Review Detail

A Different Kind of Fairy is a book that emphasizes being true to oneself.

Rose is a tiny pink fairy that has granted wishes for one thousand years but is struggling to grant wishes that don't form to traditional gender roles. When a pretty little girl wishes to be a rugby player, Rose tells her girls don't play rugby. When a young boy wishes to be a dancer, Rose tells him boys don't dance. She crushes the children's dreams and leaves their wishes unfilled. Rose's fairy friends gather together and hold an intervention where they try to make Rose see that it is her job to grant the wishes for all children, but Rose continues to deny wishes as she pleases. Rose finds that she enjoys scaring the children and being mean and she realizes her true calling is to be an ogre.  After meeting with the fairy queen, Rose is granted her wish and becomes a bright pink ugly ogre and is very content in her life scaring children.  As for the children whose wishes she did not grant, they were eventually fulfilled by the other fairies.

What I liked: The story's message of remaining true to yourself shines through. No matter whether you're breaking away from a traditional gender role or following your career passion after a thousand years.  The brightly colored illustrations complement the story.

What Left Me Wanting More: Rose is very mean to the children as she denies their wishes. Despite the happy ending, I think Rose's cruel behavior will disturb a sensitive child.

A Different Kind of a Fairy is a picture book that will appeal most to young children.