LILY'S DREAM

A fairy struggling to fly finds friendship with a kindhearted girl.

More than anything, Lily wants to soar “with the birds and the butterflies high above the treetops.” Lily’s well acquainted with “the beauty closer to the ground,” but each time she attempts to fly, she tumbles to the ground. Her discouragement is palpable. When she finds a quaint fairy house in the woods, she marvels at the chair made of twigs and the lovely lanterns. She soon learns that the house was made by a gentle young girl named Willow. Willow patiently supports Lily, bringing her a fairy-size trampoline and a tiny helmet. Lily still finds flying a challenge, but she’s bolstered by Willow’s presence. The illustrations portray a ballerinalike Lily, her curly hair in a bun, while Willow has a friendly and welcoming face. Filled with large-eyed characters, butterflies, glittery trails, and sun flares, the images feel almost like stills from an animated video. While Lily is the lead character in this story, in her author’s note, Jackson describes the bond with the human girl as the focus and adds that the story reflects her own sense of wonder at the natural world. The plotline is somewhat quiet—a quality that children must cultivate if they hope to entice fairies of their own—while the messages of compassion and helping others achieve their dreams come through strongly. Willow and Lily are Black.

A low-key tale of magic and friendship.