Publisher: Macmillan

Pages: 28

ISBN 13: 978-0-330-51118-6

Freedie meets Bessie-Belle, a fairy whom he rescued from a tree. In return, she offers to grant his every wish. But Bessie-Belle can’t hear very well, causing Freddie’s wishes come out all wrong…

You can’t go wrong with reading any children’s books written by Julia Donaldson. This is a first collaboration between the queen of picture book text and a new talent in illustration, Karen George. Julia Donaldson said that “Karen has a warm, appealing and distinctive style that I think will complement the text of Freddie and the Fairy perfectly.” And that was what made Karen the winner of the Bath Festival of Children’s Literature.

I loved everything about Freddie and the Fairy. Not just the simple, rhyming words and illustration, but also the lesson learnt from it. Freddie sort of blamed Bessie-Belle for getting all his wishes wrong, knowing very well that Bessie-Belle has hearing problems. Then, the Fairy Queen appeared to save the day. She taught Freddie how he can help Bessie-Belle to get his wishes right this time.

Reading this to a child, we’ll be able to help them learn three things:

1) Learn how to communicate better

2) To respect one another

2) To accept each other’s weaknesses

I also liked the tone and words that were carefully chosen for Fairy Queen when she was correcting Freddie. “Now, Freddie,” said the Fairy Queen. (She sounded kind but stern.) “Before you wish again, there are Three rules for you to learn.” The way the lesson was taught was kind, gentle, firm and not accusatory.

I’m planning to share this story with 3 very soft-spoken girls in my class. I’m sure they’d appreciate the warm and beautiful illustrations too 🙂

Did you know?

Julia Donaldson suffers from hearing loss.

She was barely out of her teens when she lost, first, the sound of birdsong. ‘I remember thinking that it was strange, because I was an ardent lover of the countryside,’ she says.

Julia was told there is no cure – and worse still, as she aged, she could also develop further hearing loss in the higher frequencies (ie, high-pitched sounds). Read more here.