want a well-written title about friends, lies, and family secrets "Tall Tales" is a decent way to go. A good book.

Meg wants a friend. Badly. Desperately, you might say. When she and her family move to Lake Haven, Indiana it isn't the first move Meg's had to put up with. It's not even the second, third, or fourth. With a father that continually claims to have stopped drinking, Meg and her siblings learned long ago that having friends meant keeping them as far away from their home life as possible. Meg's gone one step further, though. She's come up with elaborate lies to fill in the unassuming or embarrassing gaps in her life. When she begins to grow close to a girl in her class by the name of Grace, it's like she's found her other half. But how long will Meg be able to cover for the fact that much of what she's been telling Grace is a lie? Soon enough she could learn that sometimes the most outrageous tales you come up with are the ones you tell to yourself.

It takes a while to figure out that Meg's a liar. When you first hear her spout off a whopper about her dad being a doctor from Tasmania, you go for it. I mean, it wasn't so crazy a lie that I didn't believe it myself. So convincing was the lie, in fact, that I thought that Chapter One was narrated by one girl and Chapter Two by another. I actually had to flip back and forth for a while to better determine what was going on. So maybe a little clarification would have helped the writing at the start. For example, the first time we meet Meg's little sister Abby she isn't necessarily introduced. It's one of those narrative techniques where a character just gradually comes into focus as the story continues. The fact that this book acknowledges the truly slow nature of change can either be seen as the story's strength or weakness. Nothing here happens too quickly. Make of that what you will.

With the veritable plethora of broken families in children's literature, it's funny that I can't come up with another children's title containing an alcoholic family member to compare to this book. I don't really have to, of course. Day has a good handle on the situation and presents it accurately here. You can watch the charm of the alcoholic and his heartfelt apologies post-abuse. Every antagonist should display multiple sides if a children's book is going to carry any weight at all. It's all the more effective, then, to have the father dancing giddily with the mom one moment and then shaking the daughter violently for dropping some hamburgers the next. The writing is nice as well. Certain descriptions will sometimes catch the eye unawares. Sentences like, "Her shoulders fill her sweaters until there doesn't seem to be one millimeter of space left."

By the way, as a former resident of Kalamazoo I was amused that the town was (in a sense) one of the final straws in finally deciding to try to get away from the dad in this story. All that aside, "Tall Tales" isn't necessarily forgettable, but it does demand a bit of hand selling and word-of-mouth. Consider it subdued and supremely readable.

This book was so great, I couldn't put it down. I finished it all in one day! It's about a teacher who leaves Abby in charge of a gift box project. But they have a mean substitute who won't let Abby make the announcement about bringing gifts in for the gift boxes. Abby's friend named Hannah helps her out. Read the story. You'll love it.

Anne Mazer NEVER dissapoints me.This book is amazing,and I love it! Mrs. Kantor's class is giving gift filled shoe boxes to needy children,but Mrs. Kantor goes away,leaving horrible Ms. Lee with them. She's awful,and she makes school unbearable. What will the class do about her? Find out in this exciting book!

-(page 16 of book)
When Brianna told Mason his story was gross and distgusting, he burped at her. When Natalie told Bethany that her story was to short and that she should have put in more action, like hamster fights, Bethany sulked. Mason told me that my story was too perfect!! How can a story be too perfect???? Is that an insult or a compliment? Only Hannah had something positive to say about everyone's work. She was the only person no one was mad at by the end of the writers group. She didn't get mad at anyone, either. Ms.Bunder says alot of writers are in writer groups. Is this what they're all like? Writers must be crazy.

In this book, Ms. Kantor and Ms. Bunder do a class project. They have to decorate shoeboxes, fill them with toys and send them to the poor for Christmas. But then Ms. Kantor's mother gets sick and takes a leave of absence. Abby's class now has the worst subsitute on earth. Abby tries to figure out two things:

1. How are they going to the Christmas boxes without Ms. Kantor?
2.How is Abby's class going to get rid of their subsitute?

