Story Time: Monkey Has Fallen For Geronimo Stilton

Story Time with LENikki and I hope you’ll join us today for Story Time with Literary Escapism, a bi-weekly feature where we showcase various children books that fall directly in the fantasy & science fiction genres, as well as books we’re enjoying with our young children. We’re talking boardbooks, picture books, those books labeled as beginner or newly independent readers, and middle grade – anything of interest to those readers who are not quite ready for the young adult genre. So we hope you’ll join us on the carpet as we share the stories that have captured our little ones imaginations.

I’ve run into a problem with the Monkey. He loves reading, and he’s been reading graphic novels (which is awesome), but he hasn’t wanted to try anything else. He loves the Choose Your Adventure books, superheroes, and Sideways Stories from Wayside School, but I haven’t been able to get him interested in anything bigger than your 40 page chapter book.  Based on Nikki’s earlier suggestion, I even picked up The Candy Shop by Brandon Mull, and while he loved the concept, he hasn’t touched it.

I don’t have a problem with him reading graphic novels, in fact I’m a huge supporter of everyone reading graphic novels, especially those who are just starting to read. What I don’t want him to do is get pigeon-holed into one type of book and not expand at all.

GStilton-Lost Treasure of the Emerald EyeOne of the things they are working on in second grade is developing the students reading stamina, getting them to read books that can’t be read all in one setting. This is what I’ve been trying to get Ian interested in, but I haven’t had any luck. So I went to his teacher to get some advice and she came back with a winner. She took it upon herself to do some hunting at the library and had a new book that captured his attention the next day. His teacher is pretty amazing and she got him hooked on the Geronimo Stilton series (58+ books) by Scholastic.

It all started when my sister, Thea, discovered an old, mysterious map. In no time at all, my sister dragged me and my cousin Trap into her treasure hunt. It was an adventure I’d never forget.

He’s already devoured Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye, is currently reading Geronimo’s Valentine, and has asked for more. Since a new Scholastic Book Order was in my hand, and knowing his school had many of the 50+ books in it’s library, I went looking to see what the series had to offer and came across an unexpected find. Not only is Geronimo Stilton a modern day mystery/adventure series, but he can also be found in Cavemice (5+ books), The Kingdom of Fantasy (5+ books), and Spacemice (2+ books). Monkey loves fantasy and science fiction, and knowing his new favorite character was involved, can you guess what I picked up? *grin*

I’m ecstatic that he’s found a new series to enjoy, but now I’m wondering what else is out there like Geronimo Stilton that could catch his interest next. I’ve tried browsing through Barnes & Noble for chapter books that might interest him, but their selection is very limited. They do have a ton of books, but it tends to be multiple books in a few series.

GStilton-Stone of FireHave you been introduced to a series your young reader discovered and loved outside of a bookstore? If you’re having a hard time getting your young one interested in longer books, may I recommend/suggest any one of these starts to the Geronimo Stilton series.

Geronimo Stilton Cavemice #1: The Stone of Fire

Who is Geronimo Stiltonoot?
He is a cavemouse — Geronimo Stilton’s ancient ancestor. He runs the stone newspaper in the prehistoric village of Old Mouse City. From dealing with dinosaurs to dodging meteorites, his life in the Stone Age is full of adventure!

THE STONE OF FIRE
Old Mouse City is in an uproar. The most precious artifact in the mouseum — the Stone of Fire — has been stolen! Geronimo Stiltonoot and his cavemouse friend Hercule Poirat are on the case. It’s up to them to retrieve the stone from the ferocious Tiger Khan and his band of fearsome felines!

GStilton-Kingdom of FantasyGeronimo Stilton and the Kingdom of Fantasy #1: The Kingdom of Fantasy

Join Geronimo for his biggest, most fabumouse adventure yet! Dragons, mermaids, and much, much more await readers in this very special edition!

I knew from the start that it was no ordinary day, but I certainly didn’t expect to find a golden staircase in my attic. Up at the top, there was a door. And beyond the door was a world I never could have imagined — the Kingdom of Fantasy!

Along with my guide, a frog named Scribblehopper, I set off on an incredible adventure to save the Queen of the Fairies. But along the way, I had to face giant scorpions, witches, sea serpents, pixies, and dozens of other creatures that I had only ever heard stories about. Holey cheese, what a journey! Could I save the Queen . . . and my own tail?

GStilton-Alien EscapeGeronimo Stilton Spacemice #1: Alien Escape

Meet Geronimo Stiltonix:
He is a spacemouse — the Geronimo Stilton of a parallel universe! He is captain of the spaceship MouseStar 1. While flying through the cosmos he visits distant planets and meets crazy aliens. His adventures are out of this world!

ALIEN ESCAPE
Geroimo Stiltonix’s spaceship is in danger of exploding! The only solution is to replace the engine’s batteries by tracking down a rare element. When a group of mysterious aliens claim they can help, Geronimo is relieved. But are the aliens as friendly as they seem?

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

5 Comments

  1. Oh, I know…. my son ONLY read graphic novels for years! He is in 5th grade and has just now started reading regular books. Hang in there, keep letting him read what he is comfy with and he’ll get there (in my opinion anyway!).

Comments are closed.