Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Philippa Fisher's Fairy Godsister
Fiction Series
For ages 8 to 12
Orion Children's Books, 2007 ISBN: 978-1842551202
Philippa's best friend Charlotte is moving away and Philippa is feeling miserable about the whole thing. When Charlotte comes over one last time, the girls make daisy chains for one another. The last daisy that Philippa picks is somehow different and she can't help thinking of an old song that her mother used to sing to her. In the song, the ninth daisy one picks will turn into a fairy after midnight. Philippa tells herself that it all a load of nonsense but, just before midnight, she throws away the ninth daisy just to be sure.
At school on Monday morning Philippa keenly feels her best friend's absence. Then the teacher asks her to take the new girl, Daisy, under her wing. The new girl is not exactly friendly but showing her around takes Philippa's mind off her woes.
Then Daisy tells Philippa that she is her fairy godsister. She explains that the fairy authorities assigned her to Philippa, and it is her job to grant Philippa three wishes. Philippa is astonished, and delighted, but her pleasure doesn't last long because it is soon very evident that Daisy has no enthusiasm for this assignment at all. Daisy considers it a job, and she has no interest in being friendly. In fact, she is downright hostile. She isn't anything like the fairies that Philippa dreamed about when she was younger.
In this delightful novel, Liz Kessler gives her audience a wonderful story that is a clever combination of magic and life in the real world. Readers will see that it is wise to "be careful what you wish for," and that there are times when doing a job requires the personal touch to get the job done in the right way. Dare we hope that we might see more of these two memorable characters?
