I love the Kingdom Keepers series! It was one of my favorites as a kid. And the characters I knew as a kid as grown up now and have their own kids. This is the story of the kids of the OG kingdom keepers and I love it! Saving Disney World theme parks must run in the blood since the stars align and the kids are called to save the kingdom as their parents once were.

What I loved: the idea of a villains themed theme park, the usual Disney shenanigans and cast of characters, the nostalgia this series brought me

Having read the first book in the series, I was excited to listen/engage with the second book. However, I found the narration jarring and that The Shimmer’s writing, while great for reading, made for poor listening. Like many other authors, Pearson falls into the “he said/she said” and “so-and-so said” trap. The narrator’s choice-y pauses at these section of dialogue was frankly distracting and jarring. A vastly different experience reading vs listening to Pearson’s novel.

While I enjoyed The Shimmer overall and would love to add it to our library’s listening section, I would be hesitant to pick up any more audiobooks narrated by this particular narrator.

This book is a sequel to The Kingdom Keepers series. It had all the charm and mystery of the first series and the characters from the first series are all grown up and have kids. This book has many twists and turn and the surprising ending is a welcome addition to the story. I would recommend this book to my 6th graders, or anyone who likes Disney.

I was so excited to get an advanced Audiobook from Disney publishing. It was wonderful to get immersed in the Kingdom Keepers series again. The Kingdom Keepers are now adults and their kids are brought into the magic of Disney. Can’t wait for book 2.

This spin off series by Ridley Pearson picks up the story of the Kingdom Keepers but now they are parents themselves, and it’s up to their children to save the park. A CommuniTree, a progressive city as Walt Disney long since envisioned has been built around the park and many of its residents are park employees. Including some of the Kingdom Keepers.

A total eclipse is coming and lore has it that the park will be attacked once again. Eli Whitman’s birthday is on the same day and strange things begin happening at his birthday party. It turns out that magic is back. And, as their parents learned, not all magic is good. While the original Kingdom Keepers make appearances, the burden of magic and defense falls on their children this time and they discover some magic of their own. The stage is set for another book and fans of Disney and of the original series are sure to be ready to read that one when it comes out as well.

Narrated by voice actor Alejandro Saab who is known primarily for his work in anime and animated series, the book is a good listen.

Such a fun kick off to the new Kingdom Keeper series while incorporating the original characters. Such a fun whirlwind and as a Disney fan and Florida resident I adored this and would not hesitate to recommend this to my students.

I have never read any of the Kingdom Keepers books, but have heard of them. I was a bit concerned that I would struggle with this story since I have no knowledge of the main series however, it was easy to follow. Children may want to read the original Kingdom Keepers series first so that they have some background knowledge, but it is not necessary.

I enjoyed the plot and how there were multiple storylines happening simultaneously. However, some of the abrupt endings of chapters was frustrating as it felt that not much had happened before moving to the next chapter. It made the book seem choppy at times. I am guessing that the audience of middle grade readers this story was intended for would not have a problem with this though as they are motivated to keep reading by short chapters. The characters were developed enough to get a feel for the personality of each one, but not enough to really visualize what they looked like. I haven't seen the printed version of the book, so maybe there are illustrations that are helpful in this area for that format.

The narrator was wonderful to listen to! He was a smooth storyteller and expressive in all of the right places. He read at a pace that was easy to follow for all ages. I would definitely listen to an audiobook with this narrator again.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #DisneyHyperion for an audiobook ARC of #KingdomKeepersInheritanceThe Shimmer by #RidleyPearson and narrated by #AlejandroSaab - 4 stars