Why We Love Books in a Series

There is always talk about what the big trend is in YA literature. Right now it’s vampires and dystopias, but soon it will probably be mermaids and cyborgs, or maybe it will be dinosaurs. Who knows? It fluctuates, and despite anyone’s claim, it can’t really be predicted. But what does seem to be a lasting trend is the popularity of books in a series.

Flavorwire posted a list the other day of what they deemed to be 10 of the greatest YA series of all time, and it made us wonder, what is the appeal of a series over a single book? We’re not arguing that there aren’t great single books out there, or that they can't be as popular, but you have to admit that when you think of the best-selling books of the time, they are all series: The Hunger Games, Twilight, Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings. The list could go on. And books continue to be bought by publishing houses not just as a single title, but in groups of three or more. There's always a discussion of whether the soon-to-be acquired book could be turned into a series.
And we're no different. We have a few new series in the works, and book two of Scarletta Junior Readers’ Lexicon Adventure series, The Ice Castle: An Adventure in Music, hits shelves in August. (The series follows cousins Ivan and Daphne and their exciting--and sometimes dangerous--adventures in the land of Lexicon. If you haven’t read them yet, you definitely should.)
But back to series as a whole, what’s so great about them? Here’s our list so far:
1. Kids grow up with the characters. When I read the first Harry Potter book, I was the same age as Harry. As the books continued to be published, I stayed roughly the same age as the characters, and it made me identify with them even more.

A Taste of Reading's Adventures - Yum!

This summer, Scarletta is coming out with its first food-related book: Knives on the Cutting Edge by Bob Macdonald. And let me tell you, copyediting a book about food makes you HUNGRY! Which got us thinking, what other books have made our mouths water? So we set out to create a list of the foods found in our favorite books! And then we went on to find the perfect recipes for them.
Here's a sample of the list below:

• Chili for Get In if you Want to Live by John Jodzio
• Lamb stew with dried plums for The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• Southern potato salad for To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Tabouli for A Beirut Heart by Cathy Sultan

You can check out the rest of our list here.

Books to Movies

It's safe to say that many of 2011's biggest movies were based on books—the Oscars proved that. The Help, Hugo, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, and The Descendants all took home at least one Academy Award.
As exciting as it is to see these movies do so well, we're already looking forward to the great books being adapted into movies in 2012:
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss with Danny DeVito, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, and Ed Helms. Just admit you're giddy with excitement at the thought of reliving this childhood classic.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins with Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, and Donald Sutherland. There's no doubt about it, these movies are going to be huge.