By Rosie Banks (Orchard)
When a book has an over abundance of words like ‘giggles, pink, magical, spells, sparkles, rainbow, glittering, mermaids, pixies, unicorns, elves and happily ever after” lots of little girls get very excited. I confess I get bored. Each plot is pretty interchangeable, with a trio of friends, Ellie, Summer and Jasmine being able to access The Secret Kingdom through a magical jewelry box. They then have to help King Merry save the Kingdom from Queen Malice.
Aside from the lack of depth to the stories, they do offer a sweet adventure with no real threat and girls who love the thought of being a fairy will adore them. They also stir the imagination and get developing readers into reading. When my daughter was 8 she loved deciding which of the girls she was and the books were perfect for getting her used to the idea of chapter books. She was inspired to write her own fairy stories. The pages of crosswords, games and character profiles at the back continue the fun and there’s a website with more activities www.secretkingdombooks.com
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