Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg by Gail Carson Levine

Summary: The inside cover tells it best:

Prilla, the newest fairy to arrive in Never Land, is so odd that Never Land itself isn’t certain whether to let her into Fairy Haven. Prilla shakes hands when she meets other fairies, and she says “Pleased to meet you,” instead of “Fly with you.” What’s more, she calls Tinker Bell Miss Bell. Altogether, she acts more like a Clumsy than a self-respecting Never fairy should. To make matters worse, Prilla doesn’t know what her talent is—or if she has a talent at all. Mother Dove, the wisest creature in Never Land, thinks Prilla has a talent, but even she isn’t certain. A diabolical hurricane, a selfish fairy, Captain Hook, snobby mermaids, a fierce golden hawk, and the evil dragon Kyto combine in a tantalizing elixir that test Mother Dove’s wisdom, Tink’s courage, and Prilla’s mettle. Even Clumsy children on the mainland—even readers, wherever they may be—play a crucial role in deciding Never Land’s fate.

My Thoughts: I realized part of why I like the Disney Fairies better than the Disney Princesses: Disney Fairies have everything they need and are happy. Disney Princesses get everything they want. I just think I would rather be the Fairies than the Princesses. Disney Fairies are happy with the way things are, especially happy with themselves. Disney Princesses… Sure they are happy because they get what they want. But are they happy with themselves, or just with the things they have?

This book starts the series of Disney Fairy chapter books, and who better to write it than Gail Carson Levine? The first thing I love about this book is the artwork. Being an artist myself my eyes always go to that first; it’s just how I am. There are drawings of fairies, mermaids and other creatures throughout the book, and they are beautiful. I love the way it is written. Fairy Dust is probably written for more of a younger audience than other books Mrs. Levine has written, but it is still a wonderful fairy tale. Mrs. Levine also wrote a sequel called Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand that I will be reviewing that one later this year, hopefully. 5 Stars

About the author: Gail Carson Levine is known for writing retelling fairy tales, especially her book Ella Enchanted, which was made into a movie. (The movie doesn’t do it justice, read the book). She has also written a book on writing fiction called Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly.