Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. A brother and sister discover that their grandfather is the caretaker at a wildlife reserve for mythical creatures. The first book in a series: wonderful premise, great characters, page-turning adventure. Grades 4-8.

2nd time around. Still love these books!

Absolutely loved every title in this series! This 5 book series took me quite a while to finish but, mostly, cause I didn't want it to end. The world that Brandon Mull created in these books is impressive and I became easily attached to these characters. Now that it's over I will miss them but what a fantastic job of finishing up a series. Highly recommended! ( )

This is a great collection of stories. I would like to live in Fablehaven! ( )

Summary:
Fablehaven is a series of five books about a girl named Kendra and her younger brother Seth and their adventures in Fablehaven. Fablehaven is a wild magical haven their grandparents manage and protect. The first book starts the story with Kendra and Seth visiting their "weird" grandparents they hardly know in the middle of no where while their parents go on a cruise. At first their grandparents hide the reality of the magical creatures, but curiosity got the better of Seth and their grandpa told them about the magic and the magic milk that allows them to see the magical creatures for example a fairy without the milk looked like a butterfly but with the milk they can see a fairy. The magic world has basic guidelines or rules if you leave them alone they will generally leave you alone and if you don't do harm then harm won't come to you. Seth's extreme curiosity got him into trouble and in turn put his family in danger as well. In the end Kendra saved the day with the fairy queen blessing and her innocence counteracted her brother's curiosity and adventurous nature. The following books have new adventures that Seth gets them in trouble while Kendra ends up saving them.
Personal Reaction:
I personally enjoy fantasy books and movies. I like to push my imagination by reading about things I can't see every day. This set of books were fun, but also showed how much you can effect others by thoughtless actions like Seth. I also enjoyed the courage and inner strength Kendra shows over and over again and her ability to forgive her brother for his harmful actions. They balance each other out very well.
Extension Ideas:
Since it would be an older group of kids to read the book to it would be fun to have them draw items they see around them and they have a special snack of "special" milk. After the snack they can go back through their drawings and redraw them with a magical change and compare with the class.
Have the kids discuss the decisions that Seth made and how they affected the people around him.
Also have discussions on how Kendra was able to forgive her brother and similar situations that the students might have had with their siblings if have siblings. ( )