Philippa Fisher's fairy godsister

Review by Booklist Review

Philippa is lonely when her best friend Charlotte moves to the country. Picking a daisy, she sings a magical charm, thereby animating her very own fairy godsister complete with three wishes. Unfortunately, the argumentative Daisy is not particularly fond of humans and her wishes turn out very badly: Philippa's parents become more normal but they fight all the time, and Philippa's new-found popularity doesn't make her especially happy. The author of the Emily Windsnap books offers here another upbeat, middle-grade fantasy. Philippa is believable as a middle-schooler navigating difficult friendships and embarrassing parents, and the message of being careful what you wish for is delivered with a light touch. A minor thread dealing with Philippa's interest in magic (and the reasons for her performance anxiety) will also strike a chord with readers. Give this to fans of Linda Strauss' A Fairy Called Hilary (1999), which features another fairy with attitude.--Weisman, Kay Copyright 2008 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-6-Philippa Fisher's life is a disaster. Her parents embarrass her in front of her friends; they are party entertainers and drive a bright yellow VW camper with pictures of clowns and jesters and rabbits painted on the side. Then her best friend moves away and she feels totally alone. She is so miserable, in fact, that the ATC (Above the Clouds) sends her a fairy godmother from 3WD (the Three Wishes Department). But Daisy, the fairy godmother (called a godsister because of her age), has serious attitude and is vexed at being paired with a human. She and Philippa get off to a dreadful start when her charge unknowingly leaves the transforming fairy with a limp and bruises. Just wanting to get the job done, Daisy delivers three wishes that give the girl the opportunity to change her life forever, which results in near disaster. Philippa, a self-conscious 11-year-old who desperately wants to be part of the popular crowd, is forced to rethink what friendship and parental love are all about. It is her choices and the consequences that make this story so moving. Equally as charming is the way fairy magic has been modernized with MagiCell messaging and a fairy facing her own trials and errors. The gentle storytelling and theme of finding oneself will resonate with girls gong through their own emotional awakenings.-Robyn Gioia, Bolles School, Ponte Vedra, FL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Horn Book Review

(Intermediate) Philippa has two major problems in life: her best friend has moved away, and her free-spirited, exuberant parents mortify her daily. Her sorrow over her friend's departure attracts the attention of the fairies, who send down Daisy, a fairy with a bad attitude, to help. Daisy comes bearing three wishes that Philippa must use within a certain amount of time (or Daisy will die); Daisy also has a mission of her own that she doesn't fully comprehend. The story is told in alternating first person, an effective choice to convey Daisy and Philippa's gradual understanding of each other -- after much initial frustration and irritation. Kessler's light tone, imaginative incorporation of fairy-world details (such as the 1GTD -- the "One Good Turn Department"), and gentle development of the theme of empathy all work well together to make this a realistic school story with a magical twist. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

