My opinion only ...

Ok, here goes another post you'll either strongly agree or disagree with!

Our son is grown and we have no grandchildren yet, so we don't have to "worry" about finding good books to read to a young one... and I am so glad about that. Being the writers that we are of the Sarah's World series books, we can't help being interested in books for young people, though. 

These are a few I've seen recently; I have not read them and don't recommend them:

(Noting where I saw the books and got the info)

From Barnes and Noble (B&N Exclusive Edition), under Best Sellers section

The Serpent's Shadow -- for kids ages 9-11 years, 4.5 stars

He's b-a-a-ack! Despite their best efforts, Carter and Sadie Kane can't seem to keep Apophis, the chaos snake, down. Now Apophis is threatening to plunge the world into eternal darkness, and the Kanes are faced with the impossible task of having to destroy him once and for all. Unfortunately, the magicians of the House of Life are on the brink of civil war, the gods are divided, and the young initiates of Brooklyn House stand almost alone against the forces of chaos. The Kanes' only hope is an ancient spell that might turn the serpent's own shadow into a weapon, but the magic has been lost for a millennia. To find the answer they need, the Kanes must rely on the murderous ghost of a powerful magician who might be able to lead them to the serpent's shadow . . . or might lead them to their deaths in the depths of the underworld.

From Amazon

The Amulet of Samarkand -- for kids age 10 and up, 4.5 stars

Nathaniel is a magician's apprentice, taking his first lessons in the arts of magic. But when a devious hot-shot wizard named Simon Lovelace ruthlessly humiliates Nathaniel in front of his elders, Nathaniel decides to kick up his education a few notches and show Lovelace who's boss. With revenge on his mind, he summons the powerful djinni, Bartimaeus. But summoning Bartimaeus and controlling him are two different things entirely, and when Nathaniel sends the djinni out to steal Lovelace's greatest treasure, the Amulet of Samarkand, he finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of magical espionage, murder, and rebellion.

From Barnes & Noble

The Rising -- for teens ages 14-17 years old

“Will keep teens who are undaunted by its 600 pages on the edge of their seats. Interweaving the stories of Jamie, Dracula, Frankenstein, and a mysterious man wandering the American desert, this book is closer to the elaborate works of Stephen King than many vampire novels marketed to teens.”—VOYA

James Bond meets Dracula in this epic saga of one boy and a ton of weapons versus the world's oldest evil—vampires as you've never seen them before!

Sixteen-year-old Jamie Carpenter's life was violently upended when he was brought into Department 19, a classified government agency of vampire hunters that was formed to deal with a little problem . . . known as Dracula.

Now why do you want to let your kids read books like these? This kind of book has been out for ages, they aren't anything new. There sure seems to be more of them now, however, and with darker themes and more hideous characters. Shouldn't reading be relaxing, entertaining, and educating (but fun)? Noe recently posted "The right magic" and in there talked about make-believe and the kind of imagination that is good for all of us, young and old. 

I do hope parents and authors will really think about what young people are reading, and give them good stuff to stimulate their minds and hearts. Hopefully Noe will one day put his pen to paper on a book for teens... that would be great!

Here's an open letter from one of our friends to some of her friends, to let them know about our Sarah's World books:

Hi everyone!
  I just wanted to introduce you to the childrens book series "Sarah's World" which is written and illustrated by my personal friends, [Noe and Cindy].
  I wanted to share with all of you this wonderful series. You'll never have to second guess the information or lessons being taught in these stories. No magic, monsters, or anything else unsavory here. 
  Please pass this along to absolutely everyone you know! These books can be given as gifts to young ones we care about. We need all the help we can get to mold young minds toward wholesomeness in this rotten system!
  One is interactive with educational links; it's awesome!
  They have just begun this endeavor and are up to three books now, so get your little ones in on the beginning of "Sarah's World".

Well, like I said, you're gonna either agree or disagree with this post, but hopefully it gave you food for thought. You can leave a comment if you want, of course.

Thank you for reading what noeandcindy.write !

cindy