When Hazel was young, she loved fairies. She had a fairy tea party birthday party. It had diverse friends at it. I discovered that fairies seemed to only come in one race, white. I was sent some wool roving that had diverse skin tones, and I made some needle felted fairies in different races so the girls at the party would see their own race as fairies. This is part of why I am so excited to share this book today. It is Lily's Dream: A Fairy Friendship by Bea Jackson. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.
From the Publisher:
A flightless fairy befriends a human girl and discovers her magic in this enchanting picture book from the New York Times bestselling illustrator of Parker Looks Up.Lily is a young fairy determined to learn to fly just like the others who soar on shimmering, jeweled-colored wings, but she’s worried her own colorless wings will never lift her off the ground. Then she meets a young girl named Willow who helps her not only discover her special magic, but the truly magical gift of friendship.
From Me:
First, I love that Lily and her mom are Black! As I mentioned I found diverse fairies hard to come by eight years ago. In this sweet book, Lily is a young fairy who has a problem. She can't fly. Her mother encourages her, but no matter how hard she tries, Lily cannot seem to fly. One day she discovered a beautiful little house in a tree. She had never seen such a pretty place. It had a chair made of twigs and soft glowing lanterns. While she was checking it out a young human girl came by. Lily got scared and ran away. However, she lost the special anklet her mother gave her. She had to go back. When she did, she became friends with the human girl, Willow. Lily tells Willow about her problem and Willow makes her a trampoline and a cushion as well as an acorn cap helmet. She encourages Lily to practice. She cheered Lily on, and Lily began to fly.
I love how Lily sees the beauty on the ground even though her dream is to fly with the birds and butterflies. She plays leapfrog with the frogs and enjoys the beautiful environment around her. This is how she discovers the fairy house. Her mother also tells her all fairies' wings are special and unique. Lily's will be special like she is. It is a wonderful message to remind readers how each of us is unique. There are beautiful messages throughout the book including ones about friendship between Lily and Willow.
This book is perfect for family story time or classroom or public story times. Kids who love fairies will enjoy this story and there are many built in lessons to discuss and share.
