I’m cheating with this entry, but this is my blog so I’ll make the rules!
Back in the days of elementary school yore, when Scholastic book fairs were like school holidays,
and they sent these things home with us so we could beg our parents to order us things (and it was hard for them to say no because they’d basically be telling you not to read),
I was obsessed with The Bailey School Kids series. And it was a great series to fall in love with because there were over EIGHTY books!
Basically, the books have a Scooby-Doo-like formula. The kids became suspicious of a figure in their lives like a lifeguard, teacher, or other adult because, let’s face it, adults are super strange and mysterious and always seem to have secrets. They suspect that an adult is a mythical creature like a vampire, skeleton, witch, etc. Then they collect a bunch of reasons why they believe that, for example, their camp counselor is a werewolf. This may seem a little outlandish, but if you think back to when you were in elementary school, you probably believed a host of crazy things like thinking your teacher lived at school or thinking little elves operated traffic lights (No? Just me?)
These books were brilliant because they capitalized on childhood suspicion and imagination. Plus, the reader never knows if the kids are right in their accusations! Sure, it’s unlikely that the librarian is a wizard.
Here are some of my favorites:
Related articles
- Scholastic Book Club Relaunched as Scholastic Reading Club (mediabistro.com)
- 31 Life Lessons Learned From The Bailey School Kids (buzzfeed.com)
- Scholastic Book Orders (mrsmena311.wordpress.com)
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