Introducing Zeb and Ellie. Brother and sister, they’re visiting their grandma’s house, and their biggest fear (besides the bad-tempered cat) is that they’ll be bored to death. No TV for weeks? Oh, no!
Why Candy Kingdom?
When my kids were in elementary school, they often were assigned to read “at their level.” However, some of them were really strong readers, and their “level” of vocabulary exceeded their maturity. So many of the books in their “level” were like Lord of the Flies. Seriously, too much “content.”
I wanted kids who love to read to have a book on their reading-skill level, but with age-appropriate content. The Candy Kingdom was born–based on a playground game my daughter was playing with her friends at the time, and on my love of candy and the game Candyland.
It still has mild peril, which I think resonates with kids, and the characters in the story have to make tough decisions. Sometimes they make what could be the wrong decisions, but they have to learn from those as well. Plus, there are brother-sister relationships to explore–in addition to the wild and colorful world of the candy-filled game designed by their long-lost grandfather.
The Bored Game is book 1 in a four-book series. Watch for book 2, The Desserted Island coming to bookstores later this year.
