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The book itself has been put together with great care. There are lovely sketched illustrations that are completely in keeping with the fairy tale style. Illustrator Marlene Record has hit exactly the right note with them. Girly readers who love the idea of an entire family named after precious stones will enjoy checking out their own birthstones in an appendix at the back. And there's also a glossary of difficult words. I really liked this idea. Loftus hasn't written at the level of the youngest girls who will read her book, but she hasn't forgotten them either. It's good to stretch a child's vocabulary if you can and there are some great words in here - ''subdue, ponder, lavish, plight, amiable, vibrant''.

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