I haven't read all of the Fancy Nancy books yet (and there are a lot), but my favorite part of the series is Nancy's relationship with her little sister, who is straight adorable. One of my particular favorite examples of this is in this book, we see Nancy trotting around in a pretty spectacular pair of leg warmers the entire story long, which she then gives to her little sister at the end.

Read my full review and comparisons to other books at my blog: http://shorteasywordsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/03/pink-stories-for-girls-that-youll-want.html

Princess Penelope is one we've been reading at princess parties for a while now, and I think I'm gonna have to make a change. While the story has a good rhythm and some nice repetition, the kids aren't as engaged by it and not very interactive at all. I did eventually get them to fill in the word "princess", but it took a good long while. Also Penelope is a bit spoiled and bratty at times, although this does generally end in a time out (on her "throne").

Furthermore, Scholastic has labeled it ages 5-8 on the website, but it's DEFINITELY skewed younger than that. In fact, I would say that the oldest for this book would be the threes I read it to. Penelope is apparently a toddler, as evidenced by her car seat, potty and "chariot". But on the other hand, I'm not sure the kids get the nuances of the illustrations, half based in reality and half in Penelope's fantasy kingdom.

Read my full review and comparison to other books at my blog: http://shorteasywordsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/03/pink-birthday-party-storytime-31211.html