A book that celebrates the imagination is always a welcome
addition to any child’s bookcase and Jane Tanner’s latest contribution deserves
pride of place. Any child who loves fairies and is familiar with Isabella’s Secret will be overjoyed to
discover its sequel, Lily and the Fairy
House. Tanner knows what it is like to dream as a child does, to conjure up
a miniature fantasy world, fit it out with all the necessities then step into
it and live there for a time. This picture-story book is an irresistible invitation
for children to step inside Lily’s imagination and share in her make-believe
fairy-world by dreaming along with her.
Lily finds a hollow space in a gum tree in her secret
place in the garden and decides this would be the perfect spot for a fairy
house. She sets about furnishing it with leaves, petals and gumnuts and
arranging the table for a fairy party. But will the fairies come? Every child
reading along with the story will be holding their breath with Lily at this
point – and will share in her exuberance when ‘a group of tiny people dance in
and out of the shadows like shining fireflies’. And more so as the fairies ask
Lily if they can play with her. The rest is a joyful wingding as the fairies
frolic on Lily’s ribbon-swing and sail in her leaf-boat; they even make Lily a
fairy crown out of flowers. However, there is a sudden commotion and the
fairies vanish as quickly as they arrive. Lily must find out why.
This is a thoroughly engaging book with exquisitely detailed
illustrations that capture the warmth and gentleness of the story. The pictures are drawn in pencil on
watercolour paper and coloured with watercolours, soft pastel and coloured pencil. Tanner has
used photographs of actual children as her models, posing them in the positions
she has Lily and her fairies in the book and by basing the detail of her
illustrations on Australian flora and fauna, Tanner has produced tenderly realistic
images that lend themselves to gazing at and daydreaming over. As an added
bonus, the dust cover opens out to reveal a delightful poster of Australian
native flowers and their accompanying fairies.
Lily and the
Fairy House is a warm-hearted picture book that is a celebration of
wishing, dreaming and imagining rolled into one magical reading experience.
Penguin/Viking 2012
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