Dragons and Marshmallows (Zoey and Sassafras, 1)

If you are the parent of an animal- and magic-loving second grade girl, this book is the perfect nightly read aloud! It’s a little too high of a reading level here her independently, but we have enjoyed the cliff hangers at the end of some of the chapters together. The art work is lovely and doesn’t overwhelm the text. The font is legible, and the writing leads to some great vocabulary words and lots of sprinkled in science facts. We both gave it two thumbs up!!!

The Zoey and Sassafras series has been by far the most engaging and enjoyable chapter books that we have read together so far. It features a clever, independent young girl of color, her brilliant mother, her adorable cat, and many fantastical tales that combine and cultivate a whimsical imagination and a deep love and wonder for science and all the many ways that it interweaves itself into our daily life. The books encourage exploration of the natural world around us, but they also spark imaginative play, and, of course, teach many wonderful lessons along the way. In each book, Zoey performs at least one experiment that is easily replicated at home, almost always with items you would already have around your kitchen. It’s such a fun way to bring another level of immersion and learning to these fantastic books. It has been really neat for my child to see Zoey’s experiments in action. As of writing this, we have just finished book 4 out of 6 currently published in the series. Asia Citro’s books are so well written and enjoyable that I find myself absolutely treasuring our reading time together on a whole new level whenever Zoey and Sassafras are on our reading menu. Not only have I eagerly bought the whole set—one book at a time as we finished them off—but I’ve found that my child is extra eager to dive into chapter books now. Oh—and the illustrations are ADORABLE. I can not praise these books highly enough, and I am so relieved and excited to see that she is working on a 7th book to be released later this year.

I had been struggling to find a book series that really grabbed my 7 year old daughter’s attention, and then we found Zoey and Sassafras. She LOVES the characters, the mythical creatures, learning some real science, and having a blast expanding her vocabulary. I love that there is a glossary in the back of the book for the scientific terms introduced. My daughter enjoyed the first book so much that she asked for the entire series for her birthday and has started to explore reading for fun more. Everyone has that special book that ignited their love of reading, and this is the one that lit the spark for my daughter. I hope that encourages more people to buy it, such a fun read and we are excited that Zoey and Sassafras get to be a part of our reading journey as we make our way through the entire series. We just purchased the box set for her birthday coming up. 💛

I bought this book as a read aloud for my 3 year old to introduce her to chapter books! It has a super cute storyline that interests her and I can’t wait to continue reading it with her. We read 3 chapters the first night!

Encourages scientific inquiry in a fun way. Provides some science learning seamlessly woven into the story. Zoey is a wonderful and curious protagonist. The relationship between Zoey and her mom offers a valuable lesson—that making mistakes is okay, and that not giving up and trying again is even more important. My niece loved it.

I would recommend this book for kids and grownups who believe in magic. It is a good read and it is part of the series You don’t have to read the whole series.

Great book, perfect for beginner chapter readers.

The student that this was bought for has been enjoying it.

These are a must-read series for kids getting into chapter books! They have been great to read to my 6 year old daughter. Zoey and Sassafras go on adventures and solve the problems with science. They are easy to read and have some pictures throughout.

Lovely book for a child who already loves to read (ages 7 and up)! A level 2 or 3 read.. and a great one for parents to read aloud as well, ages 5 and up.. great story, combines a lil science with a lil magic! Lots of simple facts about animals they'll learn too. Would definitely recommend.. my nephew getting this gift from me and am hoping he likes it!!

My daughter loved this story it has magical creatures and science, was just the right length for her shes 4 years old so we read a few chapters a night. Plus she was very excited that Zoey looked just like her will defiantly be buying the rest in the series ❤

A very nice and cute story that my 7 year old loves + without naming it, it's a great introduction to scientific reasoning. The style is simple but perfect for a 7 year old reader.

I decided to buy this book for some of my higher level second graders. I realized there aren't that many non-princess like chapter books that have girls as main characters in our library and thought this series might work for some of my students. I've only shared it with one student so far but she absolutely LOVED IT. I lent her the third book over spring break and she could not contain her excitement, we can't wait for the next books to be released! Totally recommend it!