SYLVA AND THE FAIRY BALL

The first installment in a chapter-book series chronicling the adventures of Tinker Bell’s younger sisters.

While Tinker Bell is off in Never Land with Peter Pan, her younger sisters enjoy their own fairy lives on Sheepskerry Island. Sylva, Tinker Bell’s second-youngest sister (youngest being baby Squeak), is looking forward to her birthday, as once she is 8 fairy years old she will be allowed to attend the Fairy Ball. She’s crushed when the fairy queen, Mab, schedules the ball for the day before her birthday. Poor Sylva tries to come to terms with having to stay home with baby Squeak while her other sisters go to the ball, but her efforts to help her sisters prepare go awry. Finally, the night of the ball comes, and through the window, Sylva witnesses a large band of trolls heading straight for Queen Mab’s palace and the ball. Sylva must (after securing her also-too-young-for-the-ball friend to watch Squeak) make the difficult decision to break the age rule and save the fairies from the trolls, who seek to steal the fairy magic. The narration is sweet and gentle—verging on too sweet—but Sylva’s proactive personality makes her an engaging character for readers to follow.

Good intentions and heroism wrapped in a dainty package for girls who can’t get enough fairies.