The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet

In The Hidden Stairs, Eric and his friends discover a secret world in his basement. Consigned to cleaning the cluttered room, Eric is relieved when his friends Neal and Julie agree to help him with his chore, instead of playing the soccer game they were planning on. Neal is more interested in goofing around, and when he kicks the soccer ball and sends it ricocheting off the walls, the door to the small storage closet under the stairs pops open. Eric knows the room - what he doesn't know is that if you go inside, shut the door, and turn off the lights, an incandescent stairway appears at your feet, leading down to adventure.

Thus the trio step their way into Droon for the first time. Eric's exhilaration of finding a world under his house show more evaporates, however, when strange goons on flying lizards shoot flaming arrows at them. The kids tumble into the forest below, but escape, partly because of help they receive from Keeah, a princess of Droon. She asks Eric to take a message to Galen, a wizard, and dashes off. Eric reunites with Neal and Julie, and together they stumble upon Galen's invisible tower. Though they have found the wizard, more bad news follows when his magic mirror reveals that the evil Lord Sparr has captured Keeah, and taken her to Plud, his evil fortress. The children agree they must help her, and set off to brave the villain and save the day.

This book is brimming with invention and curiosity, certainly, and the story will enchant young readers. Imagine finding a magical world tucked away in your basement! Personally, I found it a bit slow. The fantasy was very typical and felt forced. I think this is one of those cases where the book is more suited for early readers than for adults; children will more easily suspend belief and accept a spider with a human head and a bad guy with purple fins behind his ears than I can. I love fantasy, but good fantasy needs to ground itself. Either the fantasy world has to be so well crafted that I believe it exists, or the realistic setting needs to draw me in first, and show me that these regular people are just as startled by the fantastic developments as I am. This opening book for the Droon series does neither of these things. However, it is a beginning reader chapter book, so the author has limited time to create not one but two worlds. I trust, as the series progresses, that the story will develop both the real setting and the magical Droon setting, and the books will become increasingly believable. In the meantime, I do value the creativity in this book, and the potential it offers. I easily see how a child would be swept away with wonder, and I plan to keep this one around and see how my girls respond when they are older. show less

If you are looking for an easy chapter book that incorporates the premises of the Narnia chronicles and Lord of the Rings trilogy into short, 80-page nuggets for the 2nd-4th grade crowd, look no further than the Secrets of Droon series. The Hidden Stairs... is the first in the series, and introduces all the major characters. There is Eric, who has a secret staircase to another realm hidden in his messy basement, and his two best friends Neal and Julie. They arrive in Droon, a world in turmoil, as an evil wizard named Lord Sparr is trying to take over by finding three objects of power that have been scattered. They meet Princess Keeah, and her ally, the old wizard Galen Longbeard, and battle against Sparr and his army of Ninns using show more magical artifacts. The series continues as the trio's dreams summon them back to Droon to fight Lord Sparr and help Princess Keeah. This is a great series to recommend to kids who love fantasy but are not ready for the challenge and complexity of C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien. show less

The Secrets of Droon series was one of my absolute favorites as a kid. This first book opens up a whole new world of excitement to a young reader. With compelling characters, a massive world with untold stories to unfold, and lots of adventures and action, it's easy for a reader to get hooked. One of the first chapter books I began to read this got me extremely committed to the series to the point I bought every one! It was simple enough I could understand but compelled a challenge, the illustrations every chapter also gave me a good idea of how all the characters were feeling and a better grasp on what was happening. The message of this book is that everyone can be a hero. The children Julie, Neal, and Eric are just normal kids in the show more real world, but when they go over to the world of the Droon they always help greatly to defeat the evils of the world. show less

This is the first in a series called The Secrets of Droon. We purchased the first 10 in the series of almost 40 books. So far the students seem to enjoy the imaginary city of Droon and the adventures the characters face. In many ways it is a simplified version of Harry Potter. Even Eric in the illustration on the cover looks like Harry Potter with his round glasses. The story is well written and suspenseful and the plot is interesting and the characters are fun and likeable though a bit predictable and anticlimactic. I’m not sure that it can sustain the interest for 40 books but I will order some more.

This is a pretty simple and relatively entertaining beginning to a beginners fantasy chapter book series. The characters are simply, yet adequately constructed. The story allows for the main characters to enter into and leave the other world, Droon, over the course of 96 pages and have a complete adventure along the way.

I was rather "lukewarm" about this book, but my six year old son, 8 year old daughter, and my husband thought it was very good. The story is one about basement cleaning, a hidden staircase that leads to a mysterious world...(you probably get the idea).

The magical world is Droon, and there are three children that fall into it. There they meet a princess, a bad guy named Sparr, a good wizard named Galen, and a host of magical creatures that tend to have more appendages than one normally finds in our own world.

The book made a good Read-Aloud, especially if you took the short sentences and ran them together. For children reading the book for themselves, the short sentences are, of course, an asset, so I wouldn't mark it down for that.

As show more for the reading level, this is one of the few books that I have found that have different AR (accelerated reading listings) listings. Generally though, it was said to be at the entering 3rd Grade level (3.0).

Given my own children's reactions, I would say give this series a try. There is little in the way of violence or any objectionable material, unless you adverse to introducing magic to your children. As it is a series, it's a good way to promote further reading.

Pam @ http://www.booksforkids-reviews.com/2008/09/secrets-of-droon-hidden-stairs-and.h... show less

This is a wonderful book that students can get engulfed in. These children find a secret world in a friends basement and they go on adventures. This would be good for students who are fluent in reading up to sixth grade.