View source for The Tangle Fairy by Seema Barker

{{infobox2
|title=The Tangle Fairy
|sort=Tangle Fairy
|author=Seema Barker
|reviewer=Kerry King
|genre=For Sharing
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=978-1849564380 
|pages=32
|publisher=Top That! Publishing
|date=September 2011
|aznuk=1849564388
|aznus=1849564388
|cover=1849564388
|website=
|video=
|summary=Jaya can't figure out why, even though she brushes her hair every night and makes it smooth, when she wakes up in the morning her hair is in a terrible tangle.  Then she meets the Tangle Fairy and learns all about what fairies get up to including what happens when fairies make mischief!  A wonderful tale that incorporates fantasy and fun with gorgeous illustration.
}}

Jaya, just like every little girl in the land, brushes her hair before bed but wakes up with all sorts of knots and tangles.  When Jaya asks her mummy how this can be, the simple explanation is ''The Tangle Fairy''.

With her curiosity piqued, Jaya wants to meet this mischievous fairy and ask her why she visits in the night and makes Jaya's smooth and tidy hair all tangled and knotty and one night Jaya gets her chance to find out.  The Tangle Fairy explains that making Jaya's hair all messy is actually her job and though she doesn't really want to do it, she has to do as she is told or the mad dragon and the mad witch will be very cross with her!  

Now, whilst Jaya very much enjoys hearing the tales of witches and dragons that the fairy tells her, isn't there just a small possibility that the Tangle Fairy is not being completely truthful with her?

''The Tangle Fairy'' is really a story for little girls' and has indeed been illustrated to appeal to that market – even the very scary dragon is pink and looks a lot like she's going to give you a big cuddle.  

And whilst I'm pretty sure that boys get tangly hair too, I'm not so sure they'd find ''The Tangle Fairy'' as appealing an explanation for this phenomenon, as girls do (I've used it for a while now on my 4 year old and to discover there is actually a book about the naughty fairy that visits each night, was pure magic).  We all enjoy reading this one, in large part due to the rhyming nature of the verse (oh how we do love a rhythmic stanza) which is so easy on the eye after a long day and very gentle and lulling for your little ones as a bedtime book.  

I should also point out that we liked this story best for the turn of the tale, which is frankly a sheer delight; she really is a very cheeky little fairy.

So to summarise, this book is a perfectly-sized enchantment, with approximately a 6 to 7 minute read time, which is just about right for a bedtime.  And it's such a simple idea too, giving some relief to the child that has to have pints of de-tangler spritzed into her hair every morning and it works on the same level as stories about the Tooth Fairy.  I can't help but recommend it to you because we really do love it.

For further reading and as mentioned above, we do rather enjoy a rhyming story – I've mentioned it before, but we adore [[Tyrannosaurus Drip by Julia Donaldson]] and pretty much any Winnie the Witch adventure, though the latest [[Winnie Under the Sea by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul|Winnie Under the Sea]] or [[The Misadventures of Winnie the Witch by Laura Owen and Korky Paul]] are terrific fun.  

We also have a huge squishy soft spot for [[The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr]] as my daughter reminded me just the other day that even though it's dark outside we can still go to the café if a Tiger comes and eats all of our food. 

Lastly, we at Bookbag would like to extend our thanks to the boys and girls at Top That Publishing for sending us this copy to review.

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