Sea Monster! (3) (The Kingdom of Wrenly)

This has been my 6 year old son's favorite of the series so far. He really likes the character "Ruskin", a pet dragon, and he appears in a number of the illustrations in this book. I don't want to give away any of the story by saying too much but my son laughed a lot throughout based on those illustrations. We just finished up Book 5 and I hadn't ordered the new one yet. I pulled out some other book options until we can get the new one and he asked to reread "The Sea Monster" instead of venturing elsewhere. We are only one book away from being caught up so I'm not sure what we'll do in between them getting new books out. Hopefully I can find something comparable but I haven't just yet. The author and publisher have done a really great job with this set.

These Kingdom of Wrenly books are just perfect for our just-turned-8 grandson. At the end of 2nd grade, he's a good reader but getting him motivated to continue reading on his own is in direct competition with screen time (some over-indulgent adult gave him an iPod Touch which I am considering drowning!). I have now read the first three books with him and we have both enjoyed the experience. He chooses what parts I read and what parts he does--he's a very expressive reader once he gets going and it is great Grandma-time with him for me. We find them page-turners, interesting, creative, and fun. New words come up on occasion and the stories are exciting. It is just enough to keep us wanting to go on to the next short chapter and we find that we have read the whole book at one sitting. I love the way these intermediate readers work----they really help keep his face off the screen! Now that summer is here, I have ordered a bunch more. At least that is an indulgence I can justify!

I was having trouble finding books my son would want to read. He was 8 when I found these and a little behind in his reading. I wanted something that would be interesting enough to keep him engaged. As far as the story line goes, I would not rate it very high but I'm not the one reading it so that doesn't really matter. My son fell in love with the book and so far it is the only series that he wants to read and enjoys reading, in fact, he has begun a "book club" with his Daddy so they can discuss the books together every Saturday. If your child enjoys adventure and a little mystery then he/she will love these books too.

Great early chapter books. I got the first 3 and my son had them done within the week. I think they are about 1st/2nd grade level, somewhere around Magic Tree House. There are lots of frequent illustrations, so these books are likely to appeal to a child who is transitioning to chapter books/feels overwhelmed with too much text on one page. I like that the books are not scary and there are no mean characters. Innocent fun and exciting adventures in a fantasy setting. I will be buying more.

My 9 year old is totally binging this series. I had to tell her only one book a week because she adores them and can finish one in a day now.

I can't actually say I have read this as my 7 year old reads them before I get a chance to read them to him. He scoops up these books and reads them instantly. They are easy reads, true, but the point is he won't put them down until they are done. Which usually takes him a couple of days. We have lots of books that he enjoys but not that he consumes so aggressively as these.

We are just introducing our son to chapter books, and I wasn't sure what we would find. These seem to be great stories (he is on book 4 right now). They have simple plots, but enough details to keep him interested. He always wants us to read more at the end of story time, and I think that is great. There is also both male and female characters, something not all authors pull off well.

Great first chapter book for my 7 year old daughter. She loved it and couldn't put it down. We ordered books two and three.

Fine