The Night Fairy

Gr 1—4—In this deft, imaginative story (Candlewick, 2010) by Newbery winner Laura Amy Schlitz (Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!), a young night fairy overcomes the loss of her wings in an accident and finds herself plunged into an unfamiliar daytime world full of predators. She lodges inside a wren house in the garden of a "giantess," who stocks the birdfeeders daily, and struggles to survive. Along the way, she befriends a hyper squirrel with a one-track mind (food, of course) and courageously faces her fears. She may be only as tall as two acorns, but Flory is no airy-fairy, and she acquits herself well when threatened by a praying mantis, a huge raccoon, and a deadly spider. Listeners will learn about empathy and friendship as they are inspired by the plucky heroine. Michael Friedman voices the fairy with verve and creates believable voices for the animals. Fans of Mary Norton's series, The Borrowers, will enjoy the adventures of the tiny fairy as she copes with the challenges of staying alive, armed only with stinging spells and a thorn dagger. Children will root for the resourceful fairy, perhaps imagining her further exploits and recording them with illustrations in a journal.—Lonna Pierce, MacArthur Elementary School, Binghamton, NY