[.ca] Good Night, Fairies (ISBN 081185762X)

From Amazon.com:
Children enamored with the notion of fairies will drink up Kathleen and Michael Hague's lush picture book like nectar. When a mother is asked by her child about how fairies spend their days and nights, she embarks on a dreamy account of these mysterious, magical creatures. For starters, fairies hang the stars in the sky each evening "so every child will have a night-light." They also teach birds to sing, paint the wings of butterflies, comb mermaids' hair, and sleep "on leafy beds in secret gardens." The wondering child falls asleep to these poetic musings, welcomed to dreamland by the fairies. Lyrical colored-pencil and watercolor illustrations, filled with elaborate detail, accompany this gentle bedtime story. Readers are challenged to find and count all 321 winged fairies in the book, and to look for the red-capped fairy hiding on each page. The author-illustrator team has paired up on several bestselling titles, including Ten Little Bears and Alphabears. (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter

Whimsical and Magical - What Could Be Better!:
Welcome to a wonderful tale of fairies. To a book of pure magic. 'Good Night, Fairies' takes you away to a magnificent land where fairies comb mermaids' hair, paint butterflies' wings and teach unicorns to fly. The story line on each page is short, thus even very little ones stay entranced in the fantasy world of fairies. It is a book, that even as an adult, you will be mesmerized by the beautiful pictures of fairies sleeping on leaves in secret gardens, dancing in the moonlight in spider's silk and hanging stars in the sky so children will have a nightlight. Children, afterall, are the closest thing to fairies! So what could be better than fairies welcoming little ones to dreamland as they drift off to sleep.

Pure Magic!:
Husband and wife team, Kathleen and Michael Hague have done it again! I have long been a fan of Michael Hague's lovely evocative illustrations and Kathleen's gentle prose for children but this book really is the perfect combination of their extensive talents. In a flowing script-like font the story takes us on a journey to Fairyland when a child asks his mother to tell him some things about fairy ways just as he is getting tucked into bed for the night. The mother knows lots of secret things about fairies. In Kathleen's light-hearted, kindly prose the mother explains that among many other things, they teach the birds how to sing, gather and care for all the toys that children have lost, comb the mermaids' hair, and dance in the twilight dressed in spiders' lace. Richly colored and filled with exquisite detail the double page illustrations are on every page so there are no dull pages with only text. Beautiful fairies and whimsical little gnomes and pixies crowd each page and engage in the many magics of the fairy realm. Mermaids of different races and ages relax and luxuriate in an ocean cove. There is one tiny fairy with a red cap that is hidden on each page so that a child may have the fun of pouring over the colorful details and searching to find him. The Hagues tell us that there are a total of 321 fairies in this book and challenge us to find all of them. This is a wonderful book to share with a child. I highly recommend it.

Captivating:
My 3 yr old is enamored with fairies and this is by far her favorite book. The illustrations are outstanding, appreciated by both adult and child. She loves to hunt through and find all the hidden animals and faces in tree trunks, some lovely but some scary (she loves the scary ones!). With the attention span of a gnat, she is easily bored with long stories, but even the pages with the most writing hold her interest, besides there is great variety in each page. It captivates her imagination and she refers to often when walking in the woods and looking for fairies. This is the kind of quality book I miss from my childhood and is too hard to find in modern publications.

Bedtime on Fairies' Wings.....:
There is nothing so wonderful as the magical, whimsical world of fairies. Join mother and child at bedtime, as she lulls her little one to sleep with enchanting details about these tiny winged creatures who help make the world a special place to live. Fairies hang the stars in the sky at night, so that every child will have a night-light, paint the colorful wings of butterflies, teach birds to sing, and unicorns to fly. They comb mermaids' hair, draw rainbows to cheer up the dark rainy sky, make the spring flowers bloom, and scatter the autumn leaves. But most of all, fairies love little children. "Of all the world's creatures, there is nothing so like a fairy as a child....." Husband and wife team, Kathleen and Michael Hague, have authored the perfect bedtime story. Everything about this picture book is elegant, engaging, and exquistite, from the beautiful script font, and quiet, soothing prose, to the marvelously intricate, lush, and expressive illustrations. Together word and art offer a gentle, sweet, and lovely trip to dreamland. Perfect for youngsters 3-7, with 321 little winged friends to discover and count, and a special red-capped fairy hidden on every page to find, Good Night, Fairies is a masterpiece, and a reassuring bedtime treasure to share and enjoy every night of the year.