Marigold and the Feather of Hope, the Journey Begins

April 16, 2007
This overwritten tale launches the Fairy Chronicles, a formerly self-published series starring girls who have fairy identities. At the center of this story is nine-year-old Beth—aka Marigold—who is not looking forward to spending two weeks with her eccentric Aunt Evelyn ("Dread settled in deeper and her dark brown eyes glazed over in boredom while she thought again about the fun things she'd rather be doing"). But things start to look up when Aunt Evelyn announces they are both fairies, and tells the girl how to morph into her fairy persona. After Beth is transformed into a marigold-like fairy (complete with wings, a dress resembling flower petals and an enchanted pussy-willow-branch wand which, when stroked, "quivered and purred"), she and her aunt, whose fairy form resembles a monarch butterfly, attend a fairy gathering. They are given the task of retrieving the precious Feather of Hope, which the brownie folk have lost, from a house inhabited by gremlins. Beth emerges as the heroine after she recruits her pet dog to scare off the gremlins, enabling the fairies (using glittering pixie dust) to repair items these creatures have broken. Illustrated with mediocre art and weighed down by extraneous detail, this heavy-handed caper never takes flight. Another young fairy claims the spotlight in Dragonfly and the Web of Dreams
, due out the same month. Ages 7-up.

July 1, 2007
Gr 2-4-This first book in a new series is fun fluff that will appeal to a variety of readers. When nine-year-old Beth Parish spends two weeks with Aunt Evelyn, she is surprised to learn that she is a marigold fairy and that her aunt is a monarch butterfly fairy and her mentor. She gives Beth her first wand, a pussy willow branch. A handbook appears out of thin air and will age with the child, providing more information as she matures. Her aunt takes Beth to a fairy circle where she meets a diverse group of girls her age. The brownies have lost the feather of hope and the girls must rescue it from a house that has gremlins. This easy chapter book is nicely designed with full-page, attractive pastel-colored paintings and accents at chapter beginnings and throughout the book. An opening spread introduces the four girls that make up the fairy team. Back matter features a recipe, fairy facts, and information on the Cottingley fairies. Children who want to practice their reading wings will probably be enticed to keep turning pages."Debbie S. Hoskins, Grand Rapids Public Library, MI"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2007
Nine-year-old Beth Parish dreads spending two summer weeks with odd Aunt Evelyn. Things change when Evelyn reveals she and Beth are fairies. With Evelyns guidance, Beth, a marigold fairy, learns how to transform, fly, and use her wand. When the Feather of Hope (which keeps hope alive in the world) is taken, Beth, with her dachshund, Pete, joins other fairies in a plan to retrieve it from a gremlin-occupied house. This first title of the originally self-published Fairy Chronicles series combines traditional fairy and contemporary elements with a likeable protagonist, who comes to appreciate her new abilities and responsibilities. The rescue is suspenseful, and Sweet laces the story with light humor and abundant fantasy details (fairies communicate via nut messaging). The colorful, classically styled illustrations, new to this edition, occasionally dont match the text (characters drink root beer from bottles not mugs as shown), but they are quite appealing, as is the use of decorative lettering here and there. An accessible, enjoyable story for readers who cant seem to get enough about magical spirits.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)