Chapter Books for Various Ages: Beginning Readers through Adults

Disclosure: I was sent these products free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As always I am providing links to the book for your convenience.

Today I am sharing five chapter books with you and each is for different level/aged readers. We will work from youngest to oldest. The first book is the fourth in a series Hazel fell in love with. It is The Princess in Black Takes a Vacation by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale and illustrated by LeUyen Pham. We shared/reviewed the other versions: First, Second, and Third. I began reading this series to Hazel and the newest book she read to me!! Now Hazel loves to bring these books with us when we visit my parents. If she gets bored she pulls them out and reads them to herself. They are fairly easy reads and have pictures throughout the chapters. The suggested grade levels is kindergarten to third. 

Princess Magnolia could not take a vacation because there was always the danger of the monsters attacking the goats in her kingdom. She never knew when she would need to turn into the Princess in Black. However after a long night of fighting monsters the alarm goes off again and the Princess in Black is struggling with a large monster (and not falling asleep) when a boy in a hero costume shows up and fights the monster for her. She asks who the boy is and where Duff, the goat boy, is. The boy says he is the Goat Avenger and Duff is busy. Now that the Goat Avenger is available the Princess in Black/Princess Magnolia can take her vacation and she goes to the beach and sees her friend Princess Sneezewort. Princess Magnolia is just settling in for a nap when a sea monster appears and thus they princesses run and Princess Magnolia puts on her Princess in Black disguise. Back home the Goat Avenger is bored waiting for monsters to appear but he is hopeful that the Princess in Black is enjoying her vacation.

We love this series. It is easy to read and has a strong leading female plus it is just fun. Princess Magnolia gets to be the fancy, girly princess and then she turns into the hero of the story. It teaches girls they can do anything.

 Have you discovered the Diary of the Wimpy Kid series yet? I got to start with the eleventh book: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Double Down by Jeff Kinney.  This book about a middle schooler is so popular I saw a sign at our public library about getting on the reserve list for one of the three copies the library owns. This book is written as a middle school boy writing about his thoughts and life in his diary. Now let's face it, middle school grades are among the toughest years to make it through with all the changes that kids' bodies are going through as well as the social changes that come with it. This book (and series) plays on that. It completely goes along with the thought process of a middle school aged kid. I love it. The font used is also looks like handwriting and there are some illustrations in it as well. It is a fun book and I can see why the series is so popular.

 Our next book takes us to Denmark right around Christmas. On Christmas Eve the Larsen family gets a phone call that requires Mr. and Mrs. Larsen to leave their daughters, a 12-year-old and a baby, alone for a few nights. It is also the first Christmas since Bettina's grandfather died and he is the only one who really believed in the nisse legends, so when the family forgets to leave the traditional rice pudding for its barn nisse, no one is too worried that is until baby Pia disappears. Then Bettina enters the magical world of nisse and other creatures in the forests. 

My Klakke Peg Doll

 Hazel was surprised at how much she liked this book. She did not think it would be that interesting but it pulls you in. We fell in love with Klakke, the young barn nisse that makes a big mistake. We feared for Pia and Bettina as the adventure goes on. This book has so many lessons about family, responsibility and more. Bettina gets pulled into solving a nisse family's problems and reunite them in order to get Pia back. All of this occurs as the winterfrost hangs on. Winterfrost is an extra sparkly snow that glistens and often magic occurs. Hazel wanted me to make her a Klakke doll, so I did and we made a winterfrost scene.

 We sprinkled some sparkly fake snow in there to be the winterfrost, but it did not photograph well. The nisse took care of all the creatures in the forest (as well as the ones in the barns). Klakke's beard was still brown because he was so young. Needless to say we love this story.

 Our next book  is for your young adults to adults. It is the final book in The Chosen Series by Jeff Altabef and Erynn Altabef (Jeff's teenage daughter). Now this amazing series reminds me a bit of Twilight series but is better. I have reviewed the entire series: Wind Catcher, Brink of Dawn & Second Chances and now Scorched Souls. In this installment the Chosen travel to the world in search of the Prime Elector so they can stop this alien attack on Earth. Juliett realizes as the Alpha the fate of the world lies in her hands. As Alpha she needs to return the Native American Reservation to find the key to ending the war, but who should she trust. The Prime Elector has saved her life but can she trust him. Like the other installments Scorched Souls is a turn pager that is a must read. I couldn't wait to get my copy and read it. Once you start you cannot put it down. Each of the Chosen have such strong characters and different stories. They come from different walks of life and different countries and have to work together to fight the aliens and figure out who is the alien to trust. This is a great series and I highly recommend it for any young adult or adult who likes a bit of mystery and fantasy.

 Our final book tonight gave me some Mommy Time!! It is an adult chic-lit novel and I have to say I loved it. The book is The Name I Call Myself by Beth Moran. This book is about relationships and friendships. Faith has had a tough life (and several names). Now she has a wealthy man dying to marry her. Unfortunately his mother wants to take over the wedding plans since a girl like Faith cannot plan a proper wedding, but will Faith find the guts to get her way? Will she trust her fiancee with the truth of her past? Will she really fall in love with him or is she just marrying him for his money and the ease that it gives her? And then there is Dylan the minister at the church that Faith wants to get married in since it is the one connection to her dead mother. Entering the church she gets pulled into joining the all female church choir with a choir director who pushes the women to believe in themselves and help each other. This book has it all a bit of mystery, romance, and lots of girl power. I really enjoyed this one and hope you will check it out when you want some Mommy Time!!
 
So here is a collection of varying chapter books with something for the various ages out there. I hope you will check them out!!