Children's Corner: Fancy Nancy

 I have passed the Fancy Nancy books at the library a couple of times, picked them up, and put them back down again ~some of then are a little long for bedtime reads~ and, I must admit, from the outside the hype surrounding the Fancy Nancy franchise seems to be a little... cult-ish?  However, a few weeks ago, I came across the first book in the series on a sale table and couldn't pass it up.  And I'm really glad I didn't.

The single book has started us collecting -not obsessing!  This is a fantastic series, especially for girly-girls like my daughter. They are a little more involved than something like the Pinkalicious series, but in a good way, more along the lines of The Very Fairy Princess series, which I adore.  Nancy and her friend Bree love being dressy and elaborate, but they also love big words, which is fantastic! I love that it isn't all pink and princessy; the girls enjoy 'fancy' blues and greens too as well as a variety of activities.  Nancy and Bree also have to deal with complicated emotions and real problems too, for example what do you do when your best friend gets the big part, and you don't in Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet.  These are the kind of books you can take as much or as little as you want from, either opening a discussion, or just enjoying the story.  You can be obsessive about it or just appreciative. 

The really fabulous thing about the franchise is the way HarperCollins and/or Jane O'Connor have created Fancy Nancy mulit-media. There are at least three or four Fancy Nancy apps  that are interactive enhanced books, as well as a dress-up game app.  These are the kinds of things that get kids interested in reading.   There's even a Nintendo game (again, bordering on a little too much for me) as well as the usual puzzles, "paper" dolls, coloring books, and sticker sets.  (Although I will say the website has a little too much Flash content to be considered user friendly, really I just want an obvious link to the books!)

Aside from the picture books there are First Reader stories, like many other popular kids books, but also just out is the first chapter book, Nancy Clancy.  I love the idea of a series that grows with the reader. It's marvelous to be able to grow up with your favorite characters. 

This is a series that will be with us for years to come. I'm so glad I picked these up (finally).