I love it when a tip from a fellow blogger leads me to a gem of a book.

And I adore it when it leads to THREE books, with another one just released!!

The Amelia Fang series by Laura Ellen Anderson is – quite simply – fabulous fun! From the different coloured end-paintings on each book to the gorgeous illustrations they are a delight to behold and read.

<and I actually wanted to display them backwards on the bookshelf>

Filled with humour, friendship and adventure, not to mention the cutest pet pumpkin ever, this Junior Fiction series has excellent characters and great themes. I loved reading them aloud with my own little junior reader – especially putting on Florence the Yeti’s voice!

The inhabitants of Nocturnia are terrified of all things light and glittery, even taught at school to fear those of the Kingdom of the Light. But in Amelia’s adventures, she discovers how easily everyone can be made to fear for no reason.

I read these books in the aftermath of the Christchurch Terror Attacks, and it made me so sad and yet so hopeful because books like these help children to empathise and discover that different isn’t evil and I wish all children could read them.

This series conveys these messages in such a clever way – I mean, how ridiculous is it that vampires would be scared of fairies …

I haven’t tried any of the recipes in the back (you’ll understand why when you see them), but they made my own little junior reader laugh and laugh.

The world will be a better place with children growing up reading books like these.

A recommended read from me!

A huge thanks to Lily and the Fae for their wonderful review, which inspired me to seek these out in my library! If you haven’t found the Lily and the Fae blog, head over there. It is a fountain of awesome for kidlit.

Amelia Fang series in order:

• Book 1: Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball
• Book 2: Amelia Fang and the Unicorn Lords
• Book 3: Amelia Fang and the Memory Thief
• Aaand… Book 4 (which I haven’t read yet): Amelia Fang and Half-Moon Holiday