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Flax the Feral Fairy (Little Horrors) by Tiffany Mandrake and Martin Chatterton (view source)
Revision as of 19:25, 17 March 2009
, 19:25, 17 March 2009no edit summary
{{infobox
|title=Flax the Feral Fairy (Little Horrors)
|author=Tiffany Mandrake and Martin Chatterton
|reviewer=Keith Dudhnath
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Flax Lilykicker hates being a sweet fairy, so tries to earn her Badge of Badness. A fun fantasy book for newly confident readers.
|rating=3.5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|format=Paperback
|pages=112
|publisher=Little Hare
|date=February 2009
|isbn=978-1921272707
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1921272708</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>1921272708</amazonus>
}}
Maggie Nabbie and Auld Anni run the Hags' Abademy of Badness. They recruit feral fairies, mischievous mermaids and all manner of bad fairy folk who want to earn their Badge of Badness. "There is a place for sweetness, but there must also be some badness for balance." Flax Lilykicker, the feral fairy, hatches a plan to kidnap sickly-sweet film star Dulcinea Sweet (who happens to be in hiding from some other kidnappers too). Will Flax's bad deeds achieve all she wants them to, or will some good come of it all?
The Little Horrors series offers an interesting twist to many books about fairies and other fantasy creatures. The heroes do bad, rather than good (although they're scamps rather than pure evil). Flax is a bit of a punky gothy rock chick fairy, rather than a bright pink and shiny one. All girls (and boys) will enjoy reading about her, rather than just the ones who are Barbied up to the eyeballs. Even though she's doing bad, she's still a good role model - her bad deeds have a habit of actually working out quite well.
Tiffany Mandrake (aka Sally Odgers) has a crisp and clear writing style, which keeps the action trundling along nicely. There are some light introductions to fantasy world-building, with concepts like ''fairy breed'' and ''critter-fae'', which are explained in fun footnotes. I found them a little distracting, but they do add some extra interest. Martin Chatterton's bold and comic illustrations suit the book perfectly, with the grumpy dog a particular favourite of mine.
The series continues with ''Mal the Mischievous Mermaid''. They can be read together, or separately. Each book is familiar enough to warrant being part of a series, but is different enough so as to be worth reading. You won't feel strong-armed into needing to get everything in the series, nor will you feel short-changed if you do. Oh, and because everyone loves a freebie, each book comes with three temporary tattoos. I'm wearing mine with pride.
Thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.
If you like witches, you can't go wrong with a bit of [[The Worst Witch to the Rescue by Jill Murphy|Mildred Hubble]]. [[Oliver Moon and the Monster Mystery by Sue Mongredien]] is another enjoyable look at a gentle fantasy world.
{{amazontext|amazon=1921272708}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=6597716}}
{{commenthead}}
[[Category:Tiffany Mandrake]]
[[Category:Martin Chatterton]]
|title=Flax the Feral Fairy (Little Horrors)
|author=Tiffany Mandrake and Martin Chatterton
|reviewer=Keith Dudhnath
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Flax Lilykicker hates being a sweet fairy, so tries to earn her Badge of Badness. A fun fantasy book for newly confident readers.
|rating=3.5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|format=Paperback
|pages=112
|publisher=Little Hare
|date=February 2009
|isbn=978-1921272707
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1921272708</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>1921272708</amazonus>
}}
Maggie Nabbie and Auld Anni run the Hags' Abademy of Badness. They recruit feral fairies, mischievous mermaids and all manner of bad fairy folk who want to earn their Badge of Badness. "There is a place for sweetness, but there must also be some badness for balance." Flax Lilykicker, the feral fairy, hatches a plan to kidnap sickly-sweet film star Dulcinea Sweet (who happens to be in hiding from some other kidnappers too). Will Flax's bad deeds achieve all she wants them to, or will some good come of it all?
The Little Horrors series offers an interesting twist to many books about fairies and other fantasy creatures. The heroes do bad, rather than good (although they're scamps rather than pure evil). Flax is a bit of a punky gothy rock chick fairy, rather than a bright pink and shiny one. All girls (and boys) will enjoy reading about her, rather than just the ones who are Barbied up to the eyeballs. Even though she's doing bad, she's still a good role model - her bad deeds have a habit of actually working out quite well.
Tiffany Mandrake (aka Sally Odgers) has a crisp and clear writing style, which keeps the action trundling along nicely. There are some light introductions to fantasy world-building, with concepts like ''fairy breed'' and ''critter-fae'', which are explained in fun footnotes. I found them a little distracting, but they do add some extra interest. Martin Chatterton's bold and comic illustrations suit the book perfectly, with the grumpy dog a particular favourite of mine.
The series continues with ''Mal the Mischievous Mermaid''. They can be read together, or separately. Each book is familiar enough to warrant being part of a series, but is different enough so as to be worth reading. You won't feel strong-armed into needing to get everything in the series, nor will you feel short-changed if you do. Oh, and because everyone loves a freebie, each book comes with three temporary tattoos. I'm wearing mine with pride.
Thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.
If you like witches, you can't go wrong with a bit of [[The Worst Witch to the Rescue by Jill Murphy|Mildred Hubble]]. [[Oliver Moon and the Monster Mystery by Sue Mongredien]] is another enjoyable look at a gentle fantasy world.
{{amazontext|amazon=1921272708}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=6597716}}
{{commenthead}}
[[Category:Tiffany Mandrake]]
[[Category:Martin Chatterton]]