My 7 year old chose these two books from among her birthday stash (thanks, Grandma!). While she could read them to herself, she requested that these be our next read-alouds. I admit that I prefer more difficult books for reading aloud to the kids; I like seeing them think through the complex plots or phrases, and introducing them to books I loved or concepts they haven’t grappled with yet. I also prefer that they be books that I would be happy to read by myself, as a grown up lady. These were not that. However, they were fun chapter books, and my daughter loved the experience, so it’s a win.
Homesick Kitten is about Sammy, a kitten who belongs to 10-ish year old Harper. Everything’s cool until Harper and her family move in with her grandmother. Sammy does not understand what is happening and he does not like this new house, so he attempts to get back to his previous house and life. Harper is understandably very upset when she discovers that Sammy is gone, escaped through an open window at her Grandma’s. As Harper and Sammy look for each other, they learn about what really makes a home (spoiler: it’s love!) Although this is a short book, it felt a liiiiiittle long – sometimes there were a lot of words to explain pretty mundane things, and honestly there is not a lot of action – which is fine! But it felt slower than our usual read-alounds. We started and stopped this one many times over a few weeks before finishing.
Azmina the Gold Glitter Dragon is mostly about Azmina, a girl who has just moved from the city to the country. She feels called to explore the forest near her new home, and when she repeats a strange incantation, she transforms into a dragon! What! She meets her classmates Willa and Naomi, who have ALSO been transformed into dragons, and then they all meet the Tree Queen, who gives them a task: save the Magic Forest from the evil Shadow Sprites, who are already at work stealing the sunlight.
There’s not a lot of nuance here. I had to refrain from muttering my thoughts as we read: Don’t trust this Tree Queen you literally just met her! Have we even heard the Shadow Sprites’ take on all this? Seems pretty weird that only these totally inexperienced girl-dragons are able to fight the Shadow Sprites? Shadow Sprites who apparently have a deep history of mischief in the Magic Forest, like you guys definitely could have prepared better for this eventuality? If you are a grown up who has ever read a book, you will not be surprised by the plot, but the pacing and fun makes up for it. The girls have to work together and learn to trust each other, learn from their mistakes, etc. The best part of these books, in my opinion, is that the vocabulary and sentences are perfect for my daughter’s reading level – some challenging words but nothing so difficult that she loses the flow of the story. I also like that there’s are sequels with Azmina’s friends.
3 stars as read-alouds mostly because I think these might be more fun and educational to read by oneself at age 7 or 8. I preferred Dragon Girls to Homesick Kitten because of the pacing and interest level of my daughter. Not a 5 star experience because The Hobbit is a high bar to clear. I absolutely would give Dragon Girls to any 6 or 7 year old girl who is into that sort of thing, it’s a great early chapter book.
