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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
So-so books for elementary school girls, September 17, 2007
This review is from: Goldie: The Sunshine Fairy (Rainbow Magic: The Weather Fairies, No. 4) (Paperback)
These Weather Fairy books by Daisy Meadows (hey... I wouldn't put my real name on them either) are wholly unremarkable. I suppose they're harmless enough for K-3 grade kids, but there's nothing to distinguish them. The writing is tediously simplistic, the stories are unimaginative, and the illustrations uninspiring. I read a couple to my kids and they never asked for them again... and they ask for everything again.
This may seem harsh criticism for books so obviously targeted at young girls, but compare these to some of the exception children's literature out there (H. A. Rey, Beatrix Potter, Maurice Sendak, Ludwig Bemelmans, Dr. Seuss, Kay Thompson, Arnold Lobel, etc., etc., etc) and their mediocrity becomes quite clear. Something intended to encourage kids to read doesn't have to aim so low. I'd argue for the advantages of the opposite approach.
- mm
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Series, March 12, 2007
My daughter loves this series of books - the biggest problem we have is that she won't stop after one chapter. She's 5, so we're reading them to her now, but soon she'll be re-reading them herself. We started with book 1 of the Rainbow Fairies and are now on the Weather Fairies Series. I highly recommend them!
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Made a Reader Out of My Daughter!!!, June 11, 2008
This review is from: Goldie: The Sunshine Fairy (Rainbow Magic: The Weather Fairies, No. 4) (Paperback)
Although my daughter always enjoyed books (and had many, many classic children's books around her since birth), due to dyslexia, she tended to struggle with reading in school---and from frustration, began turning away from reading altogether (either a book was at her level, but painfully boring, or interesting subject matter, but too difficult for her to decipher).
These books changed ALL of that! Because she found them so completely enthralling, she was quite willing to invest the extra time and energy into really reading and deciphering them. By slowing down, she developed her own coping mechanisms for her disability.
One day, she brought one of the books to school and after showing it to her reading teacher, read a new chapter for her. Even her reading teacher (a woman with considerable tenure) was STUNNED by how well my daughter read. The result of these books is that my daughter (just 5 months after discovering this series) now reads at grade level---and can't get enough of them.
I'll admit (like any book series) these are hardly great literature, but they've completely changed my reluctant reader---and she's now moving on to more challenging, classic fare.
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