Scavenging Book Stores and Libraries

Valente’s Fairyland books get me all giddy.  I love this series so much and wish it wasn’t limited to one a year – and I’m worried about how many more years September can have before the series must end.  Will her adventures continue until she’s an adult?  I’d be alright with that – I think Valente could pull it off.  Besides, I still am not sure I believe these are kids’ books at all.  They’re whimsical enough and sometimes cute enough and, of course, the protagonist is young enough, but I don’t think the themes are young enough.  It’s not that they are inappropriate for younger audiences.  I just don’t think kids are really going to get most of it.  Valente, as the knowing narrator, is always giving advice and making jokes about growing up and I think these are really the kinds of things that only make sense once you’ve gone through them.  Anyway, I’m sure kids enjoy the books too, just on a different level.

I guess of the three books (so far) this is my least favorite, but that doesn’t mean much.  They’re all five stars.  This one just has a characteristic that the others didn’t have…  But I won’t spoil that for you!  The book is still full of clever lines (I especially love the one about marriage), all of our favorite characters return, and lots of new ones are introduced.  I especially loved the Stationery Circus (yes, with an E!).

The plot, as per usual, is both too simple and too madcap to be worth relating, but, as per usual, the book is sweet and funny and thoughtful and a little bit sad underneath it all.  It’s really one of my favorite series of all.