A Series of Series

I remember when I was a young reader getting my reading legs under me, my 4th grade teacher gave me a book for an award.  It was called Trixie Belden and the Mystery Off Glen Road.  I still have this very book 40 years later and fond memories of the path it set me on.  I read many more Trixie books over the next year or so as well as other favorite series, getting to know the characters intimately as we spent hours together solving mysteries and having adventures.

Series are very important in the reading life of children.  Young readers build confidence and fluency by reading thousands of pages.  They are excited to learn what happens next in the lives of those they know so well. This sets them solidly on a path of reading for a lifetime.  It's funny...when parents come into my library for the first time, they ask wistfully if I have a particular series they remember as a child.  They wish to introduce their children to their friends from long ago.  It's a special bridge between the generations. 

The golden age of children's literature is replete with many series in many subject areas.  Over the next few weeks, I plan to list many of these.  Maybe you will find a forgotten favorite to share with your children or a new series of treasures to discover.