Fairy Wings

Rating:
Summary: Not just for girls, this story is sure to transport you
Review: right into the magical world of fairies! I bought this book for my niece, but my son also enjoyed it. The illustrations are magnificent and even though the story is "Cinderella like" it goes on it's own course of events that kept us on the 'edge of our seats' till the end! Fia is beautiful on the inside and outside even though she isn't exactly like the other fairies. She might be dainty but she is courageous and brave! We highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: A Fairy Tail Worthy of the Ages
Review: This is a truly great children's book. It is my favorite fairy story of all time, seriously. There is adventure and compassion, deceit and intrigue, princes and trolls--it's all there. Fia is a wingless fairy and stands in for all who feel incomplete. In a rare occurance in modern books, her father is her greatest advocate. Her best friends (other fairies shun her, including her seven beautiful sisters)--a frog a rat and a crow--are also considered outcasts. By chance or fate she meets the Fairy Prince without realizing his true identity and he invites her to the Great May Dance. Amidst the ensuing Cinderella story, Fia exhibits great fortitude in saving all the fairies from a troll who--in a great swash of irony--wants the fairies only for their pretty wings. She is aided in this endeavor by her outcast friends and they all gain the respect of the fairies through this act at once compassionate and courageous. The large and lavish watercolor illustrations are equal to the text in this first husband-and-wife collaboration. I cannot recommend a book more enthusiastically for it's genre.

Rating:
Summary: delightful tale, wonderful pictures
Review: This is the story of a little fairy named Fia, who, unlike all the other fairies, was born without wings. The other fairies tend to avoid her out of embarassment or discomfort, even her sisters. And while her parents are always loving, Fia must find her friends among the little animals. All this changes after she befriends one fairy boy, who later turns out to be the Prince; and after Fia bravely journeys to the Troll's cave to rescue all the other fairies, who have been captured by the Troll so that he might cut off their wings for his collection. Reminiscent of Rudolph the Reindeer, everyone changes their opinion of Fia after her heroism.

I read this story to my 4 1/2 year old daughter, and she really liked it. I imagine that this was primarily due to the wonderful, luminous illustrations. Although there are illustrations on every page, there is also a lot of text to go along with it, perhaps more than the patience of many younger kids can handle. The ideal ages would probably be from age 6 through 10.