Celia and the Fairies
(Recommended Ages: 7-11)A Q&A with Karen McQuestionQuestion:You’re a bestselling women’s fiction author with your novelsA Scattered LifeandEasily Amused. What drove you to   try your hand at children’s literature?Karen McQuestion:I have a confession to make: I never outgrew children’s   books and I still read them to this day. A good kids’ book can be completely   engrossing, transporting the reader to a whole new world. I clearly remember the joy I   felt when first readingA Wrinkle in   Time,Harriet the   Spy, and the books ofEdward Eager. I wanted to   try my hand at writing for younger readers to see if I could create the same   experience for others.Question:What inspired the plot ofCelia and the Fairies?Karen McQuestion:Fireflies! Growing up I was always fascinated by the   flashing glow of fireflies at night. Something about them seemed magical, and from a   distance it was easy to imagine that they might be fairies. And who knows? Maybe   sometimes the lights we assume to be fireflies are indeed fairies. I like to think   that almost anything is possible.As a kid reader, I loved stories where the main character was someone like me, an   average person going about their usual routine of school and home, when something   extraordinary occurs. And inCelia and the Fairies, that’s exactly what   happens. I guess I wrote the kind of book I would have loved when I was young.Question:What do you hope kids who read the book will take away from   it?Karen McQuestion:A few adult readers have said thatCelia and the   Fairieshas a good message, and it does, but I’m glad that I haven’t gotten that   same comment from kids. Instead, they talk about how much they love the scenes with   the fairies, and how exciting it was when Celia had to venture out into the woods   alone to save the day. I hope first and foremost to tell an entertaining story, and if   a good message goes along with it, that’s fine, too.--This text refers to an alternatePaperbackedition.