WELCOME TO MY BLOG TOUR STOP FOR THE AMELIA FANG SERIES!

The first two books are out now with a castle full of zany characters and creatures. Here’s what to expect from Book #1:

AMELIA FANG AND THE BARBARIC BALL

A hilarious heavily illustrated middle-grade series for reluctant readers starring a vampire girl, Amelia Fang. Welcome to the world of Nocturnia, where darkness reigns supreme, glitter is terrifying, and unicorns are the stuff of nightmares!

Amelia Fang would much rather hang out with her pet pumpkin, Squashy, and her friends Florence the yeti (DON’T CALL HER A BEAST!) and Grimaldi the reaper than dance at her parents’ annual Barbaric Ball.

Then the king’s spoiled son, Tangine, captures Squashy, and Amelia and her friends must escape the party to plan a daring rescue!

In their race against time, they begin to realize things in Nocturnia may not be quite what they seem….

MY TAKE: Heads come off and eyeballs roll  in this great series beginning.  It’s creepy but in a fun Adam’s Family kind of way. Young vampire, Amelia, finds the next King—Prince Tangine—to be the most obnoxious boy ever. He’s spoiled and gets anything he wants including her pet pumpkin. With help from Wooo, a ghostly butler and her other two bizarre friends she finds the secret of the Prince’s past.

Black and white images compliment the text well. Wide-eyed characters fill many of the pages including an eye or two popping out of Countess Frivoleeta’s head. She’s Amelia’s mom and sports quite the tall hair. Her vampire dad spends most of his time filling in crossword puzzles.

As one can tell early on, you won’t have to think too deeply to enjoy this one. The light, tongue in cheek humor is the perfect match for those emerging middle grade readers. There’s even a little lesson on how to be a friend. With all but one plot point wrapped up by the end, it opens the door (one of dozens at the Fang residence) to a new adventure in Book 2.

AMELIA FANG AND THE UNICORNS OF GLITTEROPOLIS

Amelia Fang and her friends love their dark and gloomy world of Nocturnia. But when Tangine’s mom, Queen Fairyweather, goes missing, they must brave the journey to the terrifying Kingdom of the Light.

With fairies and angel-kittens lurking around every corner, who can they trust? And will they finally uncover the real villain keeping the kingdoms of Light and Dark mortal enemies?

MY ADDED TAKE: Off they go to the Kingdom of the Light in this fast pace sequel. It won’t be long before one of them is turned into a bumble bee while the others have to fake being a real unicorn. The tongue in cheek adventure never gets too scary and many of the side comments made by the characters are of the laugh out loud variety.

It’s wacky and weird with a train ride on a rainbow, a pumpkin as a pet, and a Unicorn Banquet. The author must have had fun creating the character names like Fabio the Unicorn along with leprechauns McSparkle and McShine. The theme of cooperation and understanding is about as deep as it gets here. It’s one of those stories you can sit back and not have to think too much—just enjoy the ride.

For a look at author Laura Ellen Anderson and all the goings on in her world, visit her author web site.

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Coming up next Monday is another MARVELOUS MIDDLE GRADE MONDAY

If you would like to join in the MMGM fun and get your own spot on the walkway, all you have to do is blog about a middle grade book you love on a Monday (contests, author interviews and whatnot also count–but are most definitely not required) and email me the title of the book you’re featuring and a link to your blog at gpcolo (at) gmail (dot) com

(Make sure you put MMGM or Marvelous Middle Grade Monday in the subject line so it gets sorted accurately–and please don’t forget to say what book you’re featuring)

You MUST email me your link by Sunday evening (11 PM Eastern Time) in order to be included in the list of links for the coming Monday.

Thanks for spreading the middle grade love and for being a part of this awesome tradition begun by Shannon Messenger and carried on here at ALWAYS in the MIDDLE! (CLICK HERE FOR PAST MMGM POSTS)

*Please note: these posts are not a reflection of my own opinions on the books featured. Each blogger is responsible for their own MMGM content and I do not pre-screen reviews ahead of time, nor do I control what books they choose. I simply assemble the list based on the links that are emailed to me.