The Fairy Caravan

This is a very cute story and can be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

Although I grew up on Peter Rabbit and his fellows, and on Potter's gorgeous watercolors of them, I heard of this one only when I was well into adulthood. That's too bad, since "Fairy Caravan" would have enriched my childhood as much as the others did. The story opens on a village of guinea pigs, with the frocks, waistcoats, and walking sticks proper to the late-Victorian era. As one might expect, this town has its own social strata and fine grades within that hierarchy. Tuppenny, the character that this book follows, lies at the low end of the lower rung. A mishap with a hair potion turns him into a furry curiosity - not what one wants to be in this staid and strait-laced community. So, Tuppenny runs away and joins a circus. This traveling band of gentle and genteel fraudsters wanders from town to town, presenting their unthreatening amusements. Despite the slightly wicked, "gypsy" sense of this troupe, they are an affectionate bunch. They harm no one and nothing, unless you count some slightly scuffed truths and bruised gullibilities. They accept Tuppenny immdiately, finding his oddity as welcome in their band as it was unwelcome back in the village. Then the group is off, finding tame adventures across the English countryside. Perhaps this book's format has done something to inhibit its popularity. The subject matter suits the "read to me" kid. Sparse, plain illustration puts it more in the "chapter book" category, though. But even there, any child old enough to master its broad and dated vocabulary would likely be too old for this gentle and drama-free wanderings. This might work best when read aloud, to small listeners not too media-sodden to have mental imagery their own. "Fairy Caravan" really does deserve to be better known. -- wiredweird

My wife read this book first and was mildly disappointed with it. Armed with lower expectations by her comments; I started reading the book not expecting too much, and to my pleased surprise, I found it to be a delightful collection of individual tales loosely connected by the travels of the "Fairy Caravan". After reading the tale about the "elephant" sneezing, and blowing its trunk across the barnyard, I could not look at the cover art which shows the "elephant" without laughing at the memory of that sneeze. If one determines to approach the book without prejudice, it offers some delightful stories. On balance, I'm glad I took the time to read it. The book seemed to have a special place in the heart of Mrs. William Heelis (aka Beatrix Potter) who is mentioned as a character in the book; I believe I can see why. I enjoyed the book and can recommend it to fans of Beatrix Potter.

This has been one of my favorite books since I was a little girl. I reread it at least once every year, especially around spring when everything's fresh and green and in bloom. "The Fairy Caravan" couples Beatrix Potter's beautiful language with a gentle fantasy reminiscent of "The Wind in the Willows" or "The Borrowers" (coincidentally, two of my OTHER favorite books). I cannot recommend this book enough, to young and old alike. Five stars!

A wonderful book by a great author! Unlike the Peter Rabbit books, this is written for older children (225 pages), and for grown-ups who enjoy reading books like Wind in the Willows and the Narnia series. Tuppeny the guinea pig, victim of some all-too-successful patent hair-growing elixir, joins a Travelling Circus and meets Sandy the Highland terrier, Pony Billy, Paddy the Pig (who doubles as the Pygmy Elephant for the Circus), Xarifa the Dormouse, Jane Ferret, and others. They travel about, putting on shows for the animals of the farms and countryside in turn-of-the-century England. The stories are incredibly sweet, not over-simple, and the incident where Paddy Pig gets lost in the Fairy Hill of Oaks is rather eerie, and reminded me of the meeting with the god Pan in Wind in the Willows. There is a useful glossary of antique British words used in the story (like "snod" for snug). I don't know how this classic animal tale managed to get lost, but it is definitely about time it was rediscovered!