PRINCESS ELLA AND THE LOST FAIRY GARDEN

A little princess knows just what to do about her new fairy friends’ big problem in Waldecker’s illustrated children’s book.

Adventure-loving Princess Ella is sure that the stories about fairies living in a secret garden in the woods are true, but her previous searches for the magical place have been unsuccessful. This time, however, the princess discovers a hidden path in the forest “lined with the most incredible flowers and plants” where “the air shone with a misty glow.” She knows that the fairies’ garden has to be near. It turns out that the fairies have been hoping to meet Princess Ella because they have a problem and hope she can help: Woodcutters from Ella’s kingdom are getting too close to the magical garden as they chop down trees to build homes for the human villagers. Ella, depicted as a sweet-faced little girl with blond hair and big blue eyes, knows exactly what to do: She offers the villagers an alternative forest to reap for wood with the proviso that they plant new trees as they go. The villagers are surprisingly compliant, considering that they’re not told why they must change their way of doing things. But children will easily grasp that Ella feels that caring for living things—fairies, people, and trees—is important. Waldecker again teams with prolific children’s book illustrator Geyer, who created the eye-catching, whimsical artwork for the two previous books in the Princess Ella Adventures series, Princess Ella and the Great Squirrel Chase (2023) and Princess Ella and the Missing Kittens (2023). Geyer contributes a lush palette (soft greens, blues, purples, and yellows) and delicately rendered details (of trees, flowers, foliage, waterfalls, sparkly lights, and tiny, multicolored fairies shimmering in clouds of fairy dust). The alternately black and white text, rendered in a cozy, readable font, is set against solid-colored design elements within the full-page illustrations. Reflecting Princess Ella’s adventurous spirit and her kind and helpful heart, this simply told story should please preschoolers and young readers alike.

Visual charm, a simple plot, and a big-hearted royal young hero.