Fun Reads Friday: The Kingdom Keepers

As a mom, I tried to stay current with what my kids were reading. Often I’d read the back cover, ask them questions, and call it a day. I didn’t have time to read every single book they read, nor did I find it necessary. However, during a family trip to Walt Disney World several years ago, I found a series of books called, “The Kingdom Keepers”. After buying the first one for my son, I thought, Ooh, that looks good! Maybe I’ll read it too. A couple of chapters in, and I was hooked. Seven books and years later, both my kids, my mom, and I have all read each one cover to cover and have created many good memories together during trips to Disney World as we talked about the books.

The last thing thirteen-year-old Finn Whitman expects when he auditions to be a DHI, or Disney Host Interactive for Disney World, is to find himself standing in the center of the Magic Kingdom in the middle of the night, alone. The job only entailed taking videos in front of a green screen at a studio with four other strangers. Technology would then take over and project the five youngsters as hologram tour guides of the Disney parks. Pretty cool, right?

Sure. As long as everything goes according to “plan.” What the kids don’t know is that they were chosen by a secret group to help save Disney World from the Overtakers, or evil characters. That’s right, evil characters. At night, after the parks close, all the characters come to life—the good and evil. The question is, “Who is evil?” From Chip and Dale and Goofy to the miniature dolls inside “It’s a Small World”, “Kingdom Keepers, Disney After Dark” takes the reader into a fantastical world of living characters, holograms, and suspense at every turn.

While the story definitely keeps the reader in suspense, I didn’t find it overly scary. With 325 pages, the recommended age range is 10-14 years. This is not a faith-based series, but Ridley Pearson intertwines the value of family and good friends throughout.