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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
This was delightful - I remember reading these as a kid - so revisiting was wonderful.
In another series by Rodda this one about a fairy world, where a girl discovers a bracelet that allows her to go to this world and of course adventures ensue and she becomes the hero of the day, saving them, etc. Not bad, average fare, the target audience may get into it.
Fairy Realm #1
Emily Rodda #33
Fairy Realm #1
Emily Rodda #33
i read this book when i was a child and really really liked it. i remember that i wanted to be just like jessie.
Awesome story! I'm glad I read it again I first read this when I had first moved to Maine and was looking for a book to read from the public library for fun and I fell in love with it.
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
There's something about Emily Rodda. Something about the way her books are charming and sweet but contain just enough complexity and darkness not to be described as bland, even when she is writing for small children. I like very few authors of series for small children, and generally prefer the humorous ones but Rodda is able to right serious, sweet and yet not sickening stuff.
This book has a tiny horse and a charm bracelet, I think sequels have fairies so it would appeal to that "girl's stuff" type of child, but this is Rodda writing and there is something more here than just cutesy pie settings. There is intergenerational love, families- the tension between individual happiness and the good of society and the need for kindness and goodness in all situations. Also quietly there is a critique of greedy, envious, exploitative ways of being (but the story never fails to be a story or degenerates into a lesson).
There are also a couple of character who are cats (which is always a good thing)
This book has a tiny horse and a charm bracelet, I think sequels have fairies so it would appeal to that "girl's stuff" type of child, but this is Rodda writing and there is something more here than just cutesy pie settings. There is intergenerational love, families- the tension between individual happiness and the good of society and the need for kindness and goodness in all situations. Also quietly there is a critique of greedy, envious, exploitative ways of being (but the story never fails to be a story or degenerates into a lesson).
There are also a couple of character who are cats (which is always a good thing)
I adored these books in elementary school. This was the first series I read where I was dying to get my hands on the next release, and it really got me into loving fantasy. Definitely, definitely recommend for people with young kids.
5/5 stars. i dont care that i was in second grade when i last read this, but when the series ended, i biked around my neighborhood singing a song about how sad i was she ended the series. and i think that is a good enough reason to reread it, which is what i am going to go do now. :)
Very good story, but it was a bit scary in some parts.
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
(Suggested to me as part of the June challenge to read/review a book in the Tamora Pierce fangroup on FB.)
This was a super cute read! I quickly got caught up in the drama and grew quite fond of Jessie even faster. I like that she's a dreamy girl who sits in the 'secret garden' in her grandmother's garden and loves the tales of fairies but also has a definitive practical streak - as does Marigold, at least, of those she meets through the hedge. (One that definitely comes in handy when the Fairy Realm is in trouble and has accidentally nabbed The Wrong Jessica!)
Jessica's mother provides a bit of a steady link to the real world but isn't unlikable for all that she thinks her mother and daughter both have their heads in the clouds (and possibly not the clouds of this world), which I appreciated. It's all too easy to have that grounded character be another type of antagonist and it's nice to have something different. Jessie's similarly very practical grandfather, even though only shown in memory after his death, turned out to be even more awesome than I expected and I kind of want to see his (and the original Jessica's) story as well, I admit.
I also quite liked the matter-of-fact way Jessie introduced Flynn, her grandmother's cat, as standing guard over her, and accepted him as slightly-more-than-mundane without pause for consideration.
While I could see a lot of the storyline coming (not unexpected given both the intended audience - it's a simple story, but a good one - and the number of fantasy and/or fairy world stories I've read) there were still the occasional bits that surprised me. The black and white illustrations accompanying each chapter were lovely, as well!
This was a super cute read! I quickly got caught up in the drama and grew quite fond of Jessie even faster. I like that she's a dreamy girl who sits in the 'secret garden' in her grandmother's garden and loves the tales of fairies but also has a definitive practical streak - as does Marigold, at least, of those she meets through the hedge. (One that definitely comes in handy when the Fairy Realm is in trouble and has accidentally nabbed The Wrong Jessica!)
Jessica's mother provides a bit of a steady link to the real world but isn't unlikable for all that she thinks her mother and daughter both have their heads in the clouds (and possibly not the clouds of this world), which I appreciated. It's all too easy to have that grounded character be another type of antagonist and it's nice to have something different. Jessie's similarly very practical grandfather, even though only shown in memory after his death, turned out to be even more awesome than I expected and I kind of want to see his (and the original Jessica's) story as well, I admit.
I also quite liked the matter-of-fact way Jessie introduced Flynn, her grandmother's cat, as standing guard over her, and accepted him as slightly-more-than-mundane without pause for consideration.
While I could see a lot of the storyline coming (not unexpected given both the intended audience - it's a simple story, but a good one - and the number of fantasy and/or fairy world stories I've read) there were still the occasional bits that surprised me. The black and white illustrations accompanying each chapter were lovely, as well!