The Night Fairy

by Laura Amy Schlitz (Author) Angela Barrett (Illustrator)

The Night Fairy
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

From 2008 Newbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz comes an exhilarating adventure -- and a thoroughly original fairy who is a true force of nature.

What would happen to a fairy if she lost her wings and could no longer fly? Flory, a young night fairy no taller than an acorn and still becoming accustomed to her wings -- wings as beautiful as those of a luna moth -- is about to find out.

What she discovers is that the world is very big and very dangerous. But Flory is fierce and willing to do whatever it takes to survive. If that means telling others what to do -- like Skuggle, a squirrel ruled by his stomach -- so be it. Not every creature, however, is as willing to bend to Flory's demands.

Newbery Medal winner Laura Amy Schlitz and world-renowned illustrator and miniaturist Angela Barrett venture into the realm of the illustrated classic -- a classic entirely and exquisitely of their making, and a magnificent adventure.

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Publishers Weekly

All is not well in fairyland, at least for Flory, a young night fairy whose wings were broken during an encounter with a bat. Feeling vulnerable when unable to fly, Flory finds shelter in a wren house and decides to become a day fairy despite her nocturnal bent ("She soon found that her body did not like the day. Her skin liked to be cool and moist, not hot and dry"). In this whimsical and cozy tale, Newbery Medalist Schlitz (Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village) explores what it's like for a tiny winged creature to be grounded. Readers will delight in Flory's resourcefulness in finding food, clothing, and a new form of transportation (on the back of a squirrel), and identify with her brash, childlike personality ("I hate, hate, hate bats, and I'm always going to hate them"), which softens as she grows compassionate and makes friends. Culminating with Flory's brave act of saving a hummingbird caught in a spider's web, this story reveals how handicaps can be overcome through quick thinking and determination. Full-color art not seen by PW. Ages 7-11. 

Copyright 2010 Publisher’s Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Starred Review

Gr 1-4-Flory is a night fairy who is still becoming accustomed to her beautiful mothlike wings when a run-in with a bat drops her into a strange garden unable to fly. She is forced to learn to survive in the daylight and takes up residence in a birdhouse in a Giantess's garden. Flory, no taller than an acorn, struggles at first with squirrels, hummingbirds, spiders, and other creatures that do not look at the world the same way she does. She quickly learns that kindness, compassion, generosity, and bravery can help her to make much-needed friends. Written in short chapters, this beautifully crafted tale works equally well as a read-aloud or as independent reading. Barrett's full-color watercolor illustrations add depth and perspective to the story. Detailed and drawn to scale, they give readers a sense of just how tiny Flory is compared to the other animals. Children will enjoy looking at this garden from the perspective of the tiny but resilient protagonist. Sure to be a favorite among girls who love fairies.

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

Prepare to have your notions of fairyhood debunked: Flory, our heroine, can be snarky and rough. But she's also gutsy, loyal, and inherently good. The story of how Flory must fend for herself after losing her wings brings equal doses of character and suspense - and offers a satisfying antidote to all those prissy princess tales.
—Real Simple Family

This elegant hardback's snug size and Angela Barrett's exquisite miniature illustrations have the effect of making readers feel as if they've crept through a magic portal into a fairy-scale world. Indeed, looking up at story's end, children may be mildly surprised to find that they're still the size they've always been.
—The Wall Street Journal

Laura Amy Schlitz, who took us deep into a medieval village in her Newbery Medal-winning Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!, here allows us to inhabit the fascinating miniature world where fairies dwell.
—Shelf Awareness

An imaginative adventure story in a familiar, yet exotic landscape.... Beautifully composed, the artwork combines subtle use of color with a keen observation of nature that's reminiscent of Beatrix Potter's work. This finely crafted and unusually dynamic fairy story is a natural for reading aloud.
—Booklist (starred review) 

Laura Amy Schlitz
Laura Amy Schlitz is the author of the Newbery Medal winner Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, the Newbery Honor Book and New York Times bestseller Splendors and Glooms, the Scott O'Dell Award winner and New York Times bestseller The Hired Girl, the sumptuously illustrated chapter book The Night Fairy, and other critically acclaimed books for young readers. A teacher as well as a writer, Laura Amy Schlitz lives in Maryland.

Brian Floca is the author-illustrator of the Caldecott Medal winner Locomotive, the Robert F. Sibert Honor books Moonshot and Lightship, and other picture books, and is the illustrator of many more books for young readers. Brian Floca lives and works in Brooklyn.
Classification
-
ISBN-13
9780763652951
Lexile Measure
630
Guided Reading Level
R
Publisher
Candlewick Press (MA)
Publication date
September 13, 2011
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
Library of Congress categories
-
Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award
Nominee 2014 - 2014
Library Media Connection
ALA Notable Children's Books

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