Nikki and Deja Books In Order

Publication Order of Nikki and Deja Books

The Nikki and Deja book series is an exciting series of children’s books and realistic fiction novels. It is written by a reputed American writer named Karen English. This series contains a total of 6 books published between 2007 and 2013. Each and every novel in this series features the main characters in the roles of two African-American girls named Deja and Nikki. The girls are best friends and study in the third grade. The stories of each of the books revolve around the lives of Nikki & Deja. Karen English has mentioned the various incidences in the lives of these two girls and the ways in which they deal with them and move ahead in life. In addition to Nikki and Deja, the other important characters depicted by the author in the books include Mrs. Shelby, Auntie Dee, and several others. All the six books of the series are very popular all around the world. They have been read and liked by a large number of children in multiple countries. The books are now used to educate kids in many elementary schools.

Many critics consider this series an excellent one for children of small age groups. Each book offers a different perspective in the Deja & Nikki’s lives that entertains the readers and keep them intrigued till the very end. Karen English received a lot of praise from different critics and her fellow authors for her creation of the stories and characters for this series. In addition to entertaining the readers with excellent stories, Karen English has included a number of interesting activities for the kids to learn and enjoy in each book. She has given detailed descriptions of many such activities that the children can easily practice and learn. The activities are helpful for the teachers and parents also for teaching their kids. Some of the exciting activities in the novels include journal entry, skit writing, neighborhood mapping, newsletter project, Venn diagram, etc. The series has sold millions of printed copies all across the globe. Not only the books, but the series as a whole has also become successful. Its immense success has helped Karen English to get herself included among the prominent authors of children’s books.

Karen English is an award winning author of children’s stories. She is famous for writing the Carver Chronicles series and the Nikkia & Deja series. Karen’s books have been praised for their authentic characters, satisfying storylines, and accessible writing. Prior to the start of her writing career, she used to work as a teacher in an elementary school. Today, she resides in Los Angeles, California and spends her time writing stories for children. When asked about what is the best thing about being an author, Karen says that there is no retirement in this field. A writer can write for as long as interesting ideas keep coming into his or her mind, and this is what excites her the most. Karen also believes that being a writer makes the world very interesting. Karen loves to write from the comfort of her home. This way, she is able to take care of her four children and also have a prosperous writing career at the same time.

After receiving a tremendous amount of success with her first two series, Karen is now working on developing a companion series set around small boys. She is thinking of taking the main characters from the world of Nikki & deja. This way, the readers can relate to the stories and think of the new series as a continuation of their favorite Nikki & Deja stories. About writing the first Nikki & Deja book, author Karen says that it was the result of her attempt to write a story for adding to her school’s library so that the students in her class could find engaging. Her intention behind taking such a step was to make the students see the story as a reflection of their day-to-day lives, such as their squabbles, their wants, their anxieties, their hopes, etc. Karen didn’t want to develop a story about historical events, violence, or poverty. Rather, she wished to come up with something the would reflect the emotional range of every child’s life. And as there are not many stories about this kind in the school’s library, Karen decided to create one and let her students read and engage themselves. She has purposely set the central theme of her books on friendship and its complexities. As for the characters, Karen wanted to develop something that would appeal to the children, and she considers herself lucky that she was able to create the characters of Deja and Nikki. Being a teacher helped Karen English in the process of story development. She came up with many possibilities of adding meaningful enrichment activities into the stories.

The debut book of the Nikki and Deja series written by author Karen English is entitled ‘Nikki & Deja’. It was released in 2007 by the Clarion Books publication. At the book’s start, it is mentioned that Nikki is best friends with Deja and they live as next door neighbors. They like to do all the thinks together. The usual activities that they indulge in together include watching cartoons on Saturday mornings, do double Dutch jump at recess, playing jacks, and helping out one another with the homework given by Mrs. Shelby in their third-grade class. Everything was going fine for the two girls until the arrival of a new girl in the class. When Nikki forms a club with Deja and excludes the arrogant girl, things begin to take unexpected turns. This book offers a warm and easy to read chapter and captures the complexities and joys of life in an elementary school, including friendships & cliques with humor and finesse.

The next installment in this series is called ‘Birthday Blues’. It was also published by Clarion Books in 2009. At the story’s beginning, it is described that Deja is very excited about her upcoming birthday and she starts talking about it several weeks before. But unfortunately, just one day before the birthday, Deja’s guardian, Auntie Dee, is forced to go a business visit. Auntie Dee asks an old neighbor to look after Deja let her stay with her for the time she is gone. Deja doesn’t like this sudden change of plans. Also, the elderly neighbor does not have color TV and prepares turnips at the time of dinner, which Deja hates. The day becomes even worse for her when Antonia’s machinations threaten to spoil her birthday preparations. Once again, Karen English has given subtle descriptions of small triumphs and betrayals of the relationships of young girls. She has added many elements of humor, just like in the previous book. The readers are given a wide view of the diverse urban surroundings of the girls.