Lexie World by Kimberly Kinrade - Review

Lexie World by Kimberly Kinrade

The Three Lost Kids Trilogy

Published: December 20, 2011

Publisher: Evolved Publishing

5-year-old Lexie is tired of getting in trouble for leaving her stuff and trash outside. She doesn’t mean to litter or ruin her shoes, but it’s just so hard to remember sometimes.

When she, her two big sisters and their dog TayTay find a portal to Lexie World, Lexie discovers the consequence littering has had on her special world. Garbage Goblins have taken over and are destroying the Earth!

To save Lexie World, the girls (and TayTay) must travel with their new Unicorn friend through the Waters of Waste and over the Mountain of Lost Clothes to retrieve a piece of the Mirror of Ice in order to remind the Garbage Goblins of their true form and break their curse.

On this journey, Lexie learns about courage, love and the importance of taking care of her world.

With full color illustrations, Lexie World bridges the gap between picture books and chapter books, offering children 4-9 years old a new, exciting reading journey.

Darian's Review:

Lexie World is about 5 year old Lexie, her sisters, Bella, Maddie, and their dog TayTay.  Lexie is like most 5 year olds, she’s in limbo between being a little and a big girl, a little unsure, sometimes forgetful and leaves her belongings strewn about the backyard and house.  Until one day while venturing in the woods with her sisters, they enter a magical world, Lexie World.  But Lexie World is in danger, the Garbage Goblins are running a muck and ruining the beautiful world with trash that others have left on earth.  And it’s up to Lexie to break the curse, and save Lexie World.  With her sisters and dog by her side, Lexie learns that she’s much braver than she thought she was, and just maybe she can save her world.

Lexie World is written from Lexie’s perspective, through the eyes of a five year old girl, who is like most 5 year olds.  She adores her big sisters, thinks her parents are the best in the world, but doesn’t quite get the big deal about forgetting to put her things away sometimes.  I think the author did a wonderful job keeping the dialogue and thoughts at an appropriate level, staying true to the average youngster of Lexie’s age range, yet not keeping it so simple that kids a few years older would be bored by it.

One of the things I liked about this book was how Lexie had to eat gluten free food. For different health reasons, a few people I know are now in the position of having to eat only gluten free foods (including the son of the "KrazyBookLady"). I liked how it was added nonchalantly, yet in a way that it could help other kids who need to eat gluten-free feel more normal and secure about it. Even Lexie the hero has to deal with it too! This was not a huge aspect of the story, a mere mention here and there, but it was a nice touch I thought for the growing numbers of kids who need to eat gluten-free foods.

The descriptive writing was worded beautifully. Kinrade paints magical, clear pictures in an easy to understand way – which really helped bring the story to life. But it didn’t bog down the story by being too much; kids like dialogue, action, and this book has plenty of it.

The lessons weaved throughout the story are great for kids of any age, Kinrade did a great job working it into the story, instead of a blunt ‘lesson’ being plopped right into it. Kinrade made it fun, an adventure, made it seem exciting to be more responsible and take care of your things and your world. Through the journey to save Lexie World, Lexie learns about bravery, self-confidence, and of course, the importance of picking up after herself. Because, as she discovers, leaving messes ruins many worlds, ours, and Lexie World, and both are too beautiful for that.

Overall this was a good read, and I’ll be passing it along to my daughter. Not only does Lexie World send the message of believing in yourself, but it teaches responsibility, all wrapped up inside an amazing adventure. I think writing children’s books can be one of the most difficult genres to write, but Kinrade has nailed it with true talent. The story is fun, thrilling, written at a child’s level – but written well enough for a variety of ages. Two thumbs up from this Mom, and bravo to Kinrade!

A copy was provided by the author for review.

About the author:

Kimberly Kinrade was born with ink in her veins and magic in her heart. As a child, where others saw shapes in clouds, she saw words. But she was also an entrepreneur at heart. So when her business arrangement with the Tooth Fairy ended, she went pro with her writing. Her stories sold better than any lemonade stand and even beat out her museum of fossilized rocks in revenue.

Fast forward...um...many years and many college degrees later...and she is now an award winning author and reformed journalist. 

You can find out more about Kimberly Kinrade and how to connect with her on her website and the ThreeLostKids site.