Alice the Fairy

Title: Alice the Fairy
Author & Illustrator: Shannon, David
Publisher: Scholastic Inc., 2004
Genre: Picture Book
Age Range: k-1

Summary: This book is the story of a y0ung girl, Alice and her life as a Fairy. Alice lets the reader know that she is is not a "permanent" fairy, only a temporary one. It takes a long time, and special schooling, to become a permanent fairy. In the meantime, Alice shows the reader all the things she does as a fairy. She disappears (turns the lights out), turns her dress red (spills juice on it), and even turns her dad's cookies into her own! (Eats them.) Alice has fun and uses her imagination to be a fairy in every means of the word!

Response: The pictures and text in this font really help it come alive! This story line could be just another, simple story. But instead, Shannon uses his creative illustrations to make the words and actions pop! This picture book is a normal sized picture book, but the double paged spreads are what stand out! The larger than life picutures of Alice riding on her dad's back and hiding under her blanket, help the reader understand how "larger than life" and imaginative little Alice is. The bright colors also allow the reader to feel as if they, themselves, are in fairy land! I really love how Shannon allows Alice to love herself and her talents and a temporary fairy. It seems as if she enjoys it just that way!

Teaching Ideas: Of course this would be a wonderful book to just read aloud to students. The simplicity of this book may also be a good choice for a beginning reader to tackle. After reading this with young children, teachers could allow students to make crown for their father's/mother's or even have imaginative free-play where they are fairies in the classroom! I can even see myself using this in the high school classroom. It would be a great book to read to students if they need a "pick me up" day, or if we were reading another book whose character is trying to understand their "true" self like "The Wednesday Wars," or "The Perks of Being a Wallflower."

I hope you like it as much as I did!
-jeana