
Children's Books
First Readers Book Review: Heidi Hecklebeck Series
She really enjoys reading about girl protagonists and I’m so grateful that there are so many books to choose from for that
Review Date: August 17th, 2019
Written By: Wanda Coven
Illustrated By: Priscilla Burris
Cover Copy
In this book Heidi Hecklebeck goes to school for the very first time. When Melanie Maplethorpe turns her day into a nightmare, Heidi tells her parents that she wants to stay home and be her “real” self. What does she mean by that? Well, Heidi Hecklebeck has a secret—a big one—which is revealed after she looks through her special book and discovers a way to get back at meanie Melanie!
Review
We didn’t really know what to expect when we got into these, so Heidi’s secret was actually quite the surprise. It doesn’t really have any bearing on book one, but plays a role in the rest of the books. In book one Heidi is new to school and just trying to make it through the day, but has trouble with a mean girl who will act as her antagonist through more than just this book. So we see how Heidi tries to navigate her friendships and enemies and school life while being just a bit different- and how that difference helps or hurts herself and others.
I think Maddie relates to Heidi’s more silly side, so she enjoys the oddness of the protagonist. But as of yet we haven’t encountered the mean girl situation (she’s only in preschool and everyone gets along pretty well in her class) but I think this will be a good one for her as she gets older and into regular school. I don’t know which Madeline will be, but I hope she’s not the mean girl. So her reading how that kind of behavior affects others before it’s a possibility makes me feel like she will be better for it.
She really enjoys reading about girl protagonists and I’m so grateful that there are so many books to choose from for that. These may not excite her as much as stories of flying horses or superheroes (because those are her jam), but she enjoys them all the same!
Kid Ratings
- Art-Word Ratio (word heavy | slightly more wordy | even | slightly more pictures | picture heavy): even
- Mom eng: 8
- Kid eng: 9
