READ THIS: Fancy Nancy Explorer Extraordinaire! By Jane O'Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser

How we love Fancy Nancy and Explorer Extraordinaire is perfect for these cold days when we want to go outside only in our imagination.  Ever the imaginative one, Fancy Nancy takes us and will take you and your children on some unforgettable adventures with her partner in crime, Bree.  From the clubhouse to the map of their territory, they infuse more great vocabulary into the language of young ones incorporating "mature,"  "antique," "fragile," and many more.  They get in touch with nature, examining many creatures and establish everything from rules to a Butterfly-Hunting Ensemble.  We just LOVE Fancy Nancy!


Our Petite Peachy Panel thought:
Explorer Extraordinaire is just one more reason to love the Fancy Nancy series.  This quirky little girl is just full of surprises!  As it turns out, Nancy is an explorer and she approaches her expeditions with the same gusto and flair as she does everything else in her life.  With only two members, her Explorer Extraordinaire Club has an "essential" supplies list, a clubhouse, a map of their "territory", and a list of club rules.  The girls have really thought of everything!  The great thing about this book in particular is that it's very informative in an entertaining way.  Nancy teaches the reader all about insects and spiders, differences between butterflies and moths, various types of birds, even plants and trees.  There are recipes in the book, and plenty of narrative in Nancy's amusing style.  From her suggestion of the perfect "butterfly-hunting ensemble" to her instructions for a "lavish leaf crown", Nancy is one little girl who knows how to make every life experience count.  Children and adults alike could take a lesson or two from Fancy Nancy. 

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (March 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061684864
• ISBN-13: 978-0061684869