Capturing Cresselia, a middle school Pokemon reader for boys or girls

One of the great things about Pokemon is that its interest is not limited exclusively to boys. Capturing Cresselia, Book 2 in the Unofficial Stories for Pokemon Collectors series will appeal to fans of the game regardless of their experience level with it.

Our knowledge level with Pokemon is limited to say the least. We know that you have to catch them all, Pikachu is a big deal and that it’s a worldwide phenomenon. It’s also got legs as 2016 celebrates the 20^th anniversary of the franchise. Sure Pokemon Go! might have faded a bit, but upper elementary and middle school students have had it as a staple in their pop culture vocabulary for two decades.

In Capturing Cresselia we meet a group of campers at Camp Pikachu. It’s here were kids can act out scenes from their favorite Pokemon adventures, battle other teams, catch some Pokemon and earn points. The story follows three teams as they race across the camp grounds and our main protagonists are Marco, Nisha, Logan and Maddy.

Upper elementary through middle school students will find Capturing Cresselia engaging, presuming that they like Pokemon. The book might make some people curious about the game because of the written word, but they’ll be the exceptions. This is a genre book that will target those certain kids and be the best thing that they read this month. It might also help some of those reluctant readers who play Pokemon, but just haven’t found the books that speak to them.

If that’s the case then this is your sign.

Each chapter in Capturing Cresselia is about 9 pages and there’s nothing objectionable in the content at all. There is one group of bullies that are competing against our team, but it’s done in a spirit that kids will be able to relate to.  Set against the Pokemon backdrop are more than a couple side stories that each member of the team has to overcome. Most notable is Marco, who is allowed to get a massive head start on the search for the highly elusive Cresselia, but he has to zip line over a small body of water.

The book sets up his fear of doing this until the final chapter where (spoiler alert!)it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger.  We’ll just say that if Pokemon can change then it’s highly possible that kids can overcome their fears too. Have you got a kid who’s into Pokemon but not into reading? This is the series for them. The vocabulary and story line is appropriate for ages 8-12.