Little girls love fairies and if you are looking for a way to encourage their interest in reading and writing then offering a selection of books based around fairy themes is a wonderful start.

There are a number of versions of the fairy theme available in books, from the modern Tinkerbell based Disney Fairies theme to the more traditional Cicely Mary Barker Flower Fairy books. All books can be enjoyed either by older readers reading alone or through parent reading time and are a wonderful window to both a girl’s imagination, love of the earth and their interest in reading.

Tinkerbell was once a simple side-kick to Peter Pan, the hero of James Barrie’s immortal 1904 play and 1911 book. When Disney released the animated film Peter Pan in 1953 he would have no idea that one day Tinkerbell would be in a movie all her own that spawned sequels and numerous books, toys and ornaments. The Disney Fairies line took flight with the release of the Tinkerbell direct to DVD movie in 2008, the first of five planned Disney Fairies films.

There are a number of books based around Tinkerbell, Vidia, Lilly, Rani and the rest of the fairies. The first and most famous was Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg by Gail Carson Levine. The book and its sequel Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand have sold millions of copies and are recommended for older, more confident readers.

Random House began releasing a series of smaller chapter books under the banner of Tales of Pixie Hollow. These books are smaller and easier to read though still recommended for competent readers. Comic company Papercutz is also releasing comic interpretations of the Disney Fairies, in the same vein as their Geronimo Stilton comics.

If you are looking for similar more contemporary interpretations of Fairy culture then try the Rainbow Magic series of books by Daisy Meadows, the Fairy Realm series by Emily Rodda, Nina Fairy Ballerina by Nicola Slater or the Emily Windsnap series of Mermaid books by Liz Kessler.

Moving away from modern interpretations of the fairy and back to a more traditional approach, the Flower Fairy series is based on Cicely Mary Barker’s original Flower Fairy illustrations, stories and rhymes first published in the early 1920′s. Cicely Mary Barker was heavily influenced by Kate Greenaway and her images are of beautiful children-like fairies in natural settings.

The publishers have hired contemporary authors to reinterpret the tales of various flower fairies and while the images and stories are a little more old-worldy than the more recent interpretations by Disney and Co. they offer an earthy balance. The stories all deal with events that happen entirely within the flower fairy world, which is a very earthy, nature-based setting.

Readers learn about the seasons and the plants that favour particular growing circumstances and how specific changes in the environment effects other aspects of that ecosystem. But it is all very subtle and totally within the natural context of the story.

Fantasy writing is probably THE example of imagination at its highest. The author is creating a whole new world – one filled with dragons, creatures, rules of magic – very different from the reality we know. Unlike science fiction which pushes the boundaries of physics and biology, fantasy pushes something more inward, belief and wishes. For the most part people don’t believe in elves, fairies or dragons in the day-to-day, but in the fantasy author’s world, those elements thrive…and the more fantastical, the better.

The battle between good and evil, right and wrong is the main theme of fantasy and of course magical solutions which replace the laws of nature as we understand them. Events occur, things appear, change just because they do. It’s all at the mercy of the author’s galloping imagination. For children in particular this works beautifully. They have very little hard fact for why things work as they do, making believing a fantasy story just another happening in their lives.

These stories are generally about kings and queens, knights, castles, villagers, etc. Peaceful kingdoms are threatened by some great evil and conquering heroes ride forth. It’s not uncommon to see parodies on this theme, poking fun at it’s usual loftiness. For the most part, these stories come from mythology and European legend, particularly Britain. In these stories our heroes are not really facing the “big” battle but rising to the challenge of smaller, more personal forays into fantasy worlds..and quite often having a darned good time doing it. We’ll commonly see a small group of friends and possibly their animal sidekicks working together for the common good. The Wizard of Oz is a fine example of this type of fantasy book.

Fairy Tales could never be left out in the world of fantasy writing and are probably some of the oldest examples. Fairy tales in general deal with a personal transformation of some kind. The ugly duckling becomes the swan, the poor maid becomes a princess and the frog becomes the prince. They are ‘smaller’ stories, but by no means any lesser of a fantasy with any less number of fans. Older works of Hans Christian Andersen to the more modern tales from Jane Yolen and Patricia McKillip fall into this group. Magical Realism of fantasy fiction mostly takes place in the modern world, with magic oozing into one particular character’s life. And often without anyone else seeing the magic…just it’s effects. Like Water For Chocolate – A famous example of Magical Realism.