The Land of Stories Hardcover Gift Set

I purchased this set with high hopes. My 3rd grader told me her teacher was reading The Land of Stories out loud to the class, and she asked if I would purchase a copy for her. I did, and I told her I would have to read it first, to see what kind of book it was, and to make sure that it is appropriate. After reading for a while, there are a few things in the book that concern me and that I don't find appropriate for third graders. The first is at the beginning of the book, when Conner is discussing the true moral of Sleeping Beauty being that "you shouldn't piss off your neighbors." This language is not appropriate for 3rd graders, and is continued throughout the book, with Goldilocks and Red being "floozies, harlots and bimbos." The second is when they are breaking in to Red Riding Hood's castle, and there is a portrait of her painted wearing only a wolf skin coat, which is "memorable", followed by Jack and Goldilocks kissing "passionately and long overdue" through a fence and Conner says, "It's a good thing there are bars between them". This level of suggestiveness is not appropriate. The part where Conner and Alex are in the water trying to break into Snow White's castle, and Conner says that the water is so cold that they are now "twin sisters" is not even close to age appropriate- there is no need to discuss his genitalia in a children's book- however ill conceived a joke it may be. And frankly, not a joke that I want to explain to my 8 y.o. There are various levels of morality questions presented, where essentially if you love someone you will break rules (cheat on a test, lie, etc.) Aside from content, the writing style is painful to read, and is full of grammatical errors, and you can certainly tell that there was no experienced editor or ghost writer on board. If you are looking for a GOOD book for kids, try the Fablehaven series (also full of magic), Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow or Dragon Slippers (both by Jessica Day George) or anything by John Flanagan.

My kids 10 and 12, boy and girl, won't put this series down. They love it!

my kids and I love reading this together. Great family time.

Book set ordered as a gift for a young girl, so did not open the protective plastic. Arrived well packaged and on time. Very colorful and appears to be of good quality.

Awesome! I purchased this as a Christmas gift for my 11 yr old. She read the series from her school library, and wanted her own copies. Great condition, it arrived earlier than expected. The box it came in was a little damaged but we weren’t gonna keep it anyway. Amazing series for older readers!

Excellent! Love that they are hardcover. They are not carrying hardcover in the local bookstore as much because it costs more to produce. Therefore, they have the soft cover option. The whole family enjoys the series.

Purchased this as B-Day present for our Grand Nephew (along "Worlds Collide")..He just turned nine years old and loves to read---thanks goodness!! He has already decided to start with Book 3 and is thrilled with them all. Great gift for young readers.

My son's teacher was reading the first book at school and he enjoyed it so much he wanted it for home. The set is a good value and the books are entertaining for me as I read to my son. He reads them on his own as well. He is a typical 9 year old boy.

I liked that it is together as a set.But beware, there is a 6th book and it is not in this Collection-Set.Recommend it.

My ten year old daughter loved this collection for her 10th birthday. She did not stop reading till the collection was complete. Highly recommend.

The books are an excellent read. The books are calming to read and there wonderful book to have. The first book is about love stories and magic plus fairy tale. You will just love reading these books. The books keep the fairy tale alive and fun. I just love reading the first book and I can’t wait until I read the second one.

Go for it!! The covers are beautiful and shining. Love the series so much. Happy to have the gift set

These are great books for young readers. my child got right into these books and could not put them down. I was wondering the age when i purchased this set and I would recommend for 11-13 years.