Customer Reviews

Fairy Hunters, InK.

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Childhood is a magical time, when it's still easy to believe in fairies and make-believe places. And for some adults, we are still mesmerized by fantasy characters and the images that go with them.

Sheila A. Dane has written just such a book. It's filled with fairy adventures and whimsical illustrations by Rose Csorda.

Some chapters which are included are:
*Teacup Fairies
*Turtle Makes A Discovery
*Attic Fairies
*Flute Fairies
*The Clothes Hanger Fairies
*River Fairies
*Ashley discovers a Mud Puddle Fairy
*How we found a Picnic Fairy and a Picnic Gremlin

The book's size reminds me of a child's coloring book with large print and illustrations to match. A child would be very comfortable with the format and fascinated with the stories.

Join Ashley, Laura, Turtle, and Big Rabbit on their adventures of looking for fairies!

Make sure you "pepper" Ashley before you get started. She needs to shake out all the mischief that her fairy whispers in her ear time to time.

Fairies are everywhere! You just have to know where to look.

Sock Fairies - You know those socks you can never find a match for? Well, the odds are a sock fairy has made a home in one. And if it has a hole in it, all the better! With a hole they have easier access in and out of the sock.

Button Fairies - Button fairies will party in your closet if you let them, so make sure your buttons are sewed on tight!

Blue Bottle Fairies are my favorite. The fairies are tinged blue, but they are constantly rubbing the glass of the bottle; shining it up so they can see their reflection.

There are all sorts of other fairies entrancing book. You have to believe to see! The illustrations are beautiful

This was a delightful book full of fantastical fairy illustrations. I wished as I read it that I had a child here to share it with me. I know a couple who are going to love it.

A child (or not so grown-up adult) would find this very amusing. It has stories about Chimney Fairies, Blue Bottle Fairies, Mud Puddle Fairies, Sock Fairies, even Book Fairies, and many others. It's a very fun book and the author has a sequel in the works.

Fairy Hunters, InK. is about the adventures of Ashley, Big Rabbit, Turtle and our narrator who occupies quite a bit of the ever precocious Ashley's time. The narrator at one time calls herself an almost Sorceress, but that may have to do with her ability to keep Ashley entertained. In this lovely book, we meet many fairies of all persuasions, as well as a gremlin or two. You see, Fairy Hunters are just what the name intends, finders of fairies. Ashley and her cohorts seem to find them everywhere, but you have to look very hard and sometimes a very long time to discovers the wonders of fairydom. In this wistful fantasy book, we meet many types of fairies who all are very particular and can be very mischievous. A few of the fairies we meet are:

Button Fairies - who like to sneak loose buttons
Basket Fairies - who live in baskets and are very shy
Pocket Fairies - who live in pocket and can look quite a mess with pocket fuzz
Teacup Fairies - who don't actually live in teacups, fear of being swallowed
Blue Bottle Fairies - who mostly just like to look at their reflections
Soup Ladle Fairies - who love to slide around in ladles
Chimney Fairies - who live in and look like soot
Fire Fairies - who play Dodge ball with fire balls, and they want to be hit
Attic Fairies - who may be mistaken for dust bunnies

There are more fairies to be found between the pages and a couple of gremlins too who like nothing better than to change your plans for the day. Sneaky little buggers that can make you think that it's all your idea and all the while whispering in your ear.

Fairy Hunters, Ink by Sheila Dane is a large book filled with wonderful illustrations of fairy imaginings. It reminds the reader of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland as well as other fairy tales found in children's literature. It would be a perfect way to spend time with young children, beautifully colorful pictures to keep their attention that flows together nicely with whimsical tales of fairies, a rather large rabbit who enjoys a good carrot, and turtle who happens to be very slow, but very kind. Imagine portraying these sweet characters for those too young to read, awaking their imaginations to the world of fantasy. What a great way to spend the lazy days of summer when it's too hot to head outside or a blizzardity winter afternoon. This book could very well fall into the category of YA fantasy as well.

4 stars

The kid in me was thrilled that she got to come out and play again. When I picked up Sheila Dane's book, Fairy Hunters, Ink. I was sure I was in for some fun. She has described a world that most adults forget exists. The world of fairies has intrigued young and old alike for centuries. This book opened my eyes to fairies I didn't know exist, like the mud puddle fairy or the hanger fairy. Now I have an excuse when my oversized tops fall off of the hangers. I know it is the hanger fairies playing around and not my lack of proper hanging. The illustrations created by Rose Csorba add another depth to this book. I had to read the book through without the pictures the first time and then go back and look at all of the wonderful details in the pictures the second time. Trying to do both at the same time was distracting. This is a must read for everyone who loves fairies no matter what the age.