A great read.

This is a good book. And I'll hate to have a substitute like Ms. Lee, I also agree on a word in Abby's journal most " Kids are not your enemies."
I love the part where Hannah's baby sister water the boxes, I try to imagine what it was like, and the whole picture flew into
my mind. Didn't I laugh till tears came out.
Want to know what I'm writing about? READ THE BOOK!

This is a dear book. Our five young children own dozens of books, and this one stands out as one I'd buy as a gift for all occasions. It cleverly names the many kinds of hugs we all know and love!

My 17 month old daughter really likes the book. At first, when I read the introduction, she was a little bored, but by the end of the book, she was hugging her stuffed animal to show me how SHE hugs.

I seldom give 5 stars but this book is worth every star. It's one of those Mommy feel good books like "Guess How Much I Love You". It's not hopelessly sappy either. It will make you smile, laugh and want to hug anyone is nearby.

This book is an excellent book for teaching young children about hugging. It talks about a variety of people you might wish to hug. It gives a cute description about the hug. I think parents will find this book "a must have" particularly with young children.

I thought this was one of the best children's books I had seen in a long time. It emphasized the value of the family. That is am important quality in today's lifestyle. I loved the art work also.

Yoon is a little girl who has moved to America from Korea. She feels very displaced and is unhappy with having to write her name in English. Korean writing is much more beautiful to her. This story illustrates how difficult it can be to move to another country and learn another language. It's hard and it often implies that a person must give up ways of living that the person holds dear. This story provides a smidgen of insight into this conflict.

This book is a great ice breaker for those first few days of school. The story is well written, and beautifully illustrated.
Young students can relate to the character, Yoon, on many levels.

In 2001 a book came out entitled, "The Name Jar" about a girl from Korea who had moved to America and wanted an Americanized name. Then, in 2003, "My Name Is Yoon" came out with practically the same plot. Normally, I have little sympathy for children's books that mimic their predecessors. In this case, however, there can be little doubt as to which book is the better of the two. "My Name Is Yoon", is a complex tale of imagination, flights of fancy, and gradual acceptance. By contrast, "The Name Jar" was simply okay. You can find ho-hum picture books lining the shelves of most libraries and bookstores around the globe. It is far rarer to find books quite as remarkable as the stunning, "Yoon".

Yoon isn't exactly thrilled to be in America. Wherever she looks, she sees that life is different in this strange new land. In Korea, where Yoon was born, her name meant Shining Wisdom. Despite her father's assurances that it means the same thing here, Yoon isn't so sure. And then there's the fact that when she writes her name using English characters, it's just a series of sticks and circles, whereas in Korean, "The symbols dance together". She's right. They do. Yoon carries her unhappiness to school where each day she learns a new word and makes that her name. One day it's cat. Another it's bird. Still another (and most amusingly) it's cupcake. In the end, Yoon learns to like her new country, supposing perhaps that maybe that being different can be good too. And in the end, she embraces her real name. "It still means Shining Wisdom".

I hate summarizing picture books where the plot, when written down, sounds so much hokier than it feels on the page. What I've just written sounds nice but bland. The book is anything but bland. Yoon's a distinct and remarkable character. With each new name she adopts, she becomes that object in her dreams. For example, when she becomes BIRD she wishes she could fly back to Korea once again. The book also skips what I've come to feel is the obligatory foreign-child-gets-teased sequence. The kind of thing you tend to find in books like, "Molly's Pilgrim". I was grateful for the oversight. "My Name Is Yoon" is tackling more important problems here. The acceptance of one's own self in a foreign environment, for example. Becoming your own name. Becoming your own self. What could be greater than this?

