If you haven’t discovered Fancy Nancy for your child, you’re missing out on a series of books that are filled with so many learning opportunities.
In a time when our kids are used to filling their sentences with words like cool, great, fun or good – these books teach them how to infuse their world with more interesting vocabulary. Instead of saying the stars in the sky are “cool,” Nancy, the unique and inquisitive main character describes them as “simply stellar” in her book Fancy Nancy: Stellar Stargazer.
When describing butterflies in Bonjour, Butterfly, Nancy doesn’t say they are “neat” she says they are “simply exquisite.” Nancy chooses to use interesting, or “fancy” words because the others are just too “plain to describe how she feels.” In addition to vocabulary, nonfiction facts are often a part of the story, which all you lifelong learners our there will love.
Fancy Nancy is an example to our children of how to express themselves in a more varied and refined way. She is also an example of individuality and comfort within oneself that I want my daughters to have. Sure, she walks around in what some would argue as the stereotypical pink girly outfits – but she is much more eclectic in those choices and she does it each and everyday, in spite of her very “plain” family.
She doesn’t buckle to what is the perceived norm around her. She dresses in a way that brings her the most joy and makes her feel like her best self, and I think it’s a positive message for that reason – pink and all.
We should be allowing our children to do the same, within reason. Whether we cringe as they leave the house in their atrocious, mismatched ensembles or not. They are discovering their individuality and and I like that Fancy Nancy encourages that within our children reading her stories.
Nancy loves to learn, is well spoken, polite and an individual – I like that character as an example for my girls and so, each and every new title that comes out, I pick it up. And more recently, chapter books have been added in the mix – we’ll be adding those as well.
Photo: Amazon
