Book Review - Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor

The first Fancy Nancy book was published in 2005.  It's incredibly popular and has spawned 35 other books as well as dolls and costumes.  I've only read several myself, but the ones I have read are great and the illustrations by Robin Preiss Glasser are absolutely charming.  The premise for all the stories is Nancy, an active little girl, who loves fancy things.  She dresses up in high heels, tutus, and boas, wants to learn French, and most importantly (for the books) has a complex vocabulary.  Every page has at least one word such as "iridescent" or "extraordinary" and then defines the word saying "that's a fancy word for..."

The reading level for this series is 1st grade and up.  The writing is formulaic and most words will be recognizable to the average 6 year old.  More specifically, I recommend it for children who are Upper Emergent or Early Fluent Readers.  However, the content is appropriate for much younger children.  I've read these stories to kids as young as 2 or 3. 

As well as improving children's vocabulary these books can be used to help somewhat older readers learn how to use context to discover the meaning of an unknown word.  Much of the fancy vocabulary will be unfamiliar to elementary students and is always used to describe a person, object, or action that is also being introduced or explained elsewhere.  Sometimes I'll have children guess the meaning of the fancy word before reading the definition that Nancy uses.

The first story is about Nancy teaching her rather plain family how to be fancy.  Following ones include dog sitting for a neighbor, meeting a boy from France, and throwing all sorts of parties.  Along with vocabulary, each book has an age appropriate lesson.  Often they're about getting along with other people and not allowing small upsets to ruin the day.  I've read these books with kids aged 3 to 9, they have enjoyable qualities for all children.