Age-appropriate story sophistication outweighs didacticism.
Fairy Golden Bell travels to the mainland for an adventure packed with fairies, fashion and bullying.
Queen Mab announces that her mainland cousin, Queen Titania, has issued an invitation to one Sheepskerry Island fairy to come and attend her fancy-dress party. The prestigious event includes a costume contest with prize. The Sheepskerry Island fairies decide that creative, fashion-loving Golden will best represent them, and she is thrilled at the chance to travel to the mainland. Once there, however, she discovers that people are curt, her hosts are snobs, and fairies who struggle with reading—like Goldie herself, who has special tutoring back home—are given up on and limited to servant positions. Her host and competitor in the costume contest, Claudine, discovers Goldie’s reading trouble and exploits it to sabotage Goldie, lying about the letter that tells the costume theme. Goldie constructs a witch costume while everyone else prepares pink princesses. Goldie overcomes her embarrassment by collecting new costume components on the way to the party, and with a quick alteration, she becomes a princess of the night. As the only standout in the sea of pink, Goldie’s originality wins the prize. The straightforward bullying storyline pleasantly surprises by touching on how bullies affect wider group dynamics. References to earlier books in the series enforce the familiar continuity.
Age-appropriate story sophistication outweighs didacticism. (Squeak’s glossary, Goldie’s cape instructions, music) (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-222808-6
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2013
Not the subtlest book, but girls who love fairies won’t care.
Fairy Rosy Bell strikes up a forbidden friendship with a human child.
In August, the Summer People—human vacationers—arrive at their vacation cottages on Sheepskerry Island. They bring loud noises, trample fairy gardens and are dangerous; when humans discover fairies, they chase them off and leave them homeless. Rosy intends to follow the rules and avoid the Summer People, but then she overhears an injured little girl’s parents hoping the island’s magic will cheer up their daughter. Overwhelmed by compassion, Rosy sneaks into Lulu’s room to tidy up, accidentally wakes up Lulu and is spotted. The two strike up a hidden friendship, meeting and passing notes in secret. Lulu is a Peter Pan fan who loves hearing about Rosy’s big sister Tinker Bell, and in return, she shares her grandmother’s stories about visiting the island back when fairies played with Summer Children. But Lulu, not content to be a secret, wants to meet the rest of the Fairy Bell sisters. When a big storm rolls in, Rosy must confess her friendship and enlist the other fairies to help her rescue Lulu, who is on the beach and has lost a crutch. In return, Lulu has the Summer Children help rebuild the fairy homes destroyed by the storm. The story’s sweetness is tempered by the friendship’s secrecy.
Not the subtlest book, but girls who love fairies won’t care. (how to make a fairy house, glossary of baby Squeak’s language) (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: April 23, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-222805-5
Page Count: 115
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2013
A title for confident emerging readers interested in new princess and knight stories
This early-reader adaptation of a Russian story reads like a “Cinderella” tale but casts a third-born son as its protagonist.
Ivan does good on his promise to his dying father to sit by his grave after he dies, and he also takes the place of his older brothers in the vigil when they are too frightened to stay true to their word. As a reward for his bravery and loyalty, the father’s ghost gives Ivan a magic bridle that ends up helping him win the princess’s hand in marriage even though he isn’t as handsome, rich or successful as his brothers or the other knights who compete in the challenge she sets forth. The story is broken up into short chapters, which will support new readers’ progress through the text, but sentence length, typeface and some vocabulary may prove challenging. Illustrations will doubtlessly help clarify the story, though a key plot detail that has Ivan passing through the ears of his magical horse, Starlight Grey, is not depicted in the art. Ultimately, the fresh fairy-tale content of the story will likely motivate readers to puzzle through its delivery even if it’s not just the right fit for their skills
A title for confident emerging readers interested in new princess and knight stories . (Early reader/folk tale. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-84686-778-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013
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