Leah - the Fairy of the Lime Tree by Nisha Kissoon and Anna Kecskes
| Leah - The Fairy of the Lime Tree by Nisha Kissoon and Anna Kecskes | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Jo Heffer
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| Summary: Leah works with her mother tending the leave of the lime tree on the island where they live. One day though something happens that causes Leah to lie to her mother. This leads to serious consequences because she starts to lose her wings and her power to fly. She is consigned to be a fairy of the grassland but can she work hard enough to earn her wings back? | |
| Buy? No | Borrow? Maybe |
| Pages: 36 | Date: June 2008 |
| Publisher: MX Publishing | |
| ISBN: 978-1904312390 | |
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This unusual story is actually a Caribbean fairy tale and provides a strong message for its reader. I read this story with my five year old daughter who maybe was a little too young to appreciate it in its entirety but nevertheless enjoyed it.
Leah and her mother were the fairies who looked after the lime tree on the island of Caarmah. Although Leah was usually a good fairy, on the last day of the school term she fell asleep on the banks of the White Lotus Lily pond which resulted in her missing some very important lessons at school. Rather than admitting what she had done to her mother, she tried to get away with it by telling a small lie. However, every time she did this, the colour on her wings faded a little and eventually she lost her wings all together. This meant that she could no longer tend the lime tree because she couldn't fly and had to become a Fairy of the Grassland instead. Her mother told her that if she did the right thing she would eventually be helped to get her wings back.
Because Leah is essentially a good fairy she worked hard every day tending the blades of grass and she tried to be happy about her work, although she desperately longed to get back to the lime tree. Eventually a young teacher came to help her and finally, in the tradition of all good fairy tales, it results in a happy ending when she is reunited with her mother.
The message in this story is very powerful and it provides a useful talking point about why we should always strive to tell the truth. It also demonstrates very strongly how actions have consequences which you have to accept if you are going to be able to move forward. Leah, who really is a very caring fairy, provides a good model for this and my daughter did sympathise with her as we were reading. The story was also well supported by some lovely, almost dreamlike illustrations.
However, although my daughter enjoyed the story I did think that there were some aspects which she struggled with somewhat. It is quite a lengthy text which was a bit unexpected as it is presented in the format of a picture book. Now, I don't really have a problem with lengthy texts and I actively encourage my daughter to look at longer ones especially as her ability to concentrate develops. This text though did seem to ramble at times and I felt that it was far too wordy in places. I thought that it would have been more enjoyable if it had been halved in length.
The vocabulary was also very challenging in places as the story introduced some complex ideas, For example, there is much mention of synchronicity which was something my daughter had never heard of and I have to admit that I struggled to explain. The difficult concepts are much more likely to be understood by older readers but as this is a fairy tale it is unlikely to appeal to them.
For these reasons I feel that this story loses its way somewhat which is a shame because it really is quite thought provoking. As I said my daughter did enjoy reading it with me but it really did feel like hard work at times! I think a more accessible fairy tale with a moral theme would be The Apple-pip Princess by Jane Ray.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Leah - the Fairy of the Lime Tree by Nisha Kissoon and Anna Kecskes at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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