Fairies take up residence in local garden

A beautiful fantasy picture book.

Jane Fagan | Jan 1 2017 | comment

Isabella's Secretby Jane Tanner
written for ages 2-7 | highly recommended
published in 2007 (2004) | Penguin Australia | 32 pages

A beautifully presented story by acclaimed illustrator of many best selling picture books such as There’s a Sea in My Bedroom (one of my favourite all time picture books) and Just Jack.

In this season of Christmas it is so easy to rush but here is a story that is about a child's need to just have time to dream and be alone in nature…time to wonder.

The story universally appeals to every young girl's inclination to enjoy the idea of finding a fairy at the bottom of a garden. (Boys may also like the magic given there are boy pixies in the story too!)

The language is richly descriptive and Jane Tanner's unique illustrations really capture the whole gamut of emotions on the faces of the children including wonder and awe.

I was lucky enough to meet the author Jane Tanner at a children's workshop where she described how she might form words for a story, for example, with the help of a leaf fluttering to the ground - just like a fairy.

The story goes that Ella is drawn into the fairies' spell and finds herself shrunk to fairy size. This makes her able to swing on swings with them and topple amongst the flowers cavorting and enjoying her fairy size. The beautiful flower illustrations are in olive, various greens and purples.

The language is richly descriptive and the plot keeps young ones interested. There are many sensory and auditory images such as ‘tiny twinkling voices calling’ which bring the story to life for small ears.

Bubbles of colour, butterflies, glitter globes, lanterns and golden lakes, mice with necklaces of blue-bells and the laughter of the fairies amidst patterns of shadows in the sunlight…its all here in this lovely book.

Read on to find out how Isabella fares as a small fairy, and whether she returns to her normal human size.

A former children's librarian, Jane Fagan is currently a full-time wife and mother of two.

MercatorNet: Fairies take up residence in local garden

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