From: Kristin McIlhagga <mcilhagg_at_msu.edu>
Date: Thu, 04 Aug 2011 22:35:15 -0400

Oh I do remember Trixie Beldon, Choose Your Own Adventure and Sweet Valley High. Although with all three of these, I tired of them after reading a few and figuring out that the stories were pretty much the same. Anne of Green Gables was heaven, I discovered it at the end of 5th grade and saved up babysitting money to buy a copy of each title for my own library.

It's interesting to watch my own children now. My younger daughter likes to read books with the same characters (Junie B. Jones, Lunch Lady, Judy Moody) but doesn't really seem to care what order she reads the books. With her, it seems to be about the relationship with the character (as someone else mentioned). My older daughter is an avid reader going into the 6th grade. She has always loved series books; the Fairy Books by Daisy Meadows, Junie B. when she was younger and more recently Rick Riordan's books, Dork Diaries, Dear Dumb Diary, and more recently Babysitter Club. She discovered these when I brought home the graphic version and then an undergraduate student of mine passed along copies from when she was younger. She is different in that she likes (needs) to read them in order.

I do think that the appeal of knowing the characters is a huge draw for many readers. I wonder if it also has to do with the comfort and confidence of being able to find their own books... knowing exactly where to go in the library for a book that they will like as much as the last one.

Kristin McIlhagga Children's Lit Team Coordinator Ph.D. Candidate - Curriculum, Instruction & Teacher Education Michigan State University mcilhagg_at_msu.edu
Received on Thu 04 Aug 2011 10:35:15 PM CDT