New Review Tuesday: Cool New Series

What series did you devour as a kid? For me, it was Ann Martin’s The Baby-Sitter’s Club, Louis Sachar’s Wayside School books, and the Fear Street series by R.L. Stine.

Today’s kids have a huge number of series books to explore—and new ones are popping up all the time. But which series are worth kids’ time and energy, and your limited library budget?

Here are two that I’ve recently enjoyed:

39 Clues: The Maze of Bones, by Rick Riordan, hits shelves today and promises to grab kids’ attention with the many components Scholastic has developed alongside this first installment of a planned 10-book series. There are trading cards, online games, and even $100,000 in prizes. A movie version is rumored to be in the works, too. But all of these “extras” don’t detract from the quality of the story—each of the Clues books is penned by a favorite author, from Rick Riordan to Gordon Korman. These page-turners about the most powerful family in the world will appeal to upper-elementary and middle school boys and girls alike.

On a completely different note, I adore the early reader series by Katie Speck, illustrated by Paul Ratz de Taygos, and starring Maybelle the cockroach. The first book was Maybelle in the Soup; the most recent is Maybelle Goes to Tea. If you’re looking for a laugh-out-loud recharge to your early reader collection, I highly recommend Maybelle’s zany adventures.

What series have caught your attention lately? Share in the comments!