History Literature / SerendipityBooks

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In ''The Dream Tree'', Patti Caterpillar’s mother is not seen after the conversation in which she explains to Patti that they will both be butterflies someday. We just see Patti pupating and turning into a butterfly and we never learn what happened to her mother.

* AdultFear: What happens to Squeakers the squirrel, who falls prey to a greedy and malicious bully mole.

* ParentsAsPeople: Squeakers’ mother repeats “Always listen to your elders” to him, almost like a mantra. Squeakers internalizes it to the point that he thinks he shouldn’t resist Mr. Mole’s “bargain” to give him tufts of fur in return for nuts. When Squeakers’ parents find out that this extortion is going on, they have to clarify that he is to say “No” whenever anyone wants to take what is rightfully his.

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: The backstory of Morgan, the unicorn. In ''Morgan Morning'', he is shown to have been born an ordinary horse, but [[spoiler: while still a colt, he ran off after a group of raccoons, fell into a river and injured his leg while going down a waterfall. He would have died there, but before that could happen, he was healed by the Morning Star, on condition that he become a unicorn and go to “a land of dreams and make-believe”.]]* BeYourself: Several stories have some variation on this lesson; ''Leo the Lop'' plays it completely straight, teaching the reader that “normal is whatever you are”.

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: The backstory of Morgan, the unicorn. In ''Morgan Morning'', he is shown to have been born an ordinary horse, but [[spoiler: while still a colt, he ran off after a group of raccoons, fell into a river and injured his leg while going down a waterfall. He would have died there, but before that could happen, he was healed by the Morning Star, on condition that he become a unicorn and go to “a land of dreams and make-believe”.]]

* BeYourself: Several stories have some variation on this lesson; ''Leo the Lop'' plays it completely straight, teaching the reader that “normal is whatever you are”.

** ''Gliterby Baby'' is somewhat reminiscent of a divorce with a child involved.

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: In the Morgan stories, the daughter of the King of the Land of Later befriends Morgan, the unicorn (once she learns not to pout about it).

** The conversation that Patti Caterpillar's mother has with her in ''The Dream Tree'' is much like having the talk about TheBirdsAndTheBees, only in an inverted sort of way (she told her about what she would become - a butterfly - not where she came from).

* GreenAesop: ''Puddle Pine''. Briefly also in ''Serendipity''.

* ArtisticLicense-Biology: Patti Caterpillar’s mother is a caterpillar herself. This is impossible as only adult butterflies can lay eggs.

* NeverSayDie: Averted. Several books deal with death or the possibility of it occurring.

* ArtisticLicense-{{Biology}}: Patti Caterpillar’s mother is a caterpillar herself. This is impossible as only adult butterflies can lay eggs.

* ArtisticLicense-Biology: Patti Caterpillar’s mother is a caterpillar herself. This is impossible as only adult butterflies can lay eggs.

** The conversation that Patti Caterpillar's mother has with her in ''The Dream Tree'' is much like having the talk about TheBirdsAndTheBees, only in an inverted sort of way.

* ArtisticLicense-Biology: Patty Caterpillar’s mother is a caterpillar herself. This is impossible as only adult butterflies can lay eggs.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In ''The Dream Tree'', Patty Caterpillar’s mother is not seen after the conversation in which she explains to Patty that they will both be butterflies someday. We just see Patty pupating and turning into a butterfly and we never learn what happened to her mother.

* ArtisticLicense-{{Biology}}: Patty Caterpillar’s mother is a caterpillar herself. This is impossible as only adult butterflies can lay eggs.

* ArtisticLicense-Biology: Patty Caterpillar’s mother is a caterpillar herself. This is impossible as only adult butterflies can lay eggs.

* Oireland: ''Jake O’Shawnasey'' is about a seagull who lives on the Irish coast and is ''green''. The Morgan stories take place on an “emerald island” but are not explicitly stated to be set in Ireland.

A popular series of over 70 children’s books, all written by Stephen Cosgrove and attractively illustrated by Robin James. The first four titles were published by the author in 1974; the series is named after the title character of one of them. In 1978, Cosgrove sold Serendipity Books to the publisher Price/Stern/Sloan and continued to write new books for the series. It has remained popular and though titles lapsed and went out of print, continuing demand led to the author having their publication revived. Serendipity Books are currently in print and remain popular.
Most of the stories’ main characters are ordinary animals or else mythical creatures, some generic and others of the author’s invention. Each story attempts to teach a specific moral, which is (usually) presented gently. Many of these lessons are uncontroversial, but a few may be the source of some YMMV. The plots range from the whimsical to very serious.

* AlternateAesopInterpretation: While many of the lessons in the series are clear-cut, a few are rather esoteric. For example, the official lesson of ''Morgan Morning'' is “Sometimes we must lose in order to gain”; however, it could also be “Listen to your mother and don’t run off, or you may get injured or die” or “Curiosity killed a cat”. ''The Dream Tree'' is supposed to teach “Though it is sometimes hard to wait, growing up comes soon enough”, but seems to be more at “Some experiences just can’t be described; you have to grow into them and live them for yourself”.

** ''Glitterby Baby'' has [[spoiler: Flutterby the winged horse avoid death by returning to Wingsong and her colt Glitterby, whose wings were not fully developed, manages to fly up to her and join her at the last minute. However, they will never see Glitterby’s father, a mortal horse, again.]]

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Mr. Mole in ''Squeakers'', who gives Squeakers the squirrel nuts in exchange for tufts of his fur and then just pulls some of his fur for himself when Squeakers doesn’t want to give him any more is clearly a stand-in for a child molester, drug pusher or racketeer.

* Pegasus: Notably Flutterby and her daughter Glitterby.

* Unicorn: Morgan.