Happy Friday, and welcome to the latest installment of our monthly feature
where we review Children’s books.

Fancy Nancy Super Sleuth

By Jane O’Connor
Illustrations by Robin Press Glasser
Amazon / B&N / Indiebound / Website / Goodreads
124 pages (Hardcover, Paperback and Audiobook)
Published April 3rd, 2012 by HarperChildren
Book provided by publisher

Nancy Clancy is growing up and ready for a whole new adventure . . . in her chapter book debut!

Nancy and her best friend, Bree, have everything they need to solve a mystery, from their totally professional trench coats to their top-secret code.

But when crime strikes in their classroom, will these super sleuths be able to crack the case?

Find out in the glamorous start to an all-new chapter book series featuring everyone’s favorite fancy girl!

Fans of Fancy Nancy’s joie de vivre and loquaciousness will be thrilled by Jane O’Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser newest collaboration, this time branching into chapter books.  In this latest adventure, Nancy tackles lies and theivery in her classroom and finds that while she and her BFF may dress the parts of Super Sleuths, ferreting out the truth and dealing with it’s consequences aren’t nearly as easily done.

My two girls adore Fancy Nancy!  Ever since we stumbled upon the series of gorgeously illustrated picture books in our library, we’ve devoured each new one we found.  So when I heard that Jane O’Connor would be signing at BEA I was thrilled to pick up a personalized copy of this chapter book for my 1st grader.

I thought Ms. O’Connor handled the transition from writing for a pre-school audience to writing longer, slightly more complex plots for a lower grade audience with aplomb.  The book kept all the touch points I loved of her earlier picture books:  the love of elegance and the sheer celebration of being girly, the moral dilemmas that Nancy faces and how, even if it isn’t the easy or glamorous choice, Nancy is a kind, honest and loving girl at heart, and the simple messages that those who love themselves and their families for who they are are the happiest in the long run.  I was impressed and pleased by how seamlessly Ms. O’Connor was able to translate that into the longer format.  In fact, my girls and I enjoyed getting to read a more detailed story and we’re definitely going to pick up the next in the series!

With beauty and humor, the O’Connor/Glassier duo bring a certain je n’ai c’est quoi to chapter books which will have even the fussiest reader turning the pages and asking you, “What happens next?”  I recommend this particularly for reluctant early readers as the magic of  the Fancy Nancy world is enthralling and Ms. O’Connor isn’t afraid to use vocabulary enriching words even in these works for younger readers.

And now : Enter The Fall Clearing

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Pushy

Lover of words and authors; absolute fan girl of books! Give me a good story, with characters I can love (and hate) and I'll follow you anywhere. Sing me a song of worlds I can dream of, and I'll listen forever.

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