a fairy tale

I have adored Laura Amy Schlitz' books. A DROWNED MAIDEN'S HAIR was a haunting story. Her Newbery winner, GOOD MASTERS, SWEET LADIES was phenomenal. And her Newbery speech was absolutely captivating. So when THE NIGHT FAIRY (Candlewick, Feb. 2010) ARC arrived, I put it aside for my flight to California. High above the clouds, as it turns out, was the perfect place to dip into this story of a night fairy whose wings are are chewed off accidentally by a bat. Now, Flory must adapt to a life without flight. She fashions a home within an abandoned bird house high in a cherry tree and watches the giantess tend her garden and feed the birds who flock to the trees. Flory is especially enamored of the hummingbirds and longs to fly on the back of one. In the meantime, she enlists the aid of a squirrel she names Skuggle. They form an alliance and eventually become friends.

This is a perfect story for reading aloud, a terrific bedtime story for young children, but also a good story for reading aloud in class. Fairies, squirrels, hummingbirds, and nature at its finest provide the heart of this story about friendship, trust, courage, and so much more. It is a book that will bear repeated readings, each time more gems will glow within the pages.