Book Review: The Fairy Circus

[osprey_archer]

I saved Dorothy P. Lathrop’s The Fairy Circus for the final book in the Newbery project because I had a suspicion that it would be a high note to go out on, and I was 100% correct.

At the beginning of the book, the fairies witness a human circus when it sets up on their field. Enchanted, the fairies decide that they simply MUST have a circus of their own, and the rest of the book is about how the fairies through a circus with the help of the woodland creatures.

The spiders spin a trapeze and a tightrope! The chipmunks are the tigers, but they keep forgetting to be properly fierce! The squirrels are the lions (carefully bunching their squirrels around their heads for manes) and they are SO fierce that they spring on the lion tamer, who flies away just in time! Thrillingly terrified, the fairies “went flitting over the arena looking for anything a little less exciting than lions. They even sat down at the farther end of the arena and let themselves be amused by the clowns! They had been as scared as all that!”

The fairy queen shows up, and the fairies have a grand parade in her honor, with tortoises as elephants and mice as horses. And the whole circus is illuminated by fireflies. And… and… and…

An enchanting book. Perfect for fans of Borrowers-type stories about tiny people (in this case tiny people with wings!) making use of the materials at hand to make their own tiny world.

Comments

[lirazel]

Oh I love this so much!!!!!

[troisoiseaux]

This sounds so cute omg.

[littlerhymes]

It sounds so charming!

Was it hard to find? I was curious and did a little search - the results to buy were over $200 USD. Hahaha!

[osprey_archer]

It was so fun! The perfect end to the project.

[osprey_archer]

It IS. Just an adorable, delightful book.

[osprey_archer]

I got it through interlibrary loan because I am a cheapskate who never buys a book until I've already read it and decided it deserves a place in the permanent collection. If I found a reasonably priced copy of this one, I'd be tempted! But $200... that's SO many dollars.

[magid]

Oh, that does sound lovely!

[genarti]

This sounds SO INCREDIBLY CHARMING, omg! What a delightful note to end on.

[littlerhymes]

$200 is fantasy buying territory!

[rachelmanija]

I LOVE this. I must find it.

[osprey_archer]

Yes, it was a delight!

[osprey_archer]

Yes, I was so pleased. I did pick it specifically because I thought it would be charming, but it was so nice that it did indeed turn out to be just as charming as I hoped!

[osprey_archer]

This book was written for you specifically!

[asakiyume]

This really sounds adorable! Does it have illustrations? It could have the most excellent illustrations....

[osprey_archer]

It absolutely does have illustrations! Lathrop was IIRC primarily an illustrator, in fact.

[asakiyume]

\(^o^)/

[skygiants]

I'm so glad The Project ended on such a high note! SO scared that they will even allow themselves to be amused by clowns ....

[osprey_archer]

Truly that is a high level of fear! Sometimes you just need a little clown to calm you down before you go watch the tightrope walker jump over the moon.

Yes, I was so pleased the last book was such a high note to go out on!

[mific]

Here are some of the illustrations! https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-uRr3u9rPhBo3DZb1W8Su0X7v1jipii7

[hyperion_swan]

I looked up the book for images of it online and it’s sooo cute 🥰
I remember… interlibrary loans… I used to use that soooo much when I was in university. Haven’t really been in libraries as much while abroad, since I have yet to overcome the language barrier.

[asakiyume]

Oh how gorgeous! I love the one where the dandelion seeds are like fireworks! Thank you so much for sharing!

[osprey_archer]

Yes the illustrations are delightful! The fairies and their woodland friends are just having a great time.

Interlibrary loans are a thing of beauty and a joy forever, but yes probably less useful when you are in a country where you don't speak the language.