Fairy Mom and me

Review by Booklist Review

In this entertaining book, illustrated throughout with lively cartoon drawings, readers will become acquainted with Ella Brook, a little girl with a big secret. In her own words, Ella explains that her mom is a fairy, and when she grows up, she'll be a fairy, too! What follows are four short stories perfect for bedtime, detailing the ways Ella helps her mom do magic and save the day. It's no surprise that the book, born as bedtime stories for the author's children, is an excellent read-together for families. In the closing pages, there's a section with discussion questions and activity ideas, such as creating a fairy rulebook, retelling a story on video, and picking apart traditional fairy tales and their various topics. Best of all, the plots of Kinsella's stories manage to be inventive and charming while staying grounded in realistic, everyday situations, to which readers should have an easy time relating. Definitely deserving of a place on the nightstand.--Pino, Kristina Copyright 2018 Booklist

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

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

A girl (and future fairy) named Ella Brook narrates Kinsella's amusingly chaotic chapter book, which highlights a few of the magical spells that cause trouble for Ella's family; her mother can transform into a fairy but is "not very good at magic." Using the latest in fairy technology (aka a digital Computawand), Ella's mother summons a cow in an attempt to replace spilled milk, turns cleaning supplies sentient in a sequence with echoes of The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and gives herself green skin and giant muscles while trying to cure a case of the flu, among other disasters. Messages about the virtues of patience and not taking shortcuts are handled with a light touch-most readers will be content to laugh over the fairy magic hijinks. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 7-10. Author's agent: Kimberly Witherspoon, Inkwell Management. Illustrator's agency: Bright Group. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by Horn Book Review

Ella Brook can't wait to grow up to be a fairy like the rest of the women in her family. In the meantime, she helps her novice mom, whose spells don't always go as planned. In Kinsella's first book for young readers, Ella narrates four amusing adventures filled with mayhem, endearing characters, and life lessons, all accompanied by plentiful black-and-white illustrations. A "Family Activity Guide" is appended. (c) Copyright 2019. 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

Ella's mom is a great mother but a highly inept Fairy Mom.When Ella's mother wiggles her bottom and says the magic word, she sprouts shimmery wings and a shiny crown and turns into a fairy. Unfortunately, even when she's using her Computawand, her spells all go far awry, with funny, topsy-turvy consequences. Still, Ella's there to provide advice (since she will become a fairy when she reaches adulthood and clearly already has some talent), providing some mildly amusing role reversals. Fairy Mom's difficulties aren't Ella's only problem. Mean girl Zoe lives right next door, and both Fairy Mom and Zoe's mother think that means they should be best friendsbut Zoe is one of those kids who seems so sweet when adults are around but otherwise is quite nasty. The historical default for fairies is overwhelmingly white, and Ella and her mom and Zoe are all shown that way in Kissi's lively illustrations. Ella's friend Tom is depicted with dark skin. The plot in this early chapter book is driven only by the amusing fairy failures; character development is minimal. A series of uninspired discussion questions intended for "Family Activities" follows the brief text.Fun stuff for the fairy-focused but otherwise predictable and superficial, even for so young an intended audience. (Fantasy. 6-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Hi there. My name is Ella Brook, and I live in a town called Cherrywood. I have blue eyes and dark brown hair. My best friends at school are Tom and Lenka. My worst enemy is Zoe. She lives next door and she's my Not-Best Friend. She looks mean even when she smiles. You'll meet them all later. And this is my mom. She looks normal, like any other mom . . . but she's not. Because she can turn into a fairy. All she has to do is shut her eyes tight, say "Marshmallow," . . . and POOF! She's Fairy Mom. I love it when she's a fairy, because her wings shimmer like hundreds of rainbows. She wears a silver crown that shines like starlight. She can fly in the air and turn invisible and do all other kinds of real magic. Plus, she just bought a new wand that is really cool. It's called the Computawand V5. It has magic powers and a computer screen  and  an Extra-Fast Magic button. Most fairies have Computawands nowa-days. They have Fairy Apps and Fairy Mail and even Fairy Games. Mom sometimes lets me look at the apps and games if I've been good. (But she  always  turns off the magic function first.) When Mom is not being a fairy, her Computawand just looks like a normal phone. Which is good, because it is a big secret that Mom is a fairy. No one must  ever  find out. I'm not allowed to tell anyone, not even my friends. Most of the time, Mom is a boss in an office. She is very good at it. She's also very good at telling bedtime stories and singing songs in the car. She's the best mom in the world.     Ollie is my little brother. He's only one year old and he can't turn into a fairy. Every- one says he looks like me, but he doesn't, be- cause he's a baby and I'm not. He can't even speak properly. His favorite word is "weezi-weezi-weezi." And here's my dad. He can't turn into a fairy either and he can't do magic. He says he can park the car instead.   Mom knows I'd like to be a fairy. She says that all the girls in my family turn into fairies when they're grown up, so one day I will too. I will have sparkly wings and my own Computawand. I can't  wait. Aunty Jo and Granny look normal, just like Mom, but they can turn into fairies too. Aunty Jo has a Computawand V5 just like Mom's. She can work the computer screen very fast, and she knows every single spell code. Aunty Jo is very good at magic. Granny won't get a Computawand because she doesn't like anything that goes  bleep.  She still has an old-fashioned fairy wand with a star on top. She says it's never let her down yet, and she won Best Spell at the Fairy Awards with it, three times in a row. Aunty Jo won Best Spell last year too. In fact, Aunty Jo has won lots of fairy prizes. Mom hasn't won any fairy prizes. I'm not allowed to start magic lessons yet, but I'm trying to learn anyway. Every week, Mom has magic lessons from Fenella, her Fairy Teacher, who talks to her on Fairy Tube. I watch with her and try my hardest to remember all the spell codes. Mom tries very hard too. I'm sure she'll get better one day, but for now she's not very good at magic. You'll find out what I mean soon. Here are some of the magic spells we have had fun with so far--and some of the trouble they've gotten us into! Excerpted from Fairy Mom and Me by Sophie Kinsella 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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