★★★
I usually prefer to rate books individually, but I think in this case, I'll just rate the series as a whole.
These books are formulaic, but that's about par for the course for series at this reading level. I think it's part of what keeps kids interested, actually, having some adventure and suspense, but always knowing how it will turn out. Jack and Annie are mostly one-dimensional and predictable, with Annie running headlong into adventures and Jack preferring to proceed cautiously. It's kind of funny how much Jack likes to say, "Oh, man" and "Oh, brother," but I do like the way he takes notes in his notebook. It's cool, too, that every book has a different theme, so young readers are exposed to lots of different time periods, places, people, and animals.
Ken and I are reading this series to Sebastien, and I have to give these books credit for piquing Sebastien's interest in books. Before, while we always made an effort to read to him every day, he rarely ever suggested reading as an activity on his own. Now with this series, he can't wait to get ready for bed so we can read more chapters! He's even asked to read these books in the middle of the day, when he's usually more interested in other toys and activities. Part of me wants to save these books so he can read them on his own when he learns to read, but I'm just going to continue to plow through them as much as he wants now, since I want to encourage his interest in books.
One thing that I don't like about these books, though - and it's especially annoying given how popular this series is with early readers - is how often they include incomplete sentences! I just think early readers should be exposed to proper grammar. :P Sure, sometimes it's okay, if a particular clause should carry some emphasis. But unnecessarily breaking sentences into one full sentence and a second incomplete sentence just happens way too often. Here are some examples in book #4:
Page 3:
They splashed through puddles. Until they came to the tallest oak tree in the woods.
Page 13:
Then he rolled up his jeans. And ran across the hot sand into the waves.
Page 13:
He shielded his eyes against the sun. And peered out at the sea.
Page 27:
Together they started to back slowly away from the pirates. Toward the tree house.
Update #1:I just finished reading Book #8,
Midnight on the Moon, and I was pleased to find that there were no unnecessary sentence fragments! (There were a couple fragments that I thought were fine in context, like in dialogue or used for emphasis.) Ken actually read the last couple books with Sebastien, so I don't know for sure which book along the way was the first without fragments, but I'm optimistic that the books will be grammatically correct from here on out!
Update #2: We are now reading Book #12,
Polar Bears Past Bedtime, and so far, the books seem to be ordered in groups of four. In the first four books (#1-4), Jack and Annie find four clues that eventually lead them to Morgan Le Fey. In the next four books (#5-8), Jack and Annie have to find four items that begin with M in order to rescue Morgan Le Fey. In the next four books (#9-12), Jack and Annie have to solve four riddles in order to become master librarians. I assume this pattern keeps up, and it's worth mentioning because a children's librarian at our local library told me that many kids read these books all out of order without any regard to the numbering. I think it's probably best to read them in order, but if you're going to jump around, the next best plan might be to read them according to the four-book sub-series, so at least you can put the specific adventure into a bigger context.
Update #3 - March, 2014: We made it up to Book #41,
Moonlight on the Magic Flute, before Sebastien finally lost interest and didn't want to read the next book. Forty-one books! Not bad. Maybe when he learns to read, he'll pick up the series himself where we left off!
