Whatcha Readin' Wednesday - The Land of Stories Series

During my commute, I've been listening to the Land of Stories Series by Chris Colfer. I had resisted reading the series for a while because I figured it was only popular because they were written by a celebrity (Chris Colfer is an actor who starred on Glee). However, after a teacher recommended them to me I decided to start reading. I have truly enjoyed them! Sometimes I only read the first book in a series, just to get a grasp of what the series is like so I can recommend the books to students, but with this series I was having enough fun with them I wanted to keep listening to the rest.

In the first book, The Wishing Spell, twins Conner and Alex discover that all the fairy tale stories their grandmother told them are actually real, and they end up traveling through her book of stories to the fairy tale world. They realize that to get back to the "other world," they will need to collect magical ingredients to make a special wishing spell. However, with the legendary Evil Queen hot on their trail, things are not as simple as they might seem.

The rest of the books are just as full of adventures, twists and turns. Some of the solutions to their problems are a bit convenient, but it is all good fun. I finished book four, Beyond the Kingdoms, and am eagerly awaiting book five (Book four's adventure isn't over at the end of the story).

I also enjoyed the audio versions. Chris Colfer reads them. For some of the narrative, I feel he could read with more expression and enthusiasm but he does a great job with different character voices.