The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland And Led The Revels There
About a year ago I heard about a book with an absolutely wonderful title and a bright red cover with a cool-looking dragon on it. It was written by Catherynne M. Valente (
catvalente), who I had heard about vaguely through Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) and knew had written a book called Palimpsest and also (I was vaguely aware) wrote music.
The book, of course, was The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, the illustrations inside are as wonderful as the cover, and the dragon turned out to be the Wyverary A-Through-L, who I and every other reader has instantly loved to pieces. I prattled on to my boyfriend about how great the idea and the title were and how much I wanted to read it, and because he's wonderful he bought me a copy! Even though he thinks fairies are silly and knows it's a book for kids. >.>
I was in the middle of something else at the time and didn't pounce on it immediately when it arrived, but when I did start reading it I couldn't stop. I devoured the entire thing in basically an afternoon, and loved every moment. It's a kid's book that doesn't talk down to children and is exactly as entertaining for adults. It's a fairy tale that doesn't shrink away from the dark parts of Fairyland but also doesn't ignore the wonder of it. And the protagonist is a little girl named September who acts very much like a heedless, adventurous little girl would and is still exactly the kind of person I'd want my nonexistent future daughter to read about. The entire book made me delightfully happy and felt so true that even remembering it fills me with a little balloon of joy.
And now- there's a sequel! The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There is now available at all major bookstores and Amazon. It's about September's shadow, who now rules Beneath Fairyland and is causing all sorts of trouble. I'm salivating with how much I'd like to get a copy, but unfortunately funds are tight right now and I'll probably have to wait. In the interests of full disclosure,catvalente is offering a prize box giveaway for mentioning the sequel on livejournal/facebook/twitter/etc, so that's what's prompting this post. (Because seriously, how cool would a prize box from such a wonderful mind be?)
But take my word for it- if you like fairy tales, if you like realistic and still wonderful little girls, if you like libraries and their children, if you like fairy-tale monsters: read these books! Get a copy, make your local library buy it, give it to your friends. It's an absolute delight and you're missing out if you don't.
catvalente), who I had heard about vaguely through Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) and knew had written a book called Palimpsest and also (I was vaguely aware) wrote music. The book, of course, was The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, the illustrations inside are as wonderful as the cover, and the dragon turned out to be the Wyverary A-Through-L, who I and every other reader has instantly loved to pieces. I prattled on to my boyfriend about how great the idea and the title were and how much I wanted to read it, and because he's wonderful he bought me a copy! Even though he thinks fairies are silly and knows it's a book for kids. >.>
I was in the middle of something else at the time and didn't pounce on it immediately when it arrived, but when I did start reading it I couldn't stop. I devoured the entire thing in basically an afternoon, and loved every moment. It's a kid's book that doesn't talk down to children and is exactly as entertaining for adults. It's a fairy tale that doesn't shrink away from the dark parts of Fairyland but also doesn't ignore the wonder of it. And the protagonist is a little girl named September who acts very much like a heedless, adventurous little girl would and is still exactly the kind of person I'd want my nonexistent future daughter to read about. The entire book made me delightfully happy and felt so true that even remembering it fills me with a little balloon of joy.
And now- there's a sequel! The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There is now available at all major bookstores and Amazon. It's about September's shadow, who now rules Beneath Fairyland and is causing all sorts of trouble. I'm salivating with how much I'd like to get a copy, but unfortunately funds are tight right now and I'll probably have to wait. In the interests of full disclosure,
catvalente is offering a prize box giveaway for mentioning the sequel on livejournal/facebook/twitter/etc, so that's what's prompting this post. (Because seriously, how cool would a prize box from such a wonderful mind be?)But take my word for it- if you like fairy tales, if you like realistic and still wonderful little girls, if you like libraries and their children, if you like fairy-tale monsters: read these books! Get a copy, make your local library buy it, give it to your friends. It's an absolute delight and you're missing out if you don't.