Fairy Houses (The Fairy Houses Series) [Hardcover]

Tracy Kane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2001 | Age Range: 5 - 7 years | Series: The Fairy Houses Series

What would happen if you built a house for the fairies to live in? Would they come to visit? Kristen is in for a surprise when she sets out to build a fairy house in the woods. Nature wants to get in on the act with her own special cast of characters! Follow Kristen’s story of discovery to its enchanting conclusion. A special section on how to get started with your own fairy house is also included.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-Kristen's parents take her on a vacation to Maine and show her a village of little houses made from natural materials in the woods that humans have made for fairies. The child builds her own miniature home and returns each morning to find only animals enjoying it. However, on the last day, after seeing only a deer licking the salt off seashells placed at the entrance to her little building, Kristen falls into a light slumber. It is then that she is rewarded with the fairies appearing to her as thanks for respecting the woods and its animals. The fairies glow so brightly that she must close her eyes, and when she reopens them they have changed into beautiful monarch butterflies. Children will be eager to build a fairy house with the inspiring suggestions provided by the author at the end of the book. Kane's fanciful illustrations are colorful, and their somewhat muted appearance on the page add to the child's dreamlike trip.

Meghan R. Malone, Turner Free Library, Randolph, MA

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Children will be eager to build a fairy house with the inspiring suggestions provided by the author."  —School Library Journal

"What makes this a winner is the fact that kids immediately want to go outside and build their own fairy house."  —Children's Book Sense 76 Picks, American Booksellers Association

"A must-have for children's collections." —Today's Librarian

"I highly recommend Fairy Houses by Tracy Kane for your children—any age!"  —The Best Reviews.com

"An enchanting children's picturebook."  —The Midwest Book Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 5 - 7 years
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Light Beams Publishing; Third Edition, Third edition edition (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970810458
• ISBN-13: 978-0970810458
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 0.4 x 11.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,110 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Dragons

More About the Author

Tracy Kane, author/illustrator of the multi award-winning 'Fairy Houses Series', has combined talents with photographer/husband, Barry Kane, to present an enchanting photographic tour of inspiring fairy house creations from events and workshops throughout New England.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful July 19, 2004

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

I chose this book for my six- and four-year-old stepdaughters; they love fairies so I suspected it would be a hit. What I didn't expect was that my eleven-year-old stepson was also fascinated by the book and proceeded to serve as the primary architect for the fairy houses that all three built! I'm always happy to find something that spurs a creative family activity, so this was perfect. My husband and I also loved the artwork. I'm pleased to find out that this is a series, so I'll be looking for more of the titles.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Fairy Houses March 22, 2004

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

My 8 yr. old daughter and I loved Fairy Houses and can't wait to get started making our own as soon as the weather warms up this Spring. We are extremely interested in all things fairy right now and have been devouring anything on the subject we can find. There aren't a lot of books that are devoted to the subject of fairies and we loved this one. The illustrations are quite beautiful and we got lots of ideas on how we could build our own in the back of the book. We also ordered Kristen's Fairy House video, which I have heard good things about, and look forward to viewing. My daughter says, "This book is cool and I got lots of ideas to build my own fairy house."

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Imagination and magic... October 17, 2005

By T. Hutchins

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

My daughter received the video about this book as a gift a couple of years ago - it has been a favorite. I finally bought the book and she was thrilled just as much with it. It's not often that a book sparks something in a child that drives them outside to be in nature, but this book does. This is an extremely unique book with fabulous text and art work. It is our all-time favorite, most inspirational childrens book!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book June 21, 2003

By "erinc-p"

Format:Hardcover

I purchased a book for each of my 4 nieces and I've planned an adventure to Monhegan island in Maine this summer with all 4 of them to build their own fairy houses. This is the type of fun every child should be exposed to -- shut off those TVs and head outdoors to enjoy the wonders of a child's imagination!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fairy Houses January 27, 2002

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Fairy Houses is an inspiration! Author and illustrator, Tracy Kane, has built in this book a magical world that glows and twinkles. Encouraging children to take an active part in nature, the book suggests how each of us might take found objects like twigs, a feather, perhaps some seashells, and setting them up against a tree or beside a brook can create a magical imaginary world that fairies visit when we are not looking. Kids of all ages can delight in this material, the stuff of the sweetest of our dreams. Fairy Houses is filled with imagination, beauty, fantasy and hope.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Summer Fun August 27, 2006

By Patricia H. Smith

Format:Hardcover

What a beautiful and wonderful book for both my 7yr. old and 9 yr. old. They visited in Maine this summer and we went to a hiking trail and fairy walk on Orrs Island. They both built lovely fairy houses and had such fun. AS in the book, they were very careful in using only natural objects found ON the ground. The story was lovely and the art work spectacular.Any child would love this book.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The story comes to life.... March 29, 2002

By *

Format:Hardcover

We are eager to purchase this book after viewing "Kristen's Fairy House" which is the video story of how author/illustrator Tracy Kane developed the story and drawings for "Fairy Houses". It has earned the "Gold Award" for Parent's Choice and rave reviews from Parenting Magazine, Family Fun magazine and Publishers Weekly. In the video author Tracy Kane takes her niece Kristin to an island off the coast of New England to a magical wood where the fairy adventures are inspired. There are lots of child-friendly things to see and experience and one feels almost as if you're along for the ride and waiting to see what happens next. It would seem based upon the credits that this film was a family venture and if the book reflects even a sprinkling of fairy dust's worth of the effort that went into the film it too will be a winner....

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars With warm, full-color artwork of forests and butterflies August 17, 2001

By Midwest Book Review

Format:Hardcover

Tracy Kane's Fairy Houses is an enchanting children's picturebook that answers the question, "What would happen if you built a house for fairies to live in? Would they come to visit?" Young Kristin is determined to build a fairy house, and Nature itself becomes involved in the construction. The warm, full-color artwork of forests and butterflies give the pages the feel of the outdoors, but perhaps the highlight of the story is the set of general instructions that children can follow to build fairy houses of their own: "You should only use natural materials to build the house. Dry grasses, pebbles, sticks, shells, feathers, seaweed, pinecones and nuts are just some of the materials you can use."