Review - Fancy Nancy: Explorer Extraordinaire!

Fancy Nancy: Explorer Extraordinaire! (Fancy Nancy)
by Jane O'Connor
illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser
Date: 2009
Publisher: HarperCollins
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: hardcover
Source: library

From the dazzling bestselling duo Jane O’Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser, a picture book with a nonfiction twist for the fancy girl who loves the outdoors!

For the fanciest girl around, the outdoors are out of this world. Fancy Nancy and her best friend, Bree, set out to explore the fascinating world of wildflowers, trees, leaves, birds, and, of course, butterflies in their exclusively glamorous Explorers' Club.

With recipes for pinecone bird feeders and extra-fancy lemonade, an official club bird, and an exclusive map of the territory, this popular book shows Fancy Nancy as one explorer extraordinaire!

Take a look at Nancy's very own enlightening discoveries and find out just how fancy the outdoors can be!

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is my first experience with these Fancy Nancy books that have a non-fiction twist. I actually quite enjoyed it, and I even learned something I didn't know before!

There is a little bit of a story. Nancy and her friend Bree start an explorers' club. They let their younger siblings join, too, and they set about exploring three backyards (Nancy's, Bree's, and Mrs. DeVine's). There are facts about bugs and flowers and birds, and even a few photographs that Nancy and Bree supposedly took while on their exploring expedition.

But the younger siblings are really young, and when they break a rule by picking some flowers from Mrs. DeVine's garden (gasp!) Nancy and Bree kick them out of the club. But the little ones keep exploring, and eventually they find something pretty important, leading to a resolution of the conflict.

This book shows that Nancy isn't just about being fancy; in fact, that isn't really the focus here. What's important is what the girls are finding in their backyards. The photographs are a nice touch, although I would warn parents that there is a photo of a spider that kids with arachnophobia might find a bit disturbing.

I picked up a few of these Fancy Nancy fiction/non-fiction titles from the library. If they're as good as this one, I can't wait to read the rest!

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 4 out of 5