FAIRIES DON'T FIGHT

Fairy siblings spar but eventually make up.

Though they were born inside a single flower, brown-skinned sisters Piper and Nissa are as different as can be. Piper is active, ebullient, and loud; Nissa is quiet, artistic, and introverted. Nissa makes dainty dresses and collects mineral gems; Piper chases fireflies. When Piper politely asks to borrow some of Nissa’s things, Nissa hesitates but duly concludes that “fairies should always share.” Belatedly she discovers that Piper has made a mess out of Nissa’s belongings—including her favorite book. An unseen narrator repeatedly stresses that “fairies never fight,” but nevertheless a brawl breaks out as others watch, appalled. After “tiny tempers cool,” Piper makes a new book (apparently not in her prior dribbly drip-painting style) showing the siblings “doing all their favorite activities, together and separately” and presents it to Nissa. It seems that fairies don’t say sorry…and that a beloved book can simply be replaced by a different one. Words like harmony, tranquility, and tousled might need explanation. The hard black outlines that edge the flowers, leaves, trees, birds, and fairies are somewhat at odds with the delicate subjects. All the fairies have full arms and hands but stick legs and feet; most wear dresses and have brown skin (one is lighter-skinned). The psychedelic pink and purple colors are strident, and the tiny typeface rules out reading to a group. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A far too easily resolved tale of sisterly woes.