The Serif Fairy [Hardcover]

Rene Siegfried (Author), Joel Mann (Translator)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

The Serif Fairy has lost her wing, keeping her from performing magic. This book follows her through an airy, immaculately designed typographic landscape as she hunts for it. Along the way, she makes friends and has adventures as she wanders through the Garamond Forest, visits Futura Town and eventually ends her quest at Shelley Lake.

An amazing book for type aficionados and their children, The Serif Fairy epitomizes the synthesis of form and function, the ultimate goal of good design. In this Type Director’s Club award-winning children’s book, readers both young and old are sure to delight in the tale and illustrations. Children will marvel at the unique visual renderings of trees, towns and animals, hardly realizing that they are learning about typography.

More than a lesson, however, this book is entertaining for all readers, who are sure to root for the Serif Fairy as she searches for that part of her that makes her complete. This archetypal story told through such innovative illustrations furthers the genre of children’s books, proving how they can be fun and informative for both the young and young at heart!

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Mark Batty Publisher (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979048621
• ISBN-13: 978-0979048623
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 0.3 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #867,880 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Subtle, Sophisticated, Thoroughly Entertaining Art Book for Children of All Ages, May 4, 2007

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Serif Fairy (Hardcover)

THE SERIF FAIRY is a delight from every aspect. Though conceived as a children's book, it is also a teaching tool of the sort that makes learning fun while challenging both the adult reader and the child. Writer and graphic designer Rene Siegfried composed this fable in German (it is sensitively translated for us into English by Joel Mann) as a studio work for a course in communication design, the challenge being to create a readable and interesting story while introducing the child in each of us to concepts of the somewhat obtuse subject - typography!

The Serif Fairy, 'a clever little letter-fairy', has lost her left 'magical' wing, disabling her ability to fly and to perform magic. She sets off in search of the lost wing, wandering through the Garamond Forest, the Zentenar Gate, the Futura City, and finally to Shelley Lake where, after falling into the water, she finds her lost wing and flies into the air, a revived magic fairy. Each of the images, from the construction of the fairy herself to the trees, buildings, bugs and animals she encounters are built from letters from the various typefaces (fonts) that we all know from the computer cascade of choices. Siegfried encourages the reader to find the various composed creatures and identify how they are created from letters by adding at the end of the brief book a concise but excellent description and illustration of each of the four typefaces used. Then on the inside back cover spread the designer shares each of the designed objects from car to crab with a simple lineup of the letters used in each composition.

The design of the book is clean, elegant, and very intelligently presented. Some will ask whether the book will appeal to any child (or adult) not involved in the graphic design business. For this reader the answer is a resounding 'YES!'. Siegfried has managed to create an interesting tale while opening fresh lines of investigation for visual problem solving of the 'type' that fascinate children with inquisitive minds: problem solving in finding the inventive critters that fill the pages is enhanced by the reward of learning more about the new discoveries at book's end. This is a book that restores faith in the intelligence of readers - of any age. Another Mark Batty Publisher winner! Grady Harp, May 07

2.0 out of 5 stars Possibly only appropriate for designer parents., August 18, 2011

By 

R. Lyubovitzky (NJ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Serif Fairy (Hardcover)

The book is very small, only about twenty pages. There are cutesy images of creatures made from letters in different fonts. It does not really give much context to gain appreciation for the art ot typography. Story is not very interesting nor it is informative. Maybe those parents who have designer experience would be able to tell a better story with it, but for a parent without this background it is a waste of 15 dollars.

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful little treasure, July 19, 2010

By 

Nick Morgan (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Serif Fairy (Hardcover)

I bought this book for the graphic designer in my life, and she loved it. I recommend it highly to anyone who cares about how words look on a printed page.