The Book of Fairies (Hardcover)

~ (Author, Illustrator) "As for their houses, it is no use looking for them, because they are the exact opposite of our houses..." (more)
Key Phrases: goblin men, field mouse, come buy, Prince Rainbow, Wise Man, Baby Walk (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 3-6. Fairies come alive in stories, songs, and poetry. Only Thumbelina will be familiar to most readers; there is an excerpt from Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens , but this title is different from the more familiar tale. The pieces, some of which feature fairies who are more crotchety than fey, have an old-fashioned air, and Hague's lush, highly detailed artwork enhances the feeling. The most beautiful spreads are the ones in color, but even the line drawings are so intricate they deserve more than one look. Notes about the eight pieces will be very interesting for children wanting a bit of knowledge with their whimsy. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Fairies come alive in stories, songs, and poetry. Hague’s lush, highly detailed artwork enhances the feeling." -- Booklist

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (October 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688108814
• ISBN-13: 978-0688108816
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #391,042 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #18 in

  Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( H ) > Hague, Michael

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Art book or story book? You decide., September 2, 2001

By	Linda Lucille Murphy (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

One could as easily buy this book for the illustrations as for the stories. Either one justifies the purchase price while the other makes this book a prize. While I was trying to read the book, my 12-year-old daughter kept taking it from my desk to read a story at bedtime, and my best friend, who is an artist, wanted to borrow it to study the drawings and paintings.

"The Book of Fairies" begins with an excerpt from "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens" by J. M. Barrie. "Lock-out Time" is a charming story which introduces readers to the fairy world. As Mr. Barrie says, "One of the great differences between the fairies and us is that they never do anything useful." He goes on to explain the origin of fairies, "When the first baby laughed for the first time, his laugh broke into a million pieces and they all went skipping about. That was the beginning of fairies." I had heard that saying before but never knew from where it came. This story is about the fairy ball that goes on in Kensington Gardens once the gates are locked. The story came alive for me because of its references to things one might find today in Kensington Gardens. One such reference is to "the boards which tell at what time the gardens are to close today." The story tells of how the fairies change the times written on the boards to confuse people. Some 15 or so years ago my husband was visiting London and took an afternoon off to read and sun himself in Kensington Gardens. He fell asleep (perhaps he was sprinkled with fairy dust) and missed lock-out time. When he awoke the gates were locked, and he, along with a few other enchanted ones, had to scramble over the fences. If only he had stayed for the ball.

The book includes stories the reader may know, such as the oft retold "Thumbelina" by Hans Christian Andersen and the eerily sensual "Goblin Market" by Chistina Rosetti. There are also less familiar ones such as "The Fairies" by William Allingham, which must have influenced the contemporary "Mogwogs on the March" by Olivier Dunrea, and "The Brownie o' Ferne-Den" retold by Virginia Haviland, whose premise may be recognizable by Girl Scouts. My daughter's favorite was "Fairer-than-a- Fairy" by Charlotte-Rose Caumont de la Force.

And then, there are the pictures. There are paintings with rich vibrant colors and details which are a feast for the eye and an inspiration for the imagination, and there are pen and ink drawings with both the detail and precision of fine etchings and the whimsy of fairy tales. Click on the link at "Look inside this book!" on the book's ... page to see a couple of the paintings, although bites and pixels don't do justice to the artist's paper work.

Michael Hague also selected and illustrated "The Book of Dragons". That book does for dragons what this book does for fairies. I strongly recommend it as well and for much the same reasons as I do "The Book of Fairies".

Linda Murphy
Children's Editor of the Writers Hood
...

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely looking book., October 11, 2000

By A Customer

This is a lovely collection of classic fairy tales, made wonderful by Michael Hague's illustrations. Like all of his earlier books, the illustrations just leap off the page and make it hard to turn the pages. I literally marveled at these illustrations and bought it even though the stories were geared for a younger child than I was buying it for. It is hard to imagine anyone not loving this book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FUN<FUN,fun ,fun,fun, December 3, 2001

By	Michael R Royse (cincinnati, Oh United States) - See all my reviews

I bought this book for my 10 yr old niece who still can see the faery magic and I now plan to buy one for myself.
Wonderful stories and descriptions of different faery are surrounded buy enchanting artwork.
This book is appropriate for any age!