Tag: Stella and the Sprites

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Intermediate

Stella meets more Night Sprites in Tooth Bandits!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

night spritesTooth Bandits (Stella and the Night Sprites #2), by Stella Hay/Illustrated by Lisa Manuzak, (March 2016, Scholastic), $4.99, ISBN: 9780545820004

Recommended for ages 6-8

Stella is at a sleepover where her friend loses a tooth. Exciting, right? Her friends fall asleep, knowing the tooth fairy will come put a coin under pillow, but Stella has her special glasses and discovers a little Night Sprite named Piper, who steals her friend’s coin! Piper needs a coin to decorate her scooter, like all the Sprites do. With a loose tooth of her own, Stella is worried that Piper will steal her coin, too! She needs to come up with a solution to keep all the kids’ Tooth Fairy booty safe.

This is the second book in the Stella and the Night Sprites series from Scholastic’s early chapter book line, Branches. Stella’s got a pair of magic glasses that let her see a little more than normal glasses do, and she’s been using her ability to teach mischievous little sprites ways to cause a little less havoc. It’s an easy to read series, with short chapters, cute illustrations, and discussion questions at the end of each book, so you can talk to your kids about the book and hear what they’ve got to say!

After reading the first book in this series, Knit-Knotters, I suggested making knit-knotters as a companion craft; I feel like I need to keep on top of my game, so I’ll suggest a scooter printable that kids can color in and decorate with stickers of their own. A Google Images search on “scooter printable” yields some adorable results, like this Hello Kitty printable, and you can even teach kids how to make their own heart-shaped paper clips.

Posted in Early Reader, Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate

Knit-Knotters: A New Fairy Tale from Scholastic’s Branches!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Stella is getting glasses – and she’s not sure how she feels about them. When she puts them on, though, she starts seeing things very differently – like the glasses were enchanted! That night, Stella discovers that her tangled and knotted hair isn’t her fault, but the fault of a knit-knotter sprite named Trixie, whose job it is to tangle up kids’ hair! If Stella lets her tangle her hair, she’ll have to get a haircut, and she doesn’t want that! Can she and Trixie figure out a deal that will work out for both of them?

spritesStella & The Night Sprites, Book One: Knit-Knotters, by Sam Hay/Illustrated by Turine Tran (Jan. 2015, Scholastic), $4.99, ISBN: 9780545819985

Recommended for ages 6-8

This is another series under Scholastic’s Branches line, made for newly independent readers. When kids are growing out of Easy Readers but aren’t quite ready to dive into chapter books, Branches is the way to go. I’ve read a few of these, and they’re great for young readers who are ready for a little bit more. The books are illustrated and have easy to read, short chapters with fun storylines. Stella and the Sprites is adorable, with a fun, fantasy storyline about mischievous sprites and fairies and a little girl who can think really fast on her feet. A discussion guide with questions is available at the end of the book, so parents, read along with your kids, then talk about the book!

Branches Books are great for literacy programs at the library, too. I’ve got a need at my library for a literacy program for younger grades, so my shopping cart will be full of these come budget time this month. They’re an easy enough read for kids, and we can discuss it right here at the library – maybe even make some knit-knotters of your own with toothpicks, beads, and glitter glue!