The Dolls' House Fairy by Jane Ray

The Dolls' House Fairy by Jane Ray
Buy The Dolls' House Fairy by Jane Ray at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Ruth Ng
Summary: Beautiful, detailed illustrations and a sweet fairy story.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32	Date: October 2010
Publisher: Orchard Books
ISBN: 978-1846169090
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Rosy has a beautiful dolls' house that she enjoys playing with every Saturday with her dad. However, one Saturday she wakes up to find her dad is ill and has gone to hospital, so she is left to play alone. When she goes to the dolls' house, however, she discovers that a messy little fairy named Thistle has moved in!

My daughter, who is almost four, really loved this story and after the first reading requested it over and over. It's a sweet story, looking at a child's way of dealing with the unsettling news of her dad being sick. Thistle the fairy comes to stay in Rosy's dolls' house because her wing is poorly, and so just as Rosy's dad gets better and comes home, Thistle recovers too and flies away. I love the gentle relationship between Rosy and her father, the routine to their Saturday mornings together, and the lovely dolls' house that they have created. Thistle the fairy is also a funny character, and I particularly liked how Rosy goes out to fetch her berries and petals and rainwater, all of which Thistle rejects and she instead asks Have you got any crisps?

As my little girl is mixed race it's always nice to find a story that is illustrated with a mixed race family. The pictures offer a lot to discuss, as you look at the details of the dolls' house and the fairy who comes to live there. We spent a long time looking at the dolls' house, seeing what they have inside and where the dollies end up once the fairy moves in. It's the perfect book to return to again and again, to enjoy the story but also to savour all of the pictures which give the story a lovely, classic feel.

I love stories like this, that encourage children's imaginations. Rosy has conjured the fairy up in her time of need to help her deal with her worries and fears for her dad, yet there is no suggestion in the book that Thistle isn't real, and she and her dad leave out a piece of cake for Thistle at the end, in case she comes back to visit. Sometimes children seem encouraged to grow up so fast nowadays, letting go of their beliefs in fairies and Father Christmas all too quickly for my liking. This is definitely a book I'll be happy to read repeatedly to my little girl, and perhaps we'll find a fairy of our own to befriend, though hopefully she won't be quite as noisy and messy as Thistle turns out to be!

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.

Further reading suggestion: Another beautifully illustrated story to share is Cloud Tea Monkeys or for an imaginative sleepy-time story try When Dragons Are Dreaming.

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You can read more book reviews or buy The Dolls' House Fairy by Jane Ray at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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