The pictures, for their part, don't hurt. Artist Gabi Swiatkowska is perhaps best known for this book and the title, "Silk Umbrellas" by Carolyn Marsden. "My Name Is Yoon" is good as a story, yes. But the Yoon we see here is a complex original human being. A one-of-a-kind gal. When her imagination soars it takes off like nothing else, aided by Swiatkowska's realistic images. I especially liked looking at the pictures of her in her home. Here, the black and white tiles of the floor bend and twist in strangely surreal patterns. I'll be honest with you, though. The book could've been awful and I still would have loved it just so long as it continued to contain the picture of Yoon floating through her classroom window as a delicious fluffy cupcake.

Realism is what grounds "My Name Is Yoon". Surrealism sets it apart from the rabble. If you're stocking your personal library with only the most essential picture books out there, you'd be doing yourself a disservice not to include this truly delightful title.

This is a wonderful story about a young Korean girl who has moved to America with her family. At school when she write her name Yoon in English for the first time, she decides that she likes her Korean characters more than the English version because, "My name looks happy in Korean. The symbols dance together."

She decides that she would like to go back to Korea because everything is different in America. Every day at school, her nice teacher asks her to write her name on a paper, and Yoon instead writes a different word that she has recently learned. The beautiful illustrations go along with these words, showing Yoon as a bird, cat, and cupcake. In the end Yoon realizes that perhaps America will be a good home, and that, "maybe different is good."

A great story for children to read, to aid in understanding and acceptance.

Immigrant kids recognize that hesitation during roll call when a new teacher gets to their name. I used to dread it, but the experience depended on how a grownup handled these encounters with the unfamiliar. If only all teachers (and immigrant parents) were as wise as the ones in this book! Recorvits' poetic, spare text and Swiatkowska's imaginative paintings explore one aspect of feeling "foreign" -- an immigrant child's name. In a new language and a new alphabet, Yoon's beautiful Korean name seems foreign even to herself. Are you still "Yoon" when people outside the family pronounce your name differently? When they don't know that it means "shining wisdom?" For a child to feel at home in a new country, she needs a loving circle of teachers, parents, and classmates, as well as a good measure of her own courage. Reading My Name is Yoon might compensate somewhat if any of those crucial ingredients are missing.

Good lesson for children with vibrant, moving illustrations. It's nice to show that boys can have girl-friends at a young age.

This book was read to elementary students grades k-6, every one of the students loved this book and requested it be read again the very next week. We discussed the pictures (first gray and then color when playing and at the end), the connections with siblings and finally friendships. I highly recommend this book.

19 Girls and Me is a story of a kindergartener named John Hercules Po who finds himself in a class of nineteen girls. He is the only boy. His brother worries that he will become "sissified" from playing with all of those girls. In the end, everybody realizes that playing together can be a lot of fun.

19 Girls and Me is a delightful story that shows kids that it is okay for girls and boys to play together. Girls won't become tomboys just because they are playing with boys, and boys won't become sissies just because they are playing with girls. Everyone can get along and have a good time.

My five-year-old daughter likes this story. She also enjoys looking at all of the details in Steven Salerno's playful illustrations.

19 Girls and Me is a story for both girls and boys. Kids will enjoy reading about the wonderful adventures John Hercules Po and his new friends have at recess each day. In addition to a great story, there are glimpses into places around the world that may teach kids a thing or two. This is a book that kids will enjoy again and again.

I love this book for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that my daughter, in first grade, totally digs the story of John Hercules Po and his adventures with his 19 friends in Mrs. Ray's Kindergarten--19 friends who just happen to be GIRLS! The repetition is fun, and the imaginative adventures that the kids think up delight both of us! I've already taken the book to school twice and read it in a few different classes, and the kids eyes are big--and their smiles are bigger--as I regale them with the developing friendship between John Hercules Po and his 19 new friends! The book imparts an excellent message without clobbering the reader over the head with it--nicely done! Salerno's illustrations add to the fun!

