Thistle and the Shell of Laughter (The Fairy Chronicles)

My daughter, eight, has devoured this book. She has read it three times and it currently holds the place of honor on her nightstand. I bought the book because of the unicorn on the cover, but it just goes to show that you can't judge a book by its cover. It is not a unicorn fairy story, but it is an amazing story. I snuck the book from the nightstand and read it myself in about an hour. I can understand why my daughter liked it so well. This is reminiscent of a classic story because it is told in a very traditional style of storytelling. It has just enough surprises to keep us interested, and amazed, but it is very seamless and slightly predictable, as are many fairytales. It doesn't talk down to children, which I very much appreciate in children's literature. I was lost in the adventure (and in the woods with the fairies) and found myself wishing to be a young girl again so that I could join them on their journey to find the Shell of Laughter. This book is much like a classic, which makes it a treasure in my opinion, largely because it is so fun and clever - laughter is spread on winds and is made of such things as the sounds of puppies barking, tickle feathers, and birdsong. The misc. magical characters form a nice ensemble for a memorable book that is one I know my daughter will always treasure and will probably read with her own daughter someday. Great book and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves children's literature.

It is a pretty cute idea this book puts forth, that laughter is made of things like bubbles, tickle feathers, birdsong, and other things, all mixed up in correct proportions inside the manufacturing plant of the Shell of Laughter. The fairies have to figure out what has happened when the shell goes missing, and they have to go on a mission to get the shell back. I also like the idea that laughter is spread by various winds. My daughter liked the hedgehog best in this story. I only wish the books of this series had illustrations. That is pretty much the only thing I would change about this book. Otherwise, the story is wonderful. Jessie Fraser, mom, reader of children's stories, forever kid at heart

This is a nice cast of characters for a fairy book. There is also a witch, unicorns, two kinds of gnomes (garden and wood), and a bobolink bird, which I thought was a made up kind of bird until I looked it up to discover it is real and is one of those birds named after the sounds it makes like a bob white bird. This really was nicely engaging and my nieces sat through the whole story without a break. It took us about an hour to read the whole thing aloud. They both want fairy wands and handbooks now. I'll have to see what I can do since I am the favorite aunt and can't let them down. Both girls loved the hedgehog, Snickers, best in this story. But they thought that Tom, the leprechaun was cute too. Jenna, the oldest, told me, very seriously, that she always knew that real elves didn't wear pointy shoes or look like Christmas elves. The writer of this book does a good job of describing the characters. I could see them in my mind as I was reading aloud. Jenna is six and took the book to read to herself after we had finished it. She seemed to be getting most of the story right and sounding out the longer words. I am sending a copy of this book, along with the first two in the series, to my other niece in Kentucky. And when I have little girls of my own, I will read this book to them.

This is a really nice perspective of the magical world. Reasons why we can't see fairies, gnomes, elves, etc. These things are explained. Even the far fetched things are believable in this fairy tale because we are given explanations and reasons. I wasn't at all surprised to find out what laughter is made of or that an elf carries the Shell around the world to spread laughter. And I am not surprised to learn about the job of fairies - they protect nature and fix problems. But I was surprised that the fairies are little girls who secretly go about their fairy business, with the help of older fairies, mentors as the book describes. This is interesting and different than other fairy books. This author is very creative as far as the world she writes about and is not staying within the world of what is known about fairies. I wish more authors would take chances to stray from the traditions ingrained in the realm of the magical world.

I like the fact that this writer gives good background and a lot of character details. Because we know about these girls, we want to know more about what happens to them. Since we know their hobbies, likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, etc., we are very engaged in their quests. My girls and I have read the first two books in this series also and are very happy that each of our fairy "friends" is getting her shot at her very own fairy adventure, as a leader of the mission. This is a good lesson in fairness and makes us realize that everyone has greatness inside them and is capable of achieving great things. This story is fairly short, but has a lot of fun elements. We again have some contact with gnomes and brownies, but the writer has also added in elves, leprechauns, unicorns, a hedgehog, and a witch to the story. The fact that Madam Robin is a fairy mentor, but not a fairy, is also interesting. I am wondering how she got enchanted and hope that information is part of the series in the future. The entries from the Fairy Handbook are amusing, especially the toadstool ring definition. I recommend this book for lovers of fairies, magic, and little girl hero stories. You will like these little girls, they are very personable and good people. They take their jobs as fairies very seriously and do good things.