Modern Fairies, Dwarves, Goblins, and Other Nasties

August 15, 2010

Writing as authority "Miss Edythe McFate," Blume reveals that, even in New York, fairy folk are all around—having adapted to the urban environment—and so city children had best take special care not to run afoul of them. In two-dozen short chapters she introduces many types, explains their powers and (usually mischievous) proclivities and dispels common superstitions. She also suggests doable practices and strategies to stay on their good sides, such as leaving dishes of warm water, flower petals and Gummi bears around the house and ushering inchworms and ladybugs (all of which are fairy pets) found indoors back outside rather than killing them. Along with frequent weedy borders and corner spots, Foote adds portraits of chubby or insectile creatures, often in baroque attire. Interspersed with eight original tales (of children rescuing brownies ejected from the Algonquin Hotel during renovations, discovering a magical farm behind a door in the Lincoln Tunnel and so on), this collection of lore (much of it newly minted) offers an entertaining change of pace from the more traditional likes of Susannah Marriott's Field Guide to Fairies (2009). (Informational fantasy. 10-13)

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

October 1, 2010

Gr 4-8-Miss Edythe McFate's guidebook, "as told to" Blume, gives advice and answers to various questions about fairies, dwarves, goblins, etc. She also tells eight "true" stories set in modern New York City about children with fairy sight. The first tale is about the historic Algonquin Hotel, which for years has been the home of brownies until a new owner takes over. Olive, the daughter of the hotel chef, must help them relocate before Mr. Rex Runcible ruins them. In another tale, George sees a door in the Lincoln Tunnel that leads to a secret tunnel where dwarves pick rubies off trees. He decides to take one and turns into an old man. Miss Edythe McFate sagely warns that one should never steal from fairies. One of the later tales is about an ugly mermaid who can't sing very well. She convinces the girl to help her catch the attention of the Staten Island ferry captain with disastrous consequences. Blume's conversational narrative style is both entertaining and informative, if often on the darker side. Foote's expressive, black-ink illustrations haunt every page and add to the magical feel of the book-Samantha Larsen Hastings, Riverton Library, UT

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2011
To dispel romantic notions about fairies, narrator Miss Edythe McFate supplies grotesque descriptions and grim cautionary anecdotes about the creatures, all accompanied by appropriately dark and spiky illustrations. Lots of folkloric information is provided, along with some modern-sounding details (e.g., thieves being punished with flying snot). After all that, the assertion that we should attempt to help fairies flourish is perplexing.

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)