With her best friend moving away and her quirky parents embarrassing her to no end--their camper-van honks to the tune of the Hokey-Pokey--11-year-old Philippa Fisher wishes she had a fairy godmother to change everything about her. Overnight, a daisy she has plucked is transformed into a surly new girl in class, fairy-godsister Daisy French, who grants Philippa three wishes that prove to make her life even more unpleasant than it was. Kessler, author of the Emily Windsnap series, gives Daisy a winningly irascible temperament (indeed, like a put-upon older sister), bent on fulfilling her "assignment" as dictated by the higher-ups at ATC (Above the Clouds). While it is Daisy's job to show compassion for the mousy protagonist, Philippa needs to learn that she never had it so good before she turned her free-spirited, affectionate parents into goal-driven, homework-mad conventional drones. Told in the alternating voices of Philippa and Daisy, the tale unfolds with an appealing mixture of tenderness and irony. (Fantasy. 8-12) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Sunday morning began with the awful realization that I'd made the biggest mistake of my life. It had all started on Saturday. The weekend began like any other. Mom and Dad were rushing around packing puppets and balloons and facepaints into the van for a party in the afternoon. There's nearly always one going on somewhere on Saturdays. They're party entertainers; the weekends are their busiest time. I used to go along to the parties, but then I -- well, I just don't anymore. Birthdays, anniversaries, passing your piano exam -- anything you want to celebrate, they'll be there singing, pulling rabbits out of hats, throwingpies at your big brother. Whatever it takes to make you smile. Everyone thinks it must be great to have them as my parents. They think my home life must be a nonstop party. Um. Not quite. It used to be fun, I suppose. When I was young enough not to get bored with making dogs out of balloons every week; when I actually liked beingdriven around in a bright yellow VW camper with pictures of clowns and jesters and rabbits on the side; when I didn't know that there was any such thing as a problem that couldn't be sorted out with tickle therapy. I used to think that my parents were the most incredible human beings on the planet. Now I just think they're embarrassing. This Saturday I didn't mind, though. I hardly even noticed them. I was busy putting the final touches on a present that I was making for my bestfriend, Charlotte. "Philippa, we're going now!" Mom called up the stairs. "OK," I shouted back. "There's tofu rolls and veggie burgers for you and Charlotte." I rolled my eyes. Once, just once, it might be nice to have something normal like grilled cheese or fish fingers for lunch. "Great!" I replied, hoping I sounded more sincere than I felt. I looked up as my bedroom door opened. It was Dad. He had a bright orange sun painted on one cheek and a black night sky with a crescent moon on the other. "Which hand's the penny in?" he asked, grinning widely as he held his palms out. I pointed to the penny in his left hand. "That one." "Are you sure?" Dad winked. Then he closed his hands, shook them, got me to blow on them, and then -- presto -- the penny had disappeared. It was a good trick. It was probably even better if you hadn't already seen it approximately three times a week for eleven and a half years, and if you didn't already know how to do it yourself. Still, I'd never say anything. It would only upset him, and I did secretly enjoy his magic. I liked it when he showed me how to do a new trick. I'd go away and practice it for days afterward. Not that I'd ever do it in front of anyone except Charlotte. Just the thought of performing made me tremble. I'd never do that again. "Neat," I said, smiling. Closing his hands again, Dad reached forward, tickled my ear and opened his palms. "Hey, look where I found it! It was in your ear the whole time," he said. "Now why didn't you tell me?" I kept smiling. "They'll love you, Dad," I said. He leaned over to kiss the top of my head. "Be good, sunshine," he said before leaving me and bounding downstairs to join Mom. I watched the van drive to the end of the road, and then I got back to the friendship bracelet I was making for Charlotte. Charlotte had been my best friend since the first day of school. We had even been in preschool together, so we'd known each other for nearly seven years -- and this weekend she was moving away. Her parents had bought a farm hundreds of miles away. They were "getting back to nature." All homegrown food and solar panels and no phone or TV. They weren't even going to have a computer, and it was so completely in the middle of nowhere that they probably wouldn't even have cell phonereception. They might as well have been leaving the planet. They were really excited about going, though. Even Charlotte. All I knew was that it felt as if someone were about to chop off one of my limbs.That's how close we were. Charlotte said she felt the same way, but I knew she was looking forward to her new life, too. She was going to have a pony of her own, and her parents said they'd get a dog and chickens. I was happy for her. Really, I was. But how was I ever going to be happy without her around? The friendship bracelet! She'd be here any minute. I wiped my eyes and got back to work. It was a really complicated pattern in turquoise, pink, and purple: all her favorite colors. I'd just threaded the last piece of cotton into place when the doorbell rang. That's the last time she'll walk over to my house, a heavy voice said in my mind. I looked in the mirror, wiped my eyes again, and practiced smiling. Don't think about it. Don't let her see how sad you are; don't make it hard for her, I said to my reflection. From the Hardcover edition. Excerpted from Philippa Fisher's Fairy Godsister by Liz Kessler All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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