28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Addictive and junky, October 27, 2007
This review is from: Ruby: The Red Fairy (Rainbow Magic: The Rainbow Fairies, No. 1) (Paperback)
My 4 year old found out about these books from a friend of hers. We've read the entire Rainbow fairy series out loud as bedtime stories.
I am a believer in encouraging children to read. If these books do this for your children, great. I could easily see how this could be the case. The author clearly understands 4-6 year old girl psychology and exploits it fully to create truly addictive series.
However, as a mom reading aloud to her child, I would have to say that the adventures in the books are almost nonsensical even given the premise of fairy magic (at least taken as a series--this particular book is not so bad), the dialog and vocabulary insipid, and the characters uninspiring.
Rachael and Kirsty solve problems not with common sense, bravery or ingenuity, but by using magic fairy bags given to them by the Fairy King and Queen. Their biggest challenges seem to be 1) running away from goblins (which look about 5 inches high in the illustrations) and 2) remembering to use the magic fairy bags when the goblins frighten them too much.
I also feel exploited. These books are $7 each, in series of addictive stories which could each easily be fit in one book. The Rainbow series alone will set you back $7*7=$49 if you pay the cover price of $6.99, and there seems to be no end in sight to the collections. Each book can easily be read in 1-2 sittings, so $6.99 doesn't get you much.
Another aspect which bothers me is this: the Rainbow fairies wear trendy teen age type clothing and are stick-thin. Rachael and Kirsty are extremely thin and trendy looking too. My 4 year old will be bombarded with these kinds of unrealistic body images by the media as it is. I don't want them appearing in her bedtime stories.
My advice (at least to parents who are going to read these aloud): don't start. There are so many better choices. Once you start, your child won't let you stop. So if you are going to read these, get them from the library. Make sure you can get the whole series since these are fast reads, with each story encouraging your child to read the next one.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
First in the Series, November 2, 2003
By A Customer
My daughter loved reading this book, but a word of warning: the story does not end until the seventh book. If you plan to get this book you will need all seven in the series.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Rainbow Magic; be prepared to buy the set, July 15, 2007
This review is from: Ruby: The Red Fairy (Rainbow Magic: The Rainbow Fairies, No. 1) (Paperback)
The premise of the Rainbow Magic is that two vacationing girls meet and rescue seven fairies who have been banished to Rainspell Island by the evil Jack Frost. Pretty simple and straightforward stuff. The girls' characters are somewhat boring and bland. Although I've read over 20 of these books I still have a hard time keeping track which girl is which; that says a lot about how little we are told about the girls' personalities, etc. Each of the books is a mini-story; you will have to read all seven in the series in order to find out if Fairyland is saved by the return of the Rainbow Fairies. Then, there are several other sets of fairy books out there by the same author (Weather Fairies, Jewel Fairies, Fun Day Fairies, Party Fairies, Petal Fairies, Pet Keeper Fairies) so there is really no end to what that naughty Jack Frost will do and the girls keep helping out the fairies to save the day. Gets.sort.of.old.for.grownups.after.awhile. Many of the other series are not even for sale in the US yet; it seems as though Scholastic is picking them up and releasing them slowly. If your girls get really into the RM books then you'll be searching the ebay listings looking for the series that are only available overseas. A note, the UK/Austrailian versions are slightly different. For instance, the girls get in the "queue" at the carnival, instead of the "line". Or they come home for "tea" instead of a "snack". And of course in the UK there are just words that are spelled a little different. Just so you all know if you're chasing down the non-US series.
But moreover, the RM books are light, driveley books. None of them are really great literature or will show kids great writing. BUT, my daughters just love them and they motivate my reluctant reader to WANT to read. They will be among the first chapter books appropriate for little girls, 1st or 2nd grade unless you've got an early reader. There's nothing you'll find offensive or distasteful (like, say, Junie B. Jones). They will not learn as much as reading something like the Magic Treehouse series. They are cute little books and fun for girls to collect.
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