Second book in this great series of adventures following one of the most interesting and well written child characters to come along in a very long time. For those already familiar with this series having come across a later title (an they're all stand alone stories, so no need to read them in order) and wondering which of Benton's former books in the series to buy first, this one also has the added historic element of how Igor came to become Franny's lab assistant.

Franny K Stein is an interesting character who doesn't follow the stereotype little girl who plays with dolls, has tea parties with stuffed animals and the like that many authors seem to want to write about. No Franny is a very intelligent girl more interested in bats, snakes, spiders, monsters and her number one passion, being a mad scientist. Interests that gel with many a real life boy or girl these days and lets be honest, always have. The length of these books are fairly short and take my word for it these books are so good you'll probably want to get a few of them, if not the whole series. They seem to be a lot cheaper buying the initial four (there are also others) as a box set which at the time of this review seems to retail for about the same price as just two Franny K. Stein books.

In her second adventure Attack of the 50-Ft cupid Franny's teacher introduces the class to Valentine's Day, a concept Franny has never heard of before and now that she has can't see the appeal. Still she wants to fit in and please Miss Shelly and sees a way she can use her mad scientist skills to make the whole writing poems, cards etc tasks more efficient an invents the valentine poem generator. Not quite the results Miss Shelly was looking for the teacher further explains the Valentine Day concept by explaining the recipient likes something a little more mushy. Franny's Valentine Day Card results are worth the price of this book alone and show that if Jim Benton ever wants to take a side job to complement being an author with a greeting card company he'd not just get it but would be highly successful. Also during this book Frannys mother having read up on her daughter's strange hobby believes Franny would love a lab assistant so literally gets her a lab (Labrador dog) assistant. Not quite the assistant Franny had always hoped for she sees Igor as a nuisance and tells him not to touch any of her experiments. Igor just really wants to please his new owner and when he accidentally creates a 50 ft cupid that threatens the town and Franny as a result, Franny will learn the true emotion of unconditional love.

A great story but believe me they all are, buy them all!

My son really enjoys Franny K Stein. He is into science and she appeals to both girls and boys. The length and diffuculty are perfect for bedtime reading. My son just finished second grade, but I would think that Franny would appeal to many ages. I read her to my preschool daughter. She will be attending kindergarten next year and the pictures keep her involved in the story. You can hear my son laughing from his room when he is reading one of her books.

I ordered a copy of each books from this series for our school library. Now there is never one on the shelf, when one is returned, it is quickly checked out again by another student. I have now ordered more copies. My daughters love the books. This one is really cute because it talks about Cupid and Valentines. Also Franny's Valentine poem generator is too funny.

I think that says it all. Or, if not, read the book (or get your child to read it to you next Valentine's Day.) You'll possibly be glad you did.

And, for the uninitiated, "intestines" is what Franny's version of Cupid says. (She asks her teacher about Cupid, and the teacher describes him as a little naked guy with wings, who goes about shooting people with special arrows, and is always saying something mushy. Franny figures that nothing is mushier than guts, and hence... has her Cupid saying "Intestines!")

This is the first young chapter reader series I purchased for my 6 year old, and she loves it. The story is about Franny, a girl that is learning to adapt to other kids and their lifestyles. She is very awkward in the process, of course, as she is a mad scientist.

Franny loves science, and underlying this story is the theme that it's ok for a girl to be a geek. Don't be worried about the "mad scientist" bit. Franny isn't evil. She is a dabbler, liking bats and boogers, bugs and inventions.

The Franny series has captured my daughter's imagination. It is creative, unique, and something my daughter reads almost every night on her own. Franny has fueled my daughter's fire for reading.

There are no real scary aspects to the story. The monsters are silly, like huge lunch meat sandwiches, or fifty foot cupids.

If you are looking for a fascinating chapter book that captures your child's imagination, try Franny K Stein. My daughter wants more books! I have bought her the entire series, and she can't put them down. Her reading ability is growing in leaps and bounds!