Adventures of Faerie Folk Vol 1 by Paula J Roscoe and illustrated by Alan Jones.
Overview and Synopsis
The Faeries are among us and they pop up in the most unexpected places. Tender-hearted Annabel has a close encounter with the Strawberry Faerie. Bully Kate ends up tangling with the wrong kind of comb.
Both stories have a moral and a scatter of magic.
Writing style and the narrator:
Written very much like a traditional fairy tale (only without some of the bite), these little tales are aimed squarely at younger readers. Confident six to eight year olds might be able to tackle the book alone, but it might be best as a read-along.
The language is simple and full of character – and exclamation marks. There are grammar errors here and there, including one on the first story page.
Characterisation:
Characters are drawn in big, bold strokes. They aren’t complex, but then they aren’t meant to be. It’s all very Enid Blyton-esque. This is fine most of the time, but I’m not sure about Kate. She’s extremely one-dimensional, and I’m not sure how comfortable I am seeing a re-tread of the old (and slightly unfortunate) plot dynamic that bullies only repent when they are bullied in turn.
World-building:
This is our world – with faeries in it! The illustrations help add atmosphere. They are quite lovely, though it’s odd to see some of them repeated at what seem to be random points in the text (and some of the formatting is a bit off).
Plot:
These stories are very gentle, simple and almost saccharine. No one really seems to do much. Kate changes her attitude (after being unpleasantly punished) and Annabel is rewarded for not being bad to a faerie (but not, it has to be said, being actively good either). I like my fairy tale heroines to be proactive. Since the arrival of Shrek and Frozen (all suitable for eight year olds), there’s no excuse really.
Overall, sweet but not exactly a must-read.
Rating: 12/20: three stars.
Other Worlds 