Customer Reviews

ruby the red Fairy

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

My daughter has been reading since she was 3, and now that she just turned five, I was interested in finding chapter books for her to read. I've had a lot of problems finding age-appropriate books for her, because she can read far beyond preschool reading level. A lot of the book series I've looked at have themes for older kids, because the reading level is for older kids. She could read the words but I feel that she is still too young to relate. This series of Rainbow Fairies books is PERFECT for her! She loves them, and after we read the first two chapters together, she stayed up in her room and read the next two chapters to herself. The language is so descriptive and really gets her imagination going, but there are still a few pictures for reference. I HIGHLY recommend this book series to anyone who has a young child that loves to read and may be reading beyond their grade level.

My first grader absolutely fell in love with the Rainbow Fairy series and is now onto the Weather Fairies. Lovely, light stories, they feature young girls (just like her) trying to save fairies and their magical world. These are perfect books for readers beginning chapter books.

Our 6 year old daughter would roll her eyes (not sure where she learned that) whenever we'd mention reading. She got mildly excited when my wife and I would read to her, but she was always very reluctant about reading to us - and she never read by herself.

When she would come home from 1st grade school, I'd ask her how her day was, what she did, and she would always mention playing the "fairy game" on the playground. I never asked for details, but when wandering the racks at a brick and mortar bookstore, I stumbled across "Ruby the Red Fairy". I bought it thinking our daughter would like it - it has fairies, the book is a bit advanced for her reading capability, but not too far ahead.

I brought it home and she was bouncing-off-the-wall excited. Apparently, "The Rainbow Fairies" are the inspiration for the playground "fairy game" she played at school daily. Score one for Dad. She grabbed the book and jumped on the couch, snuggled in the pillows and over the next couple of hours would periodically ask the meanings and pronunciations of various words.

She finished the book inside of a morning. She's since finished the entire 7-part series and I've ordered the next set of books - the "Weather Fairies". This book has been a huge stepping stone for her in terms of reading. She reads them over and over. When we go on car trips, she takes along a copy. And now she's started reading other books by herself and she loves story time at night. It's such a night and day difference over several months ago that it's hard to remember how hard "reading time" was with her not too long ago.

As children's book go, these are pretty above average. The only thing that I noticed is that the plot seems to repeat heavily from book to book. But my daughter doesn't seem to notice. The characters are good role models for a 6 year old girl - the fairies are brave, honest and work together.

My daughter has since become an avid reader and my wife and I are thrilled.

Ruby the Red fairy is the first book in a series of 7 books about the Rainbow Fairies. The books that follow are Amber the Orange Fairy, Sunny the Yellow Fairy (she is also called Saffron in some editions; not sure why the publishers changed her name, but it is otherwise the same book), Fern the Green Fairy, Sky the Blue Fairy, Izzy the Indigo Fairy, and Heather the Violet Fairy. The seven fairies have been cast out of Fairy Land by nasty Jack Frost, and two human girls must find each of the fairies and reunite them with each other and return them to Fairy Land. Each individual book tells the complete story of the girls finding that particular fairy, but we won't know if the girls are successful in returning them all to Fairy Land until the 7th book.

Is this great literature? No. Is it compelling to a five year old girl? Yes! Do compelling stories encourage a love of books? Yes! Not only are these books perfect read-alouds, they are also terrific books for young readers ready to read chapter books on their own.

My kindergarten daughter is a good reader, able to read beginning readers like Frog and Toad on her own. She was getting through each such book quickly, yet chapter books like Magic Tree House books were still a bit too much for her. Then we discovered these Rainbow Fairy books, and they have been the perfect stepping stone for her into chapter books. There is a lot of white space on the page, so the page isn't crowded with words, and there are illustrations on every page spread, too. It's been a thrill for her and for me to have her sit down and read an entire chapter book all by herself, then be eager to move on to the next one. She's proudly and excitedly showing the books to her friends, and now they want to read them, too!

I'm a stay-at-home Dad whose daughter has also become addicted to these, and I believe her attraction has little to do with what the books have to offer in the way of storyline. She likes them because they are as non-challenging as a bad TV show.

The success of this lazy series confounds me. This first book aspires to little in the way of storyline, and the illustrations are among the worst I've seen in any child's book. Seemingly content with this low standard, the publisher has printed over 80 retreads of the exact same book, switching only the names, hairstyles and props (i.e. change Heather to Stacie, substitute hamster for basketball, etc.) The villains are the same in every book we've read: all male goblins led by baddie Jack Frost who like to steal things from the fairy world and start scavenger hunts in the real world. The heroines are the same, and they deal with the same problems in the same tiresome way as noted previously.

Parents, please do yourselves a favor: don't get started on these when there are so many better substitutes: Magic TreeHouse series, American Girl, Junie B. Jones, Ivy and Bean, etc.

My 6 year old is an advanced reader, but I wasn't sure she had the attention span for chapter books. She loves rainbows and fairies though, so this series was a perfect start. There are a few line drawings on the pages to distract from the fact it's a chapter book, and the stories in the series are engaging. There are also some "cliff-hangers" at the end of some chapters that have even ME clamoring to read on! After wondering if chapter books would seem too daunting, it was exhilarating to reach the end of a chapter and have no doubt we'd just HAVE to read on to see what happened! To me, this is one of the great joys of reading.

We took it slow the first night, with my daughter reading one page, me one page, then her one more page (her idea) and off to bed. As an avid reader, I am proud to say that the next day when she awoke, she brought the book downstairs with her and sat on the couch and read the rest of the book by herself! That's the best testimonial I can give. This experience has sort of initiated her into the world of reading something other than picture books... I have a feeling other chapter books will not seem daunting to her now.

This is a great series to get girls interested in reading. I'm glad we bought all three available books at once! She's almost done with the third book and can't wait for the next.

OK, I understand that the plots are simple, the heroines are forgetful, pricey & addictive, etc. BUT they are sweet, magical and wholesome. These are refreshing compared to some other books my daughter has brought home from school. Not a fan of Junie B. and all her sassy behavior, but even those are tolerable. However, the "My Weird School" books are far worse. Run away from those as fast as you can! Unless you enjoy starting each book with "My name is A.J. and I hate school." Believe me they only get worse from there. ANYWAY, enjoy that your daughter is taken off to a magical place and that there is really nothing offensive with the language or behavior in these books. My 6 year old daughter loves the books and has now started playing fairy games with her girlfriends at school. How wonderful that they have inspired her magical imagination! Enjoy them for what they are...books for 5-8 year old girls, not for adult entertainment (other than watching your child learn to love books)!