In the mind of a child, imaginary friends are a staple of development and socialization. It is all to the better if those friends do good things in aiding the environment and whisper sound advice into the ears of an uncertain child. In this book, Dane uses her childlike imagination to "create" a set of many different kinds of fairies that young Ashley encounters. Some of their roles are:
*) Button fairies
*) Mud puddle fairies
*) Teacup fairies
*) Sock fairies
*) Soup ladle fairies
*) Attic fairies
*) Fire and chimney fairies
Presented in a slightly madcap fashion, the action is reminiscent of Carroll's classic "Alice in Wonderland" where the fairies have eccentricities that make them act like a childhood conception of a fairy would act. Furthermore, Ashley's actions are those typical of a child with a strong imagination, her interactions with the fairies present her with some eccentricities of her own. The actions are too advanced for very young children, however those approximately 4 and above will be delighted by the romp through the land of the fairies.

Over the years I have acquired a number of books on fairies, with most having a French, Scottish, Irish and Scandinavian view. So when this book crossed my path I was intrigued.

Mostly because it was both whimsical as well as different because the illustrations are hot bright and crisp like many books on the subject.The colours are more subdued and with a variety of dark browns, black, reds etc.

The dialogue is enchanting and engrossing and when read to a child will hold their attention. And the fairies discussed are like none I have ever encountered before which gives it added appeal.

Rose Csorba beautifully illustrated this journal-of-sorts about a group of Fairy Hunters. Ashley and narrator Laura, aided by their friends Big Rabbit and Turtle, find the fairies that exist in every day things. Pocket Fairies, Teacup Fairies, Sock Fairies, and others have their own brief story and the story of their capture.

The idea that this story is for children and adults alike is a bit of a stretch. I think children would be entertained by the idea that fairies are everywhere if you just look hard enough and Csorba's skillful art is entertaining. However, as an adult, it sounded to me like "Laura" was Ashley's step mother, Big Rabbit and Turtle making up the rest of the family members, and that this book might be more of a way for "Laura" to relive a nice time of bonding with Ashley. There were a few times Laura says things to Ashley that make Ashley's mom sound like not nearly as much fun as Laura. Thinly veiled.

I was mostly annoyed with the heinous editing. There were randomly capitalized letters in the middle of sentences, punctuation seemingly thrown about, and sentence fragments galore outside of dialogue. For those reasons, I wouldn't want this to be a staple in my child's library. Fairy Hunter's Ink. is written for an age group of children who are learning the correct way to write.

Complaints aside, Fairy Hunter's Ink. is a very creative children's book with some very good points. The interaction between Laura and Ashley and their friends is heart warming. The idea that fairies are part of every day life and you just have to look hard to find them is truly a metaphor for taking the time to enjoy life amid the chaos. If your child were particularly interested in this book, you could certainly use it to inspire your own Fairy Hunters group and have you child help you come up with your own fairies.

Over tea parties with their friends, Sheila and Ashley love to talk about fairies they've found. Every fairy has different quirks, likes and dislikes.

This is a very imaginative book for young children who love fantasy tea parties with stuffed animals.Each chapter goes into info about the different fairies, and I thought the book was okay. I actually didn't like the art; I had a hard time figuring out what was going on with the pictures.

What is Fairy Hunters, Ink? It is a collection of many different tales around the diligent fairy discoverers who formed Fairy Hunters, Ink. With the help of a few interesting characters such as: Big Rabbit and Turtle.

Each chapter not only brings children into the whimsical world of the Fairy Hunters, Ink, but they also discover new and interesting fairies along the way. Not to mention a few gremlins and such.

I found the book interesting and creative. The author goes beyond the normal fairy world most of us are use to and introduces readers to fairies most of us would never think would exists such as: Basket fairies, Pocket fairies, Attic fairies, and Chimney fairies to name a few.

The book isn't written like the "ology" books where you have lots of pictures and short little blurbs about different facts or myths. Fairy Hunters, Ink. is written more like a journal of the many different adventures these explores have. There are colorful illustrations of scenes from the adventures to the different kinds of fairies themselves. Yet you won't find them on every page.

I feel children who love magic and adventure will enjoy Sheila Dane's book and the gift it gives in keeping one young forever through the glimpses into the lives of these magical creatures we all know as. . . Fairies!