37.Fly Guy Meets Fly Girl by Tedd Arnold

This book is hilarious!! Emma picked this out for one of her free books at the library--right up Emma's alley. But Lily picked it out for bedtime story. Flies aren't really my thing so I wasn't too excited. But I was completely wrong. The pictures are hilarious; the story is funny; and I loved it. I would highly recommend it, especially for beginning readers. I'm looking forward to reading more books in this series.

35. The Magic Pony: A Dream Come True by Elizabeth Lindsay

Ruth wanted to read this for her bedtime story. I think she got the book at school. It was a cute story about a little girl who bought a horse picture and then the horse comes to life. I liked it. It has cute pictures and a cute story. They only thing I didn't like is the girl's relationship with her brother. But overall it was good.

18. Joy the Summer Vacation Fairy by Daisy Meadow

This is another great fairy book that Ruth picked out. My favorite part of this book is when Jack Frost steals all the sand on the beach to make a giant sand castle. Classic!! I'm not sure what a beach would look like with all the sand missing, but it sure would be interesting. And the best part is when all the sand gets blown back at the end of the book, and no one seems to be terribly surprised, just grateful. I really love these fairy books.

13-14. Bethany the Ballet Fairy, and Jade the Disco Fairy by Daisy Meadows

These are the first two books in The Dance Fairies series. This is actually the second time I've read both these books because Lily has decided that she needs to read all the fairy books for her bedtime stories, just like Ruthie has. These are pretty good ones. Anything that combines dance and fairies is a popular hit with Lily. This time the mean Jack Frost has given his goblins the ability to freeze people (which doesn't actually hurt them, but lasts for a few minutes). I really liked the clothes in the disco fairy book. They made me laugh. They're fun, short reads.

11. Stella the Star Fairy by Daisy Meadows

Yes, I read another fairy book. This is the Christmas edition of the fairy books. Jack Frost has stolen all the things that make Christmas great. Kirsty, Rachel, and Stella the Star Fairy defeat Jack Frost and his goblin minions. Ruth and I had fun reading it together. She obviously loves all things fairy and all things Christmas, so the mixture was a big hit.

83. Buddy (A Puppy Place Book) by Ellen Miles

The Puppy Place is a cute little series of books about...that's right, puppies. Each book centers on how one particular puppy overcomes its hardships and ultimately finds a good home. I've only read this one, but Emma has read several, and she says that's how they go. In this one, Lizzie and her family volunteer to foster a dog and her three puppies until the puppies are old enough to adopt out. Lizzie's family often fosters dogs for their local shelter where she also volunteers. One of the puppies, which they name Buddy, is the runt of the litter and is struggling to do well. The family has to spend extra time just keeping him alive. It's a cute little book about puppies and caring for them and fun to find out how the puppies find just the right homes. Emma seems to really like this series, as would any kid who likes dogs. It made for a pretty good bedtime story. It also includes tips for caring for puppies in the back. Over all good book.

82. Juliet the Valentine Fairy by Daisy Meadows

Yet another fairy book for Ruth. This time Jack Frost has stolen all the things that help people get along: specifically, friends, couples, and families. Valentine's Day isn't going to be very fun unless Kirsty and Rachel help the fairy get them back. It was pretty funny. I've probably said this before, but one of the things I really like about these books, is that the good guys try to be nice to everybody, including the bad guys. I like that they're not vindictive, but just try to solve the problem, and still try to help the goblins and Jack Frost even when they're being mean. I like that. A fun book for Valentine's Day.

77. Gabriella the Snow Kingdom Fairy by Daisy Meadows

This is another Ruthie pick. Kirstie and Rachel try to help the snow fairy find all the things necessary for a perfect snow holiday. These books are silly but obviously good enough that I can read them constantly without getting bored. They're cute and I can't say enough good things about the pictures. There are just enough words to the pictures to make it perfect to read-aloud to Ruthie's age. She loves them.

70. Jade the Disco Fairy by Daisy Meadows

Jade the disco fairy epitomizes all the good parts of disco: great dancing, crazy bright clothes, just the littlest bit of attitude. I think this book is really funny, especially since I don't think Ruth has any idea what disco is. Kirstie and Rachel have to help the fairy find her disco ribbon that helps every one in the world dance disco well. They have to wrest it from a disco dancing goblin dressed in a polyester leisure suit. Funny!! And I had YMCA going through my head the whole time I was reading it to her. It made a good bedtime story.

69. Misty to the Rescue by Gillian Shields

This is actually the first of the mermaid series (we haven't been reading them in order). In this one, Misty and her friends get the crystals from the crystal cave, but then are attacked by Mantora (the bad mermaid) and sent to the kelp forest, far from their home. They must figure out where they are, start back toward home, and find Misty's crystal which she lost in Mantora's storm. They also must try to save the kelp forest which is being cut down by the evil humans. It's all right. Ruth seems to love these books and I think they are ok. Here's to another bedtime story.

65. Holly Takes a Risk by Gillian Shields

I bet you can guess who's bedtime story this was . . .That's right, Ruth's. This is the second or third of these that I have read. This one wasn't too bad. The mermaids helped save a delicate coral ecosystem from the evil Mantora's chemical spill (oil drums that were leaking). Too bad the Gulf system didn't have any mermaids around. Lots of subtle conservationist undertones totally lost on Ruth. I thought it was funny but true. I liked this one better than the others I've read in this series but I still would recommend the Rainbow Fairies series over this one. The pictures in these books are pretty dull and most of the time are just generic sea pictures instead of actually illustrating the story. And the characters just aren't as likeable or funny as the fairy books. But they are mermaids so that's what gets Ruth. I wish the Rainbow Fairies people would come out with a mermaid series. We'd be all over that.

60. Rainbow Magic Collection Volume 2 (books 5-7) by Daisy Meadows

Well, we couldn't very well stop in the middle of the series so Ruth chose the second volume for more of her bedtime stories. We liked the ending and this collection had a bonus book (something about the Happily Ever After Fairy) at the end that we hadn't read before so that was fun. I would definitely recommend this series for about 8 and under depending on their interest and reading level.

59. Rainbow Magic Collection Vol. 1 (books 1-4) by Daisy Meadows

This is Ruth's pick for bedtime and naptime stories. This is actually the second time I've read these books, but this was a new format, with the books being in a collection. I really preferred the collection because I didn't have to keep track of all the little books and I could just move on to the next book when I finished one since they are all an on-going story. My favorite things about these books is that they read fast, they have great pictures and the stories and characters are all nice. Ruth really liked reading these because we've read the later books, but this is the original series and explains how Kirsty and Rachel first met the fairies. It is fun and right on Ruth's level.

50. Akimbo and the Lions by Alexander McCall Smith

Woohoo!! I'm about half way to my book goal.

Anyway, this chapter book is the second in a series about a little boy named Akimbo who lives in Africa on a wildlife preserve. This time, Akimbo goes with his father (the head of the preserve) to help trap some rogue lion that is bothering farmers. On the trip, they catch a baby lion and Akimbo adopts him and then faces the problems brought on by a growing young lion. It is a cute book. I listened to it on CD and really liked the reading of it. The author also writes The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency for adults. He is a fun author for all ages. I've read some of his adult books so I was curious to read some of his children books. I found the Akimbo book as good as his adult books. I'd definitely recommend it.

44. Lucy and the Magic Crystal by Gillian Shields

Ruthie loves mermaids and fairies and princesses. She found this series and the mermaid on the front pulled her in. It is actually the last of a six book series. We might have read one of the other ones, I can't remember. Ruthie seemed to like it OK and everything turned out fine. It might have been a little more exciting if we had read all of the others, but Ruth is not a stickler for reading things in order, so we might read some of them still. It is your average mermaid saves the underwater kingdom saga, and good if you like those sort of things.

35. Shannon the Ocean Fairy by Daisy Meadows

This one book is representative of about 100 of these fairy books that I've read. I've really only read about 20 but it feels like 100 sometimes. The positives: they have cute pictures spread throughout the books (they're chapter books), they all have similar plots so little kids can easily follow them, they all have the same main characters. My little girls love these books. From probably Kate on down, they have all read these books at one time or another. (These have consistently been Ruth's picks for bedtime stories for about a year. As an adult, they can be a little monotonous at times because they are so similar, but they are better (at least for me) than reading the same book every night. They also read well as bedtime stories (a chapter a night). I also find that the characters are likeable and nice, even to the bad guys. I like that. The negatives: they are all the same basic story. I remember when I first ran into these books, and they were such a big hit with my girls that I googled them to find out more. Apparently there was a big scandal in England, because it turned out that they were written by a publishing house by a bunch of different authors, all using the same pen name. It made me laugh that people were so worked up about it. I thought, how else could they come up with about a 100 of them in 2 years. Anyway, I think they are good books for what they are.

34. In Control, Ms. Wiz? by Terence Blacker

This is another Emma pick. I'm not sure how she picks books, but they're always interesting. This is one of a series of books with a lady that is kind of like Mary Poppins meets a Roald Dahl story. It's a fun story about an English town that is trying to close down they're local library because of budget cuts, and Ms. Wiz arrives on the scene and helps the kids revolt, with the help of storybook characters that she can make jump out of books. It's fun and very Emma. Quirky is probably the word.

29. The Fairy House: Fairies to the Rescue by Kelly McKain

This is a book that Emma picked as her bedtime story. As fairy stories go, it was all right, but it's not my favorite fairy series. This particular one was about the main little girl dealing with a girl bully in her class. The fairies help her, but they're not that nice. I know that you can't just be mowed over by bullies, but I don't think stooping to the bully's level is the way to handle it either. Eventually, the girl stands up to the girl and everything works out, but the part in the middle kind of bothered me. However, I will give it an A for cover design. The fairy on the cover has a sparkly piece of material for a dress. I think that is what drew Emma. She's very visual. And the illustrations are ok. But I think there are better fairy stories out there. I've read a lot them (with 5 daughters). Emma seems to like them and I wouldn't ban them or anything, I just think you can do better.

25. Katie Kazoo Switcheroo: Who's Afraid of Fourth Grade? by Nancy Krulik

Emma chose this book for her bedtime story. These books are always pretty funny. They are an adventure in gaining perspective, or walking in someone else's shoes. Katie Kazoo always starts out not understanding someone in the story and then she experiences their life and gains a little perspective. This time she makes a new friend who has a big family (5 kids, huge!!). Katie, an only child, is jealous until she experiences the family first hand. My favorite quotes, "Wow! Katie was amazed. Emma had five kids in her family. That was a whole basketball team." and "'You know how to sew?' Katie was amazed. 'Sure. My mom taught me,' Emma said. 'When you have so many kids, the big ones have to know things like that, so they can help out. Next I hope my mom's going to teach me to cook. That looks like more fun than sewing.'" I broke out laughing when I read these pages. I asked my Emma if that is how she felt in our BIG family. She didn't think it was as funny. Ah well!! At least she doesn't have to patch her brother's jeans like the story's Emma does. But it is a good idea. I'll have to start doing that. She also comes to better understand her band teacher. A good read-aloud.