A formulaic story of good against evil gets a surrealistic lift from the Dal°-esque artwork of Gukova. A blind fairy princess sits alone in a room atop a gloomy mountain overlooking a dying valley. Every day she waits for visitors who never come; she is a captive of evil dwarves who have tricked her into believing they are her servants. Longing to talk with the children of the valley the princess chases their laughter, ending up outside the castle walls where she meets an old woman who reveals the truth about the dwarves. As the fairy reclaims her magic powers, both she and the valley change forever, but literal-minded children may be perplexed. The blind fairy is only blind until she remembers who she is, and the ruthless dwarves seem a cruel stereotype. There isn’t enough fancy to make this a fairy tale, nor is there enough flesh on the story to lift the characters beyond mere symbols. (Picture book. 5-8)
