Serafina and the Twisted Staff brings new dangers to Biltmore House in this historical/magical realism adventure. The Sisters Grimm series is busy culminating in Book 8, The Inside Story. And though I am wretchedly late to the party, I finally read Frindle by Andrew Clements, which deserves all the accolades. Nick’s teacher, Ms. Granger, is my hero.

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I’ve dabbled quite a bit in books like Love That Dog, which tell a single story through a series of interconnected poems. In this case, the young poet/protagonist is writing these poems as part of his English homework, so I can see it being useful to teachers doing poetry units. A Grain of Rice reads like a folk tale. A pleasant, hard-working man turns an empire upside down by being very, very clever. Math is involved! And The Everafter War is the next (seventh) installment in The Sisters Grimm series.

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While I mostly prefer the upper reaches of the Middle Grade range (10-12 year olds), I do dabble in books intended for younger readers (8-10 year olds). One of my favorite lower middle grade finds was The Adventures of Sir Lancelot the Great, mostly because Morris made me laugh. More than once. Tales from the Hood is the sixth book in the Sisters Grimm series, which I recommend. Serafina and the Black Cloak, the first in a series, is an intriguing blend of historical fiction and magical realism that is tense enough and scary enough that I’d caution against it for sensitive readers. But for those who enjoy teetering on the edge of their seats, this is a stand-out series.

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I usually try to tackle at least one “long” series a year, and in 2018, that was The Sisters Grimm. (Yes, I’m that far behind with these Book Report posts.) These three titles put us into the thick of things in this 9-book series by Michael Buckley. Worth the commitment? Definitely!

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