ages 7-10

We have reviewed for Susan K. Marlow and Kregel Publications in the past and LOVED the books we received from them about Andi’s adventures.  This time we were gifted books from the newest Andi Carter series: Circle C Stepping Stones.  Book #1 was Andi Saddles Up and Book #2 was Andi Under The Big Top.

I knew because of our past experience with Susan K. Marlow books through Kregel Publications that these books were going to be wonderful for Laycie and Jackson.  They did not disappoint.  These became our bedtime story read-alouds for the last month.  Laycie especially enjoyed them but I think Jack is a little young yet because his attention was not captured by the stories like I had hoped.  Still we will hang on to these for when he’s old enough to appreciate them. 

Circle C Stepping Stones takes you back to when Andi Carter was a young girl, just 9 years old.  My Laycie is 8, turning 9 in April so she was very excited by this. This series is intended for kids ages 7-10.

  Andi loves her life on the Circle C Ranch and she absolutely loves her horse, Taffy.  Taffy is now three so that means Andi can finally ride her.  That’s her birthday wish.  In Andi Saddles Up you’ll learn all about Andi, Taffy, their family, friends and their life on the ranch.

Then in Andi Under The Big Top, the circus rolls into town and becomes the center of attention for the whole town.  Andi and her family attend, making new friends and helping a young boy find his way home.  There’s even an attempt made by the Circus to steal Taffy for one of the acts.  You’ll have to read to see how this one turns out.

Due to my recent health issues, we did not use the accompanying study guides for these books but I did take a long look at them and found them to be wonderfully creative.  Each title of the series has it’s own study guide to help you educationally build upon the story itself.  They are around 25+ pages in length and filled with information, puzzles, new words and other fun activities to encourage learning with your student.  I will definitely be going back to these in the future when we read the rest of the book series as it’s released.  You can download these guides on the website when you purchase the titles in this series.

Laycie absolutely LOVED these stories.  We read them at her bedtime, snuggled together on the couch.  We chose to read one chapter per night but sometimes we read two when she could not wait to see what happened next!  She was excited for the next night to see what Andi was up to next.  She loved that Andi had a horse and was able to ride her horse alone.  She also wants to see the Circus now because she loved the description provided in the book.  She cannot wait for us to purchase the rest of the titles in this series so she can read more about Andi and Taffy’s adventures.

Each book within the Circle C Stepping Stones series is priced at $7.99.  They are well worth every penny.  The Study Guides are free on the website and go along with each book in the series.