Diary of a Fairy Godmother

When I picked this up at a library book sale for ten cents, my expectations were low. I mean, look at the cover. It couldn't be more obvious that it's trying to appeal to a younger crowd. But I bit my tongue; after all, there's a certain kind of magic to be found in children's books. They're among the first thing a soon-to-be avid reader comes into contact with. There's a reason why kids read books like "Diary of a Fairy Godmother" that are supposed to kindle a love for the English language and continue reading thereafter. Something hooks them. And when I was finished reading, let me tell you, I could understand full-heartedly how this book could do such a thing for a child.

The first thing I noticed is that it's rather beautifully show more written, especially for a standard children's book. Before I receive any sort of wrath for that statement, let me say explain. Many children's novel authors seem to have this idea that they need to boil all of their sentences down to practically nothing to get their stories across, with perhaps a few metaphors thrown around like stale sprinkles if they want to splurge. You find this writing most commonly in mass-series books like "The Babysitters Club", but it's also present in other children's novels. This book is not like that. The writing is simple enough for a child to understand but certainly retains its own unique, recognizable style. There's a particularly awesome sequence where our main character looks into the dreams of one of her best friends; this is the text:

"Adorned in an armor of emerald scales and talon-like white fingertips with a matching bony crown, she looked quite beautiful and fearsome at once, wielding a scepter topped with a poison apple. Who dared approach this mighty queen? Oh, a Chameleon Prince, who wound his graceful tail around her and unsheathed his sword, lifting it high in her honor before slashing the hands off of a clock...on rows of shelves behind him, jars full of newts in every color swam in joyous circles at the prospect of their union...the scene was as dizzying to watch as the turning of a kaleidoscope."

That is way more detail than I expected this book to bring to the table in general, and that's only in the first thirty or so pages. When I read this from the eyes of a child, I don't feel like I'm being talked down to in the least. It's refreshing.

Now, don't get me wrong. It's still a children's book, not Hemmingway. The descriptive language at the beginning falls kind of flat, as the author needs to introduce her readers to the topsy-turvy world of witches where bad is good and good is bad. This partially isn't her fault, but talking about poison mushroom pizza and a Hogwarts joke doesn't flow very well. But that's minor, as the book picks up very fast from there. It is also important to mention that the story is fairly predictable. It doesn't make it any less worth reading, but it's still there. You know that our lead is going to become a fairy godmother despite being raised as a witch. You know that everyone is eventually going to accept her. And those are our two major plot points.

Regardless, this is something I would definitely give to a a child reader. It's relatively short for an adult, only clocking in at 167 pages, but it might prove to be a good lengthy read for its younger audience. It's definitely worth to be the center of your kid's book report, or a check-out at the library, or really, just an addition to a classroom. show less

A lot of fun - Hunky Dory's been raised as a witch, and her mother and teacher have high hopes of her becoming the wickedest that ever lived, but Hunky is torn: what makes *her* happiest is granting wiches, not curses. But will her mother ever forgive her if she tells her that she wants to be a Fairy Godmother when she grows up?

There are a lot of funny plays on words, and my 9-year-old daughter enjoyed pointing out the different fairy tales sprinkled throughout.

Recommended!

So we've got a witch turned fairy godmother who's top of her class both ways. This book cleverly ties together plenty of little fairy tale themes (mentioning Little Red Riding Hood, the Gingerbread Man, Rumplestiltskin, Goldilocks, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Hansel and Gretel among others), along with general witch themes, stereotypes, and info, has a sort of coming of age blah blah blah whatever story (like coming of age stuff could ever compare to fairy tales!), and of course, showcases the ultimate fairy godmother story- Cinderella. She makes the observation that the Cinderella ball is like "being herded together like a bunch of cattle in evening gowns so the big bull can pick his favorite heifer" (119), which does point out show more just how preposterous it is to pick a wife at a single dance. Overall well written and enjoyable, this book is a great blend of many themes and highly recommended. show less

The cover alone should be enough to convince any 10 year old female to read it! Hunky Dory is close to graduating from witch school. Her proud mother proclaims she will be the “wickedest witch wherever the four winds blow.” The problem is that Hunky isn’t so into being bad. She drops out to practice “wishcraft” instead of witchcraft, to the dismay of her teacher. Hunky was the class star! Dropping out promptly gets Hunky kicked out of home, too. She sets up shop in a nearby forest, practicing as an amateur fairy godmother, doing good deeds in order to feel the warm satisfaction of a job well done fill her body. In her journey to turn good and become a legitimate fairy godmother, Hunky finds herself involved in various fairy show more tales like Rumpelstiltskin, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. This book has awesome illustrations that enliven the text, and it’s fun from beginning to end. I would highly recommend it to any preteen girl, especially ones that are a little goth, and to anyone who’s still interested in reading about witches and/or fairy tales. show less

I bought Diary of a Fairy Godmother a while back during Barnes and Noble's Bargain sale. It looked like a fun book my daughters might like someday. I read it extremely quickly and enjoyed it very much.

It's the story of Hunky Dory who according to her mother will be "the wickedest witch wherever the four winds blow". But Hunky Dory discovers she might be more inclined toward wishcraft than witchcraft. Once this is known, she is ostracized by her family and friends and cast out on her own. She comes up with a very successful idea to make a living granting wishes; the wishing well. She finds that she is very satisfied with granting others' wishes and becomes a bona fide Fairy Godmother. In the end her old family and friends accept her for show more who she is and everyone appears to live happily ever after.

This is a very cute story with retellings of Sleeping Beauty (Aurora), Rumpelstiltskin, and Cinderella, and also mentions Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, among others. It's fun to see how the author puts these fairy tales into Hunky Dory's world. This is listed as a book for ages 9-12. I'd say that's right for actual reading level, but I think kids as young as 6 or 7 could enjoy having this book read to them. There are some larger vocabulary words that are defined in the same sentence or the next one. Younger readers might find the actual reading of it a bit difficult, but they would probably know the fairy tales well and think it was fun to listen to the story. There are entertaining illustrations throughout the book as well.

http://hollybooknotes.blogspot.com/2008/06/diary-of-fairy-godmother-by-esme-raji... show less

Diary of a Fairy Godmother won the votes of our students as the best book they read in 2008-2009. They enjoyed the characters names, Acid Reflux, Twisted Ankle, Hunky