Skip to main content

Small Persons with Wings

By

by Ellen Booraem
Dial, 2011. 304 pgs. Fiction


When Mellie Turpin is growing up, she keeps company with a Small Person with Wings, and when she gets to kindergarten she tells her class she will bring Fidius in for show-and-tell. When he finds out he gets very angry and disappears, leaving behind a chipped porcelain figure she winds up taking to school to the scorn of her classmates who call her Fairy Fat forever after. Mellie gives herself over to science, statistics, anything measurable and demonstrable to distance herself from fairy tales, but when she turns 13, her family inherits her grandfather's inn, they arrive to find it filled with fairies--oops, I mean, Parvi Parventi, or Small Persons with Wings. Tart-tongued and suspicious, Mellie tries hard to alienate her next door neighbor Timmo, a relentlessly friendly boy who comes across the "fairies" by accident, but he sticks with her through thick and thin which includes adventures as an amphibian, a truly frightening real estate agent, and a randomly bonging "grandfather" clock. All can be made right if Mellie and Timmo can find the moonstone and return it to the Small Persons at exactly midnight of the full moon, but certain factions are resistant and the exchange comes right down to the wire. . . . Small Persons with Wings is a big ball of laughs, and the characters are believable and appealing, or not. Mellie is a chunky girl who has always been mocked and abused, but her mother keeps telling her she will "grow into her grandeur" and in this story, she certainly does.(The tone and vocabulary of this book, as well as a few brief vulgar references by Mellie's tormentors, make this story best-suited for sixth graders and up.)

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Display: Dino-mite Reads

By
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs By Mo Willems New York: Balzar + Bray, 2012. Picture Book. "Once upon a time, there were three hungry Dinosaurs: Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur . . . and a Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway. One day--for no particular reason--they decided to tidy up their house, make the beds, and prepare pudding of varying temperatures. And then--for no particular reason--they decided to go . . . someplace else. They were definitely not setting a trap for some succulent, unsupervised little girl. Definitely not!" --Editor Smart Vs. Strong! Written by Jill Esbaum Illustrated by Miles Thompson New York: Simon Spotlight, 2021. Easy Reader. 64 pages. "When Thunder gets stuck in quicksand, Cluck uses his smarts to free his friend." --Editor How Dinosaurs Went Extinct Written by Ame Dyckman Illustrated by Jennifer Harney New York: Brown and Company, 2023. Picture Book. "When a child in a museum asks how dinosaurs became extinct, Dad co
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: How Does Chocolate Taste on Everest?

By
How Does Chocolate Taste on Everest? Written by Leisa Stewart-Sharpe Illustrated by Aaron Cushley Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2023. Informational. In this fascinating nonfiction adventure, unique forms of transportation like hot air balloons and zeppelins take readers to 12 of the most extreme locations on Earth and beyond. As the adventurer arrives in each new locale, from Lake Maracaibo--the world's most electric place--to Zavodovski Island--the world's stinkiest place--they are fully immersed into the scene around them. The text describes the distinctive sounds, sights, smells, tastes, and sensations characteristic to each place, supported by the delightful illustrations. Each stop also shares stories of real adventurers braving the elements. Readers big and small will learn something new in this exciting armchair adventure. The real adventurer anecdotes highlight both well-known and less-discussed figures, of diverse backgrounds and abilities. The illustrations provide ev
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Hidden Dragon

By
The Hidden Dragon By Melissa Marr New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2023. Fiction. 161 pages. Three children, Otter, London, and Sophia, live in a fantasy world with dragons. Otter (short for Ottilie) is the daughter of a ship captain, and she loves the sea and its dragons. London is a stowaway boy, searching for a new life full of adventure. Sophia lives in a thief house with other children, all dedicated to helping each other and trying to make the kingdom better. As trouble begins to brew both on land and at sea, these three heroes realize that maybe it's up to the kids to make things right. Readers experience the book from multiple perspectives, and with a bit of mystery and adventure, this is an amazing fantasy read. With the inspiring message that children truly can make a difference, readers will enjoy how each character fights for what's right, even when it's inconvenient. The ending is resolved a little quickly, but this is a great read for all "hatchlings."
Post a Comment
Read more