Fairies Pro and Con

I’m a fairy person.  I grew up loving fairy stories — the classical fairy tales and various stories involving encounters with little, magical people.  So I was totally charmed by Laura Amy Schlitz’s forthcoming book The Night Fairy and happy to see Betsy Bird’s mention of the associated website.  It is indeed the perfect book for the child who loves tiny people, nature, and a gentle sort of magic. Completely and utterly delightful.

But I have to admit I also greatly enjoy clever works by those who are, shall we say, not nearly as enthused about the sweet fairies of the flower sort.  One of my all-time favorites of this sort is Terry Jones and Brian Foud’s (not for children) Lady Cottington’s Pressed Fairy Book which plays havoc with the Cottingley fairies story (which I adore and hope to write as a kid’s book one day).  Now we’ve got Conn Iggulden and Lizzy Duncan’s take in Tollins: Explosive Tales for Children.

Tollins are not fairies. Though they both have wings, fairies are delicate creatures and much smaller. When he was young, Sparkler accidentally broke one and had to shove it behind a bush before its friends noticed.

While not fairies, Tollins are magical and little. In fact, they made me think a bit of the Mainzelmannchen, cute little guys on German television ads since I was a kid.

Look out for both of these books — fun little people stuff for kids.