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MISTER FAIRY

Name: MISTER FAIRY
Author: Morgane de Cadier
ISBN: 978-1-63655-000-8

by Morgane de Cadier ; illustrated by Florian Pigé ; translated by Angus Yuen-Killick ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 7, 2021

A delightful, lighthearted tale of self-discovery.

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A fairy leaves his forest home and travels to the city in search of his special talent.

Unlike the other forest fairies, who all have their own unique skills, Mister Fairy feels useless. “Sad and unhappy,” he leaves the forest only to arrive in “a very different forest” (depicted in Pigé’s artwork as a city) where everything is “dark and gray and colorless” and its inhabitants also seem sad and unhappy. Then Mister Fairy tentatively waves his wand, and magically the city’s awash in color, making the people smile. “No longer feeling sad and unhappy,” Mister Fairy heads into the subway, where he waves his wand again and tickles passengers with his tiny wings, prompting everyone to laugh. Back on the street, he transforms outdoor cafe umbrellas into giant cotton-candy balls, delighting all. Returning home, Mister Fairy discovers his forest has lost its color, and his forest friends no longer laugh or smile without him. Realizing he’s not the “most useless fairy” after all, a now-confident Mister Fairy knows just what to do. Whimsical illustrations rely on abstract, simple shapes and soft colors to capture Mister Fairy’s transition from frowning and purposeless to smiling and fulfilled. Humorously presented as a miniature elephant in a dress with itty-bitty wings and a wand, Mister Fairy’s tiny, solitary figure will engender chuckles as he deliberately flits across the pages, spreading color, smiles, and even cotton candy.

A delightful, lighthearted tale of self-discovery. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-63655-000-8

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Red Comet Press

Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
JUST TO SEE
by Morgane de Cadier ; illustrated by Florian Pigé ; translated by Johanna McCalmont

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)