4/5 ( )

Short and sweet. I listened to this one with my grandson who is 8 years old. Such a very cute and whimsical story. Very well done and not too silly. My grandson even enjoyed it and wishes that he had a fairy mom now. A lot of good lessons in this book and I love the questions at the end to make the parent and child talk and address different situations. ( )

Ella's mummy can turn into a real fairy with a few magic words and a wiggle of her bottom. And Ella is a fairy-in-waiting who is learning all about being a fairy. Unfortunately, Mummy Fairy isn't very good at spells, so young Ella must come to the rescue time and again. It looks like Ella is going to be a wonderful fairy when she grows up.

Mummy Fairy and Me is a young chapter book aimed at children 5 - 7. At this age range, some children will be able to read it to themselves, while others would enjoy it as a read aloud. It was non-stop fun to read with my six-year-old who wanted "just a few more pages" whenever we picked it up.

Refreshingly, it's a modern day fairy story -- think computawands and mums who have a high powered job versus fairies fluttering around forests. And Ella is a level-headed schoolgirl who often comes up with the solutions to Mummy Fairy's mayhem. There are fun activities at the back of the book that tie into the story like a Fairy Cake recipe and a scene from the story to design your own solution.

Overall, it's a fun book for kids with lots of messy adventures and parents who do silly things.

Ella's mother is the best -- she loves to have fun with Ella and her little brother Ollie, she's a boss at her work, and she's a fairy! However, Ella's mom often has trouble with her spells, so things don't always go as planned. Even everyday life events like grocery shopping, getting the flu, baking cupcakes, and field day at school can end up being quite a production.

This book was light and sweet. It seems that several professional reviewers were not super fans of this book, but I can definitely see young readers enjoying this story. It is told almost in a vignette style, with each chapter focused on a specific spell, including the events leading up to it and the consequences of it going right or wrong. It isn't exactly slapstick funny, or perhaps it's exactly that, but without too many of the usual vomit, fart, etc. style jokes that seem to be overly used in children's books.

Despite the story being told from her first person point of view, Ella is sort of a bland character. However, her mom is quite lovable, as are the other family members, although they are seen to a lesser extent. And, the neighborhood bully is bad in the just the way such children can be, so young readers will find that relatable (unfortunately).

While this book is mostly fluff, there are some important lessons about patience, teamwork, not cheating, etc. I really do like how well the family gets along together as well as Ella's good friendships.

The book ends with some discussion questions, which is unusual in children's literature. It also includes some suggestions for family activities, which seems appropriate for a book about strong family ties. However, some of these are decent while others seem a bit bizarre. For example, "Make a short video about the flying bed story as told by the man on the roof to be aired on the nightly news of a Cherrywood television station." This sounds more like a painful homework assignment than a fun family activity, but maybe that's just me. At any rate, it does require a level of technology (and technical skills) that it's possible not every family has.

The illustrations aren't strictly necessary, but they help break up the text, which can be helpful for reluctant or struggling readers. There is a little bit of diversity shown in the illustrations, but not very much. ( )

This magic filled tale shows us what life may be like if fairy magic ran in the family. You'd think things would be a breeze, problems easily solved, troubles overcome with a flick of your Computawand (yes, even THEY'VE upgraded), and life in general would be a piece of cake. Um, yeah...about that. Let's just say that practice makes perfect doesn't just apply to us average Joe's and Jane's, but with a little help from family, a considerable dose of understanding, and the ability to laugh at one's self, pretty much any obstacle can be knocked down to size.


**copy received for review ( )