Marigold and the Feather of Hope, The Journey Begins (The Fairy Chronicles)
Nine-year-old Beth Parish dreads spending two summer weeks with odd Aunt Evelyn. Things change when Evelyn reveals she and Beth are fairies. With Evelyn's guidance, Beth, a marigold fairy, learns how to transform, fly, and use her wand. When the Feather of Hope (which keeps hope alive in the world) is taken, Beth, with her dachshund, Pete, joins other fairies in a plan to retrieve it from a gremlin-occupied house. This first title of the originally self-published Fairy Chronicles series combines traditional fairy and contemporary elements with a likeable protagonist, who comes to appreciate her new abilities and responsibilities. The rescue is suspenseful, and Sweet laces the story with light humor and abundant fantasy details (fairies communicate via nut messaging). The colorful, classically styled illustrations, new to this edition, occasionally don't match the text (characters drink root beer from bottles not mugs as shown), but they are quite appealing, as is the use of decorative lettering here and there. An accessible, enjoyable story for readers who can't seem to get enough about magical spirits. Rosenfeld, Shelle