The Fairy Tale Detectives

Bird watching is one of my favorite pass times.  I am not a serious bird watcher by any standard, but flying fascinates me.  My son and I regularly try imagining the machines he could build that would improve an individuals ability to just take off from the front yard.  The most inspirational flyers, in my humble opinion, are the hummingbirds.  If all is going as planned, I try to write or read in the mornings on our screen porch so I can watch them.  If I let my imagination go, I can see fairies flying all around me, bringing me good fortune or a bit of mischief.

The fairies in the Sisters Grimm Series by Michael Buckley are definitely of the mischievous sort.  With their leader, Puck, they give the girls quite a bit of trouble as they try to make sense of the strange life they have landed in after their parents disappearance.  (Again, no parents! Are we really such a hurdle to fun and adventure?)  After many failed attempts at placing the girls in foster care, the State is finally contacted by a woman claiming to be their grandmother.  Anxious to be rid of these particularly "difficult" girls, Mrs. Smirts, hands the children over to the mysterious grandmother with little to no proof of her claim.

Suspicious of all adults at this point, Sabrina, the oldest girl, convinces her younger sister to escape this foster home as they have all of the others.  The reader might find Sabrina's arguments sound, as the life lead by Relda Grimm at the edge of Ferryport Landing is quite odd, but her sister does not.  Somehow, her instincts tell her she is home.  In book one of the series, we watch the girls come to embrace their inheritance by conducting an elaborate rescue attempt.

If you are a lover of fairy tales this is a sassy read.  The girls are delightful, as is their grandmother.  In this new look at fairy tales you are likely to come across many familiar friends ranging from the three little pigs to Prince Charming.  This is a series, so if your young reader enjoys this first novel, she will be able to find many other "happily ever afters."