Circle C Beginnings - Andi's Pony Trouble Book Review

Circle C Beginnings is a book series that features a little girl, Andi, and her pony, Taffy, as they journey through adventures set in 1874.  The author, Susan K. Marlow, brings Andi and Taffy to life with every turn of the page.  The illustrations and easy to read text are perfect for children ages 6-8 who are ready to read chapter books.  Even younger children will enjoy having these stories read to them.  It's a girl's dream to have her very own pony and live in an adventurous world!

There are currently 4 books in the Circle C Beginnings series:  Andi's Pony Trouble, Andi's Indian Summer, Andi's Fair Surprise and Andi's Scary School Days.  The books are so reasonably priced at only $4.99 each.  You can also purchase them in sets of 2 for only $9.98 with no additional shipping costs.  To really save and get all the fun in one just choose the set of all 4 books for only $15.96.  That is the perfect gift for a birthday or holiday!  Click HERE to order or to read a sample chapter of any of the books.

Coming in August 2011, two more books will be available:  Andi's Lonely Little Foal and Andi's Circle C Christmas.

 What is so amazing about these books and this company is that each book comes with coloring pages, puzzles, and activities for FREE at the website.  The activity pages are perfectly coordinated with each book and cover subjects such as reading comprehension, vocabulary, geography, writing, and math.  Do you like to do lapbooks or have you always wanted to try?  Circle C Beginnings offers lapbooks to compliment each book!  They provide hands on learning for children ages 5-9.  They are only $12.00 each OR order the lapbook and book together for only $15.00.  Wow!

Would you like to meet Andi?  Here's a video she made to introduce herself and tell you about her books.

I had the opportunity to read one of the Circle C Beginnings books, Andi's Pony Trouble.  It was the perfect length for a 6-8 year old.  The illustrations were sweet and the story was fun!  I loved that it integrated good values and lessons learned.  It's hard to find books today that teach morals.  Circle C Beginnings does that in a fun and real life way.

My son, Matthew, on the other hand wanted to run for the hills when I tried to get him to sit down with me and read it.  He's 11 and didn't want anything to do with it.  Hahaha!  I wasn't surprised.  I really wanted a child's perspective though, so I enlisted my sweet little friend, Louren.  She was more than willing and very excited to get her hands on the book.  Louren is 7 years old and loves horses.  This was her cup of tea!  Here is what her Mom, Kelli, wrote about their experience with the book....

From the very first page of Andi’s Pony Trouble, I knew that this was a book for our family. It immediately promoted “Good Manners” at the dinner table and portrayed the mother in a positive manner.  My opinion of the book only got better when I went to the website included at the back of the book, and was completely impressed with all that was offered to compliment this particular book. There was such a variety to choose from – geography, math, vocabulary, coloring pages, & even a recipe all geared for that specific book. What impressed me the most was a lapbook they offered. Some of the topics covered in the Lap Book were: Good Manners, Roosters and Hens, Caring for a Pony, & Praying.  The activities were age appropriate, although there were a couple that were a little advanced for my daughter, age 7.

I think it's fair to say that Louren loved this book.  From the start, the book captured her attention.  The first day we read 3 chapters and the next day Louren wouldn't let me stop reading.  In fact, we read the rest of the book in one sitting.  As we came to the end, Louren said, "That book was very good.  Please ask Ms. Doreen for more of these."  That was clear enough for me!   Now, I plan to purchase the whole series.

Well, there ya have it!  Straight from the horse's mouth.  HaHa, that was funny.  Get it?  The horse's mouth?  Well, anyway....Circle C Beginnings earns an A in my book and in Louren's book too.  If  you have older children, you also may want to check out Circle C Adventures by the same author, Susan K. Marlow.

Andi and I will say goodbye for now.  We hope you enjoy the Circle C Beginnings books as much as we did.  See ya'll around!

 Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.