Milly Molly series by Gill Pittar and Cris Morrell (Children's, 5 years +, 7 years +, 9/10E, short 'n' sweet review)

I received a collection of these graded reading books for review - individual titles are below

This cute picture of the two friends depict the feel of the series, full of friendship as they face life together

June 2014, Sweet Cherry Publishing, 24 pages, Paperback, Review copy 

Summary of each book's theme by Nayu  

 Milly, Molly and Salt and Pepper: A pair of trustworthy horses amble along with Milly, Molly and their friends.

Milly, Molly and the Runaway Bean: All about growing things and eating well

Milly, Molly and the Wind: I'll never look at a kite in the same way

Milly, Molly and BiddyBid: Forgiveness is needed for different situations as Milly and Molly discover

Milly, Molly and BushBob: If you are used to something, you can't imagine any other way of life as BushBob discovers

Milly, Molly, and Nuts and Raisins This is a story of how not to look after mice!

Milly, Molly and Jimmy's Seeds/Milly, Molly and Alf/Milly, Molly and One Lucky Turkey:  Superb tales of how to cope with the death of a friend, mean people, and refugees.

Finally catching up with books that wound their way into the depths of my review document and needed a fairly large chunk of time to put the review together it's time to look at this extensive series of sweet stories (no pun intended for the publisher, Sweet Cherry Publishing!) that tackle a wide range of issues and emotions which are important for both early readers and experienced readers to consider. I received a handful of titles from several of the different level collections available for purchase. Each book has a guide for what can be done with the reader before and after they've read the story, which I think is a useful feature for the intended readership is learning so much about life that different ways of discussing topics covered in the books will help them remember them for the future. 

Milly and Molly make a sweet pair which is entirely relevant today when friendship (thankfully) goes beyond the colour of a person's skin. Milly and Molly learn through the people they meet that differences don't have just to be visual ones, they can be difference of opinion and actions, but at the end of the day we are all human, and thus one and the same. They learn how to treat people well, what to do when someone you love dies, how refugees may view the world, how to be an extra caring friend and neighbour. 

Occasionally I thought a story of the ones I reviewed didn't have a strong ending, or wasn't explained well enough within the story, but overall this is an impressive set for early readers to read. Life is a constant learning experience, I learnt that children encounter all the issues that we adults do, and need a slightly different perspective when they experience not so positive aspects of life. 

Milly and Molly have their own dedicated website  which includes some really cool dolls.

On a random note, this is one of my favourite publishers simply because I adore the cherry picture! Cherries rule!