Author: Dawn Bentley
Summary: Count along with a dwindling number of tiny and glittery pop out fairies as they visit a variety of princesses in classic fairy tales.
Blurber Blabber Review: Buy it used or on sale.
Blurb: Ten Tiny Fairies is a catchy rhyme and useful counting lesson. The little ones will enjoy visiting classic fairy tales and you'll enjoy having a fast read, but this book is very princess-centric.
Age Range: General recommendation is for ages 3 and up.
Story Type: Rhyme and counting
Scary Factor: On pages 11-12 the fairies visit the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale and this page always scares my niece and nephew. As Belle is happily twirling in the ballroom, the Beast is shown as a dark shadow watching in the doorway. The little ones don't actually say he's scary but they fixate on him and keep asking who he is, why is he there, why is he dark, is he mean, etc. So be prepared to assure your little ones that the dark shadow is Belle's friend.
Reading Out Loud: Lovely counting book with a catchy rhyme. I like to read it in a singsong voice and each page ends the rhyme with dwindling number of fairies ("...and then there are...[next page] X tiny fairies...") so the little ones can catch on and join in the rhyme/song.
Rereadability: This is a great and fast read that you can read over and over again to your little ones. Makes a good pre-nap/pre-good night story since it's catchy and short. And reading it over again reinforces the counting lesson.
Illustrations: Colorful illustrations with brightly colored fairies in pop-out glitter dresses (don't worry the glitter is securely glued on and doesn't come off easily). But the illustrations themselves are not very noteworthy.
Medals/Honors/Recognition: N/A.
Published: 2004
Length: 22 pages
(Read on for the more detailed "blabber" review)
Blabber
This is a book that my niece and nephew got from their parents, or someone else, and they often request that I read it to them. I was pleasantly surprised to find colorful and sparkly fairies, a counting lesson, and a nice rhyme. I also love classic fairy tales so it was fun identifying the story based on the illustrations. But, this is a girly kind of book and the fairy tales are almost all focused on princesses.
There's no real narrative so I'll simply go through the number of fairies and which fairy tale they visit:
10 - Swan lake. The swan has turned into a princess and is dancing with the prince.
9 - Cinderella. Cinderella is in her carraige ready to go to the ball.
8 - Jack and the beanstalk. Jack is climbing up the beanstalk that has grown next to his house. You can see the giant's castle in the clouds but no giant in sight.
7 - Princess and the frog. A princess is dancing by a pond near her castle as the frog prince swims in his pond.
6 - The little mermaid. Ariel and her sisters are swimming at the bottom of the ocean with the underwater castle in the background. Don't worry, the mermaids are wearing tops so no strategically placed hair or seashell bikini.
5 - Beauty and the beast. Belle is dancing by herself in the ballroom as the Beast watches from a doorway. This is the one that always frightens my niece and nephew. Beast is a dark blobish figure in the doorway, watching Belle dance.
4 - Princess and the pea. A little girl is laying atop a bunch of mattresses in a tower.
3 - Thumbelina. Thumbelina is standing on a wooden swing in the grass.
2 - Aladdin. Aladdin is riding a horse in front of a castle, with a genie lamp on top of a flying carpet. There's a woman who's either the princess or the genie.
1 - Rapunzel. Rapunzel is laying on the ground with her hair trailing from a tower window.
And then all the fairies reunite (the non pop out versions) with the princesses, as a little girl dreams of magic fairy land.
If your little ones want to know which fairy will be staying behind each page, a little clue is that the fairy staying behind will be the same color as the colored row on the bottom of the page.
I like this book but probably not enough to pay full price. But I wouldn't necessarily want to borrow it from the library since the fairy dresses are glittery pop outs, which to any tactile person (and isn't that every kid?) is just screaming to be touched. And the idea of hundreds of little hands rubbing those pop out fairies kind of grosses me out. So actually I'd be more inclined to say buy this on sale or used if the condition is new.
Questions the little ones may ask you:
- Which story/princess is that?
- See, that's why I listed them for you above!
- Which fairy is staying?
- Sometimes I lift the page up a little and peek but usually I just check out the colored bar at the bottom of the page for a hint.
- Who is that? Why is he dark? Is he scary? (re Beast)
- I don't know about your little ones, but my niece and nephew require many reassurances that Beast is Belle's friend and he's just waiting to dance with her and have fun. Even after all these reassurances, my niece and nephew would constantly flip back to that page to stare at the Beast. So be prepared to soothe your little ones' fears regarding the Beast.
Where to find Ten Tiny Fairies?
Go to your local book store or library!
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