Author R. L. LaFevers has two great fantasy adventure series for young chapter book readers, one with a girl hero and the other with a boy, both illustrated, and they’re both available in Kindle format.
If your young reader is a girl, check out the Theodosia series.
Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos (4.5/5 stars, ages 8 and up, currently priced at $2.99)
Theodosia Throckmorton has her hands full at the Museum of Legends and Antiquities in London.
Her father may be head curator, but it is Theo—and only Theo—who is able to see all the black magic and ancient curses that still cling to the artifacts in the museum.
Sneaking behind her father’s back, Theo uses old, nearly forgotten Egyptian magic to remove the curses and protect her father and the rest of the museum employees from the ancient, sinister forces that lurk in the museum’s dark hallways.
Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris (4.5/5 stars, ages 8 and up, currently priced at $5.99)
Theodosia Throckmorton is in a fix. Allowed to attend a reception given by one of the directors of her parents’ museum, she stumbles across Mr. Tetley of the British Museum—in most unusual circumstances!
Since Theo has last seen him in a showdown in an ancient Egyptian tomb, his reappearance could mean only one thing: the Serpents of Chaos are back.
Once again Theodosia will have to take on secret societies, evil curses, and dark magic too sinister to imagine, especially if it falls into the wrong hands.
Blocked at every turn, Theodosia will have to rely on her own skill and cunning—along with a little help from the most unexpected places.
Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus (4.5/5 stars, ages 8 and up, currently priced at $4.99)
Being able to detect black magic isn’t all tea and crumpets—and for Theodosia Throckmorton, it can be a decidedly tricky business!
When Sticky Will drags Theo to a magic show featuring the Great Awi Bubu, she quickly senses there is more to the magician than he lets on, setting in motion a chain of events she never could have bargained for.
Meanwhile, back at the Museum of Legends and Antiquities, Henry is home for the spring holidays and makes an accidental discovery of an artifact that alchemists have been hunting for centuries.
Soon, every black-cloaked occultist in London is trying to get their hands on it . . .
Theodosia and the Last Pharaoh (4.5/5 stars, ages 9 and up, currently priced at $5.38)
In this fourth book in the series, Theodosia sets off to Egypt to return the Emerald Tablet—embedded with the knowledge of some of the ancient world’s most guarded secrets.
Accompanied by her cat, Isis (smuggled along in a basket), Theo plans to return the artifact, then explore the mysteries surrounding her own birth and oh, yes— help her mother dig up treasures on her archeological expedition.
But nothing ever works out as planned, especially when a precious treasure appears suddenly, and then just as suddenly disappears . . .
When the Serpents of Chaos get involved, Theo finds she’s digging up a lot more than she expected!
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Boys may find the Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist series more to their liking.
Flight of the Phoenix – Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book I (4.5/5 stars, ages 8 and up, currently priced at $3.99)
Ten-year-old Nathaniel Fludd is the reluctant hero of Flight of the Phoenix (2009), the madcap debut of the American author R. L. LaFevers’s Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist series and a Junior Library Guild selection.
The year is 1928, the setting England, and Nate’s wayward parents have just been reported lost at sea.
Nate is sent that very day to his Aunt Phil’s house in Batting-at-the-Flies, but not for long . . . The morning after he arrives at the renowned beastologist’s doorstep, she whisks him away to the Arabian desert to witness a phoenix lay an egg!
A delightful adventure sure to please fans of mythology, maps, camels, and gremlins. Includes a glossary of terms from “cartographer” to “Tidy Sum.”
The Basilisk’s Lair – Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book 2 (4/5 stars, ages 6 and up, currently priced at $3.99)
Nate Fludd, Beastologist, is back in the camel saddle in hot pursuit of a missing, deadly Basilisk—–the King of Serpents.
As if saving an entire Dhughani village from the Basilisk’s poisonous gaze isn’t difficult enough, Nate and Aunt Phil must begin to piece together the mystery of his parents’ disappearance and protect the lone copy of the Fludd Book of Beasts from a sinister man who always seem to be one step ahead of them.
Pack your goggles, rue, and an extra pair of gloves and join Nate on another unbelievable adventure—there’s no rest for the world’s youngest beastologist-in-training!
The Wyverns’ Treasure – Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book 3 (4.5/5 stars, ages 6 and up, currently priced at $3.99)
After tangling with the deadly basilisk, Nathaniel Fludd is glad to return to England with his Aunt Phil.
But someone has ransacked their home, and their best suspect is the sinister man who’s been trying to steal the Book of Beasts.
Before Nate and Aunt Phil can find the culprit, they are called to Welsh countryside.
The wyverns (giant dragons) are in an uproar. Could the same man who ransacked the Fludd house be behind the rift with the wyverns? And just what does he want with The Book of Beasts? But before Nate can solve that mystery, he must calm the dragons before it’s too late.
It’s just another day at work for the world’s youngest beastologist!
The Unicorn’s Tale – Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book 4 (4.5/5 stars, ages 6 and up, currently priced at $4.61)
Is there no rest for the travel worn and weary? Not if you’re Nathaniel Fludd, the world’s youngest beastologist-in-training!
All Nate really wants is to track down his missing parents, but when a unicorn falls mysteriously ill, Nate’s Aunt Phil makes it clear where a beastologist’s duty lies: to the beasts.
And if taking care of the world’s beasts isn’t difficult enough, Nate and Aunt Phil must also keep them safe from the villainous Obediah Fludd, who intends to do them harm.
With all this taking up every last bit of his energy and time, will Nate ever find the parents he is so absolutely convinced are alive?