Blue Bay Mystery (The Boxcar Children #6) by Gertrude Chandler Warner

★★★★½

How grand it must be to have a rich grandfather to take you on an extended vacation with a private guide to an uninhabited island in the South Seas!

I like that this vacation brought all new, exciting adventures, and that Grandfather went along, too. Plus, we see good old Mike again!

The mystery basically involved the group having some unexpected encounters on the island, and they wondered what it was all about. There was a relatively dramatic twist in this one, I think. It could have been a lot more suspenseful along the lines of the TV series Lost, but Gertrude Chandler Warner manages to keep it pretty low-key. As you might expect, everything comes together very nicely in the end.

I was happy to see the children continue their schoolwork while on vacation, but it seemed awfully quaint that Grandfather was able to procure each of the kid's lessons ahead of time from their respective teachers, and somehow, those lessons came collated in personalized bound books!

Finally, one caveat for those who may be reading this book to younger children: The book does mention cannibals and shark attacks.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

★★★★

*** WARNING!! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!! ***

I was never a big fan of the original Star Trek series, but after watching Star Trek Into Darkness, and knowing that the new series is meant to be an alternate reality of the original series, I decided to watch the original Star Trek movie with Khan.

I really didn't get why Khan and his men didn't wear shirts, and it just seemed to me that a man with "superior intellect" would simply take Genesis and not waste his time with revenge - as a couple of his people tried to advise him to do. But, it did make for an interesting plot, and I loved Spock's big scene at the end. The ending made the whole movie, and if I didn't already know that Spock lives a long and prosperous life, I would be pretty darn upset!

Seeing a young Kirstie Alley was fun, too!

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

★★★★½

*** WARNING!! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!! ***

Action-packed right from the start! A fun movie with plenty of nods to the original. Unfortunately, while I was aware that homage was being paid, I'm not actually a fan of the original, and so I don't think I was able to fully appreciate the references. Still, I think I must give extra credit to this new release for actually making me want to go back and watch one of the original movies that I've never seen. :P

Incidentally, Ken correctly predicted two major plot points!

Update: Okay, I just watched the original Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and now I understand even more how the new movie pays tribute to the original! I love the Kirk-Spock role reversal at the end, and the re-use of dialogue. I'm changing my star rating from 4 to 4 1/2 stars. I couldn't bring myself to give it 5 stars because the movie wasn't amazing by itself; I had to put it into context with the original to fully appreciate it.

Mystery Behind the Wall (The Boxcar Children #17) by Gertrude Chandler Warner

★★★★

A pleasant and plausible mystery, but a bit too reminiscent of Tree House Mystery.

First, just like in Tree House Mystery, Benny gets a new playmate. This time, the introduction is somewhat convoluted in that it is Mrs. McGregor's sister's neighbor, Rory, who visits. Rory is Canadian, and this book is practically worth reading just for the references to his Canadian accent. First, Grandfather reminds the children, "You must remember that the boy comes from Canada and he will not talk exactly the way we do." Then, Rory remarks to Benny that he (Benny) talks funny, "You say 'about the house,' and I say 'aboot the hoose.'" Hee hee.

Second, the mystery itself was also similar to the mystery in Tree House Mystery. The original owners of a house apparently left things behind with the idea that they might one day return. The current owners stumble upon these objects and want to put all the pieces together to understand the context of what they've found.

I liked the ending, and I liked the way the clues were laid out like a treasure hunt. As a reader, I could follow along and solve the mystery just before the children figured it out.

Tree House Mystery (The Boxcar Children #14) by Gertrude Chandler Warner

★★★★½

*** WARNING: This review contains spoilers!!! ***

I really enjoyed this one! There was so much that I liked about this book.

I liked the introduction of Jeffrey and Sammy Beach, and I liked that they - like Mike - were different from the Alden children, yet they still all got along.

As a parent who likes to see positive role models in books, I liked how the Alden children kept reminding the Beach boys that they should ask for their parents' permission before doing new things. :P I also liked that they were sensitive to not wanting to intrude where they might not be wanted.

I even liked that Henry and Jessie sometimes had other plans, and weren't a part of all the activities. This book wasn't explicit about the children's ages, but Benny did say, at first, that he wished the Beach boys (aged 8 and 10) were older, which I think implied that Benny was older than they, so maybe he was 12? That would put Henry in his early 20's, and maybe he and Jessie were both in college, home for summer vacation!? I don't know, but it was kind of reassuring to see that they did sometimes have better things to do than play with little kids all the time.

I thought the mystery was just mysterious enough for a children's book - nothing criminal, and not too far-fetched.

And even though this book had an almost obligatory food business overnight success story a la Mike's Mother's Place and Benny's Buns, it was nice that someone besides Benny came up with the winning ideas.

Despite being such a pleasant read, I just couldn't bring myself to give this book 5 stars. I was really hoping that the book would tie up one sort of loose end and somehow reunite a grown-up Willy with his rocking horse.

Mike's Mystery (The Boxcar Children #5) by Gertrude Chandler Warner

★★★★

*** Warning: This review contains spoilers! ***

I really liked this book! I liked having a more realistic personality like Mike mixing things up with the always well-behaved, always polite and proper Alden children. Mike keeps it real.

Also, once again, we have a real mystery on our hands, which was interesting. This time, it's a case of arson. The kids - but mostly Benny - get into trying to solve the case, but in the end, the uncovering of important clues was more a random discovery than the result of any intellectual efforts. But I guess that's okay with me, because the idea that these kids would be able to solve a case that the FBI can't is a little far-fetched, so it's nice that a little luck came their way.

It seemed kind of odd, though, that the bad guy's motivation boiled down to revenge for not having been able to pull off a scam in the past. Seems like in real life, the bad guy would just move on and not obsess over this one missed opportunity.

It was also kind of over the top the way Mike's Mother's Place just came together so quickly, and it was a bit too reminiscent of the overnight success of Benny's Buns in Snowbound Mystery.

I thought of giving this book 3 1/2 stars, but I finally went with 4 stars because I actually just really enjoyed reading it, I think because of Mike.

Finally, one last thought. It is just me, or is there something between Mr. Carter and Jessie?! He's kind of old for her now, but maybe in a few years... !

The Yellow House Mystery (The Boxcar Children #3) by Gertrude Chandler Warner

★★★

*** Warning: This review contains spoilers! ***

Well, I appreciated the fact that in this book, the author explicitly stated the ages of three out of the four children. So far, each book tells of a new summer adventure, and the children seem to age accordingly.

For the first time, there is a true mystery in that there is a missing person case to be solved. Luckily, the decades-old crime scene was left untouched, and the whole Alden family investigates, finds clues, and works together to solve the mystery.

The children again are put in a position of having to be resourceful, this time on a canoe / camping trip. Since they actually don't know much about canoeing or camping in the wilderness, cousin Joe takes charge of the trip, and his new wife Alice joins them as well.

I didn't really enjoy this book quite so much as the others I've read so far, and I'm not sure why. The canoe / camping trip was pretty exciting, in theory, but for some reason, I was kind of bored when actually reading about it.

Also, the resolution of the whole mystery seemed a bit too easy, and at the same time, too convoluted. I liked that the kids discovered an important clue in the yellow house that the police missed years ago, but in the end, it seemed like that clue shouldn't even have been necessary. The clue led the family to a particular hiking trail in Maine, and along the way, they asked whoever they ran into whether or not they knew anything about Bill McGregor. But inexplicably, when they met Jim at the end of the trail, they neglected to ask him about Bill. If they had, they would have found out right away that "people used to say that little house was Bill McGregor's place. Then one day Dave Hunter came to Old Village and said it was his." Dave Hunter would have been the obvious person to follow up with. And if "people" knew that Bill McGregor owned that house in Maine - surely Mrs. McGregor must have known about it and could have directed the investigation there - then the original police searching for Bill, regardless of what was or was not found in the house on Surprise Island, should have investigated the house in Maine, where they would have learned about Dave Hunter!

Ten Years Later (The d'Artagnan Romances #4) by Alexandre Dumas

★★★

First, a recap. I am reading the D'Artagnan Romances via the FREE Kindle ebooks available on Amazon:

Book 1: The Three Musketeers
Book 2: Twenty Years After
Book 3a: The Vicomte de Bragelonne
Book 3b: Ten Years Later
Book 3c: Louise de la Vallière
Book 3d: The Man in the Iron Mask

Ten Years Later actually refers to the ten years in between Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne, so really, I think the titles of Books 3a and 3b should have been swapped. While the Vicomte still is not consistently a central character throughout this book, he certainly plays a much bigger role here than in the book that was named after him.

About three-quarters of the way through this book, I lost all my notes, so my review is going to be shorter than I had originally intended... That's probably for the better, actually, since sometimes I think my reviews are too long anyway.

D'Artagnan and Athos make a couple brief appearances in this book, but mostly they are absent. Porthos is practically non-existent. Aramis is the key musketeer in this book, and chapters about him appear intermittently. Mostly they are setting the stage for The Man in the Iron Mask - which I only know from watching the Leonardo DiCaprio movie years ago. Surprisingly, the movie seems to have sufficiently equipped me to understand Aramis's secrets, and honestly, I think if I did not already know where the Aramis storyline is leading, I would be awfully confused about his doings in this book.

So, if this book isn't really about the musketeers, then what's it all about? Like a Jane Austen novel, this book is mostly about the love interests of "the young people". Our beloved musketeers, along with Anne of Austria, play supporting roles for the next generation - the Vicomte de Bragelonne and King Louis XIV, among others. Relationships are complicated by multiple love triangles, and there's a whole lot of drama going on at the court.

I found this book entertaining enough to keep up with it, but not especially compelling. It was easy to put it down and not pick it up again for days at a time.

Surprise Island (The Boxcar Children #2) by Gertrude Chandler Warner

★★★★½

*** Warning: This review contains spoilers! ***

I am really loving this series!

This book has all four children equally represented, and I feel we do get to know them a little better. I probably should not have read any of the books out of order; this being the second in the series, it makes sense that this book would have more character development than some of the later books, when the kids are already established characters. Here, we learn that Violet is artistic (she likes to paint and she has a gift for music), Jessie really is a great cook (she makes clam chowder and whips up an apple pie) and likes order (she likes to plan out their days and keep to a schedule), and Henry is quite handy (he builds cabinets and tables out of scrap wood) and has an interest in academia (he likes museums). True, they all stick pretty close to age and gender roles... But that's okay, the book was written in 1949 after all. (Another detail that dates this book is an illustration in which the kids are boating without life jackets!)

But what I really liked - and this was a major reason for giving the book 4 1/2 stars instead of 4 - is that Benny actually throws a tantrum in this book! Finally! The kids are not all super well-behaved all the time! Haha. Maybe it was nice, too, that it was clear that Benny's fit was not a result of his being "bad", but more of just an age-related issue; Henry said, "He will stop some time. Some day he'll grow up." If only I could be so matter-of-fact about my kids' tantrums!

There was also another child character, a friend of Benny's named Mike, who was loud and obnoxious. Benny liked him because they had fun together, but the older kids didn't think he was so great to have around. Even though the Alden kids are almost perfect, it was still nice to see that other less-than-perfect kids also lived in their world. :P

I also liked that this book finally made me understand why people always run out to buy bread and milk before a big storm. It probably stems from the old days, depicted in these books, when bread and milk really were food staples. Whole meals could be had by just eating bread with milk poured on top! As Jessie said, "We have to buy bread and bottles of milk. Then we could live, even if we didn't have anything else to eat."

As usual, the kids are models of resourcefulness. Besides the bread and milk, they eat food they gather themselves - though it helped that Grandfather started a vegetable garden for them in anticipation of their stay. Still, even though Grandfather is rich and the kids basically get whatever they want, they love taking care of themselves in the barn on the island! I love their attitude, summed up when Jessie said, "This is what I like. Everything seems better when we have to work to get it."

I have to admit, I didn't give this book 5 stars because the whole story about Joe was just a little contrived. I liked the ending, of course, but really, why didn't he just go back to his uncle as soon as he could?! The idea of not returning until he was 100% recovered seemed to put a bit too much emphasis on independence, which perhaps was a highly valued quality in individuals in 1949.

It was interesting, too, that this book didn't actually use the word "mystery" - Joe's unknown origin was just like a question always hanging around in the background. I wonder if the author sort of just found herself falling into writing "mysteries" simply because having unanswered questions helped to keep a story interesting.

Mystery Ranch (The Boxcar Children #4) by Gertrude Chandler Warner

★★★★

*** Warning: This review contains spoilers! ***

I love how each book takes the children to a new and interesting location. This time, it's an old family ranch out west! What fun!

This book starts out in a pretty amusing way. The children all freak out because Grandfather "banged the door, and all he said was 'Hello.'" Oh, my! Violet even turns white with concern. Hahahahaha! What propriety in this family!

So in this book, the adventure starts when the children meet their Aunt Jane (Grandfather's sister), and we finally get a glimpse of a possible reason for why the children never met their Grandfather until after their parents died. We don't learn much, but it sounds like Grandfather used to be pretty arrogant.

We also get to know Violet a little better. We knew she was kind (as all the Alden children are), but now we see that she is also gentle, she likes to take care of other people, and she wants to be a nurse when she grows up.

Interestingly, while other books in the series had the children eating common foods like hot dogs, hamburgers, and baked potatoes, this time, we see a few unusual foods being fed to Aunt Jane, who is not feeling well. She drinks orange juice mixed with a beaten egg, and she eats "milk toast", which is hot milk poured over a piece of toast with a little salt. Is it just me who hasn't heard of these foods? Or has the American diet had some drastic changes in the last 50 years?

Anyway, as for the "mystery" itself. I guess it was a little thin in this book, mostly centered around the identity of a Mystery Man. It started to get good when the children discovered the make-shift hut in the woods, but that was resolved so quickly that there was hardly much time for any suspense to build. Still, there are probably enough questions floating around to keep young readers interested, and that's the whole point, after all.

Finally, I can't help but feel a little worried about the Alden family, now that we know a bit more about uranium than they did back when this book was written. Clearly the value of uranium was known, but apparently not the health risks. With uranium in the chimney, everyone in this house has an increased risk of developing cancer! At least we know that Aunt Jane is still in good health at age 70, which is comforting.

Snowbound Mystery (The Boxcar Children #13) by Gertrude Chandler Warner

★★★★

Another exciting adventure for the Alden family! This time, they are snowed in at a hunter's cabin. I really think their little getaways must be so much fun!

So far, each book has given me one new piece of information about Henry. In Houseboat Mystery, I learned that Henry was now old enough to drive. In this book, he's in college! Everyone else is pretty much the same. Benny is funny, Jessie is the cook, and Violet picks up the other household duties. (She does the sewing in the first book, the laundry in Houseboat Mystery, and the interior decorating in this one.)

The "mystery" in this book is pretty innocent. The Alden children meet a nice family, the Nelsons, who seems to act a little weird, as if they're hiding something. What are they hiding?! The Alden children talk over the Nelsons' strange behavior and do a lot of wondering. This book is an enjoyable read, and it's fun seeing how everything falls into place.

Houseboat Mystery (The Boxcar Children #12) by Gertrude Chandler Warner

★★★★

I would have preferred to read the books in this series in order, but instead I just picked up whatever was available at our library. I am reading this book right on the heels of Book 1, and I was surprised to find that Henry could drive! That was kind of fun, to see that the children had aged.

I almost gave this book 3 or 3 1/2 stars, but I settled on 4 stars because the whole idea of vacationing on a houseboat was just fantastic! What a great concept, and what fun!! And I love how the children (though perhaps Henry is too old to be called a "child" now) continue to be so self-sufficient and resourceful.

All the characters are still rather one-dimensional, except for Benny, who seemed remarkably well-developed in contrast with his brother and sisters and grandfather. In this book, he was funny, enthusiastic, inquisitive, thoughtful, friendly, sensitive, compassionate, and not at all shy. Much of this book was so focused on Benny that at times it almost seemed like this was his adventure, and the rest of the family just tagged along.

The mystery involved two strange men, and it did seem a little too coincidental that the Alden family just happened to be in the right place at the right time to get involved in this case. But that's okay, that's just how mystery stories are, I guess. The mystery also turned out to be a bigger deal than I expected, involving policemen and real "bad guys" and everything.

The Boxcar Children (The Boxcar Children #1) by Gertrude Chandler Warner

★★★★

*** Warning: This review contains spoilers! ***

I remember loving this series as a child. I even have a specific memory of looking for books in this series on the library shelves - up high on the last shelf before the windows in the children's area.

Somehow, though, I have managed to forget every single detail about the books except that there are four children, and they live in a boxcar. Re-reading this book for the first time since I was a kid, I was surprised to learn that the children were reunited with their grandfather! I honestly didn't remember there being any adult supervision at all. I also remember the books being "mysteries", and was surprised that this book wasn't.

Still, I really enjoyed this book, which I finally picked up because Isabelle found it at the library, checked it out with Ken, and read it herself first! She loved it and is looking forward to reading more in the series.

The sentences are very simple, and they have a kind of wholesomeness that I associate with the 1950's. (Actually, it looks like this book was first published in 1942.) Except for the baker's wife in the beginning, every character is "good", and all the children - even 5-year-old Benny - are well-behaved. Besides being kind and polite, they are also hard-working and resourceful. Their good-naturedness might be a little unrealistic, but since this is a book for children, I rather like that they are good examples for behavior.

I don't know if the characters get fleshed out more in subsequent books, but in this one, none of the children has much of a personality besides what might be expected from each child's age and gender. But honestly, I don't mind when characters in children's books lack personality, because I wonder if that makes them more appealing and relatable to a wider audience of young readers who might like to imagine being one of the characters themselves.

I was a little put off by how matter-of-factly the children stated that their parents "are dead". And though their death must have been recent, the children didn't seem to miss them at all. Moreover, I really didn't understand how the grandfather fit in. He seemed so good and kind, and he lived nearby, so why didn't he ever see his grandchildren before? Did he really dislike their mother, and basically held a grudge against the parents until they died, at which time he realized the error of his ways and sought to make things up with his grandchildren? Well, whatever. I guess it's really not important to the story. It's about the kids, and their adventures with the boxcar, and everything else must be filed away under "suspended disbelief".

Mandy by Julie Edwards

★★★★

This book just sort of fell into my lap. My uncle was packing up his house for a move, throwing out and giving away a lot of random stuff. He had two boxes of books from which we salvaged a handful of keepers, and then donated the rest. While rummaging through the boxes, I skipped over this book because I didn't recognize the title or the author, and the cover illustration didn't capture my interest. A couple days later, I was surprised when Isabelle saved this book from the donation pile, telling me, "I want to read it. It's by that person you like, in The Sound of Music!"

Well, apparently Isabelle had done a better job examining the books than I did! Sure enough, I flipped over the book, read the back cover, and indeed, "Julie Edwards" the author is the same as "Julie Andrews" from The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins! I think I vaguely knew that she wrote children's books, but I imagined them to be picture books for young children, not novels. Anyway, what a find!

As it turns out, this is a lovely book. Mandy is an orphan who finds an old abandoned cottage on the property adjoining the orphanage. Having always felt an aching loneliness from not belonging to a family, she finds that having a secret cottage all to herself - a place to take care of and to call all her own - makes her really, really happy.

Mandy is a sweet, polite, and thoughtful girl. At one point, she does resort to "borrowing" items from the orphanage to help her efforts at the cottage, but she is riddled with guilt and vows to return the items when she can afford to buy her own. (She diligently helps out in a local general store for pocket money.) Though only 10 years old, she uses matches and makes her own fires at the cottage, though these events are mentioned only in passing, as if a child starting fires is not out of the ordinary. And perhaps it wasn't in the English countryside in 1971, when the book was first published? Well, I'll just be sure to remind Isabelle, if she reads this book, that these days, kids aren't allowed to use matches by themselves. :P

Anyway, the book is predictable, and though it makes for a nice story, it doesn't really offer anything especially new or different. Still, an enjoyable read, and I even shed a few tears at the end. The sentences are simple and straight-forward, yet well-written. The reading level might be a little above Isabelle now, so maybe we will read it together as a bedtime read-aloud book, or maybe we'll just keep it on the shelf until she feels ready to read it on her own.

Rainbow Magic Roundup

Here is an age appropriate series that I am happy to let Isabelle read! These books are geared perfectly towards girls in pre-K through 2nd grade. No, they are not "literature", but they are fun to read, and I think they are great for encouraging independent reading while also fostering a healthy imagination. Plus, the girls are great models for good behavior - they are polite, compassionate, determined, and, of course, eager to help others.

So, the Rainbow Magic series is actually a series of series. To follow events chronologically, books within a sub-series should be read in order. There is a defined order for the sub-series, but I don't think it's necessary to read the sub-series in order. We jumped around, and it was fine.

Besides the sub-series, there are also a number of Special Edition books. These books are not a part of a series and each can stand on its own. They are longer than the series books - about 160 pages each, compared to about 65 pages in each series books. Also, each Special Edition book is divided into 3 parts, and each part has 5 chapters. In this way, the Special Edition books are like 3-book mini-series bound into one book. All the Rainbow Magic books are well-formatted for early independent readers.

Some of the books also include a bit of letter fun to further engage young readers. In the Special Editions (that we've read), there are instructions to look for hidden letters throughout the book. The letters can then be unscrambled into a word related to that book's fairy. As it turns out, after reading a Special Edition book, Isabelle discovered that even some of the series books have hidden letters! There are no instructions, but if you are "in the know", you will find one letter in each series book, and the seven letters of a sub-series can be unscrambled into a "special" word. (Of the series we've read, the only one in which we did not find any hidden letters was the first Rainbow Fairies series.)

In the list below, books that are linked are books that I've read. Just for fun, I decided to list all the books that Isabelle has read as well, even if I didn't read them. (She would give every book 5 stars!) I do think they are fun stories, and sometimes it's nice just to have an easy, light-hearted read. But, after a while, I just had enough. :P Maybe every now and then, I might pick up a book or a series, but I don't feel compelled to read every single one!

The Rainbow Fairies (2003) ★★★

• Ruby the Red Fairy ★★★
• Amber the Orange Fairy ★★★
• Sunny the Yellow Fairy ★★½
• Fern the Green Fairy ★★★
• Sky the Blue Fairy ★★
• Izzy the Indigo Fairy ★★★
• Heather the Violet Fairy ★★★

The Weather Fairies (2004)

• Crystal the Snow Fairy
• Abigail the Breeze Fairy
• Pearl the Cloud Fairy
• Goldie the Sunshine Fairy
• Evie the Mist Fairy
• Storm the Lightning Fairy
• Hayley the Rain Fairy

The Party Fairies (2005)

• Cherry the Cake Fairy
• Melodie the Music Fairy
• Grace the Glitter Fairy
• Honey the Candy Fairy
• Polly the Party Fun Fairy
• Phoebe the Fashion Fairy
• Jasmine the Present Fairy

The Jewel Fairies (2005) ★★★½

• India the Moonstone Fairy ★★★
• Scarlett the Garnet Fairy ★★★
• Emily the Emerald Fairy ★★★½
• Chloe the Topaz Fairy ★★★½
• Amy the Amethyst Fairy ★★★★
• Sophie the Sapphire Fairy ★★★
• Lucy the Diamond Fairy ★★★

The Pet Fairies (2006)

• Katie the Kitten Fairy
• Bella the Bunny Fairy
• Georgia the Guinea Pig Fairy
• Lauren the Puppy Fairy
• Harriet the Hamster Fairy
• Molly the Goldfish Fairy
• Penny the Pony Fairy

The Fun Day Fairies (2006)

• Megan the Monday Fairy
• Tara the Tuesday Fairy
• Willow the Wednesday Fairy
• Thea the Thursday Fairy
• Felicity the Friday Fairy
• Sienna the Saturday Fairy
• Sarah the Sunday Fairy

The Petal Fairies (2007)

• Tia the Tulip Fairy
• Pippa the Poppy Fairy
• Louise the Lily Fairy
• Charlotte the Sunflower Fairy
• Olivia the Orchid Fairy
• Danielle the Daisy Fairy
• Ella the Rose Fairy

The Dance Fairies (2007)

• Bethany the Ballet Fairy
• Jade the Disco Fairy
• Rebecca the Rock 'N' Roll Fairy
• Tasha the Tap Dance Fairy
• Jessica the Jazz Fairy
• Serena the Salsa Fairy
• Isabelle the Ice Dance Fairy

The Music Fairies (2008)

• Poppy the Piano Fairy
• Ellie the Guitar Fairy
• Fiona the Flute Fairy
• Danni the Drum Fairy
• Maya the Harp Fairy
• Victoria the Violin Fairy
• Sadie the Saxophone Fairy

The Sports Fairies (2008)

• Helena the Horse-riding Fairy
• Stacey the Soccer Fairy
• Zoe the Skating Fairy
• Brittany the Basketball Fairy
• Samantha the Swimming Fairy
• Alice the Tennis Fairy
• Gemma the Gymnastics Fairy

The Magical Animal Fairies (2009)

• Ashley the Dragon Fairy
• Lara the Black Cat Fairy
• Erin the Phoenix Fairy
• Rihanna the Seahorse Fairy
• Sophia the Snow Swan Fairy
• Leona the Unicorn Fairy
• Caitlin the Ice Bear Fairy

The Ocean Fairies (2010)

• Ally the Dolphin Fairy
• Amelie the Seal Fairy
• Pia the Penguin Fairy
• Tess the Sea Turtle Fairy
• Stephanie the Starfish Fairy
• Whitney the Whale Fairy
• Courtney the Clownfish Fairy

The Night Fairies (2010)

• Ava the Sunset Fairy
• Lexi the Firefly Fairy
• Zara the Starlight Fairy
• Morgan the Midnight Fairy
• Nia the Night Owl Fairy
• Anna the Moonbeam Fairy
• Sabrina the Sweet Dreams Fairy

The Princess Fairies (2011)

• Hope the Happiness Fairy
• Cassidy the Costume Fairy
• Anya the Cuddly Creatures Fairy
• Elisa the Royal Adventure Fair
• Lizzie the Sweet Treats Fairy
• Maddie the Fun and Games Fairy
• Eva the Enchanted Ball Fairy

Special Edition Books

• Holly the Christmas Fairy (2004) ★★★
• Joy the Summer Vacation Fairy (2005)
• Stella the Star Fairy (2005)
• Shannon the Ocean Fairy (2008) ★★★
• Gabriella the Snow Kingdom Fairy (2008)
• Mia the Bridesmaid Fairy (2009)
• Trixie the Halloween Fairy (2009)
• Destiny the Rock Star Fairy (2009)
• Juliet the Valentine Fairy (2009)
• Belle the Birthday Fairy (2010)
• Cheryl the Christmas Tree Fairy (2010)
• Florence the Friendship Fairy (2011)
• Emma the Easter Fairy (2011)
• Selena the Sleepover Fairy (2011)
• Olympia the Games Fairy (2011)
• Brianna the Tooth Fairy (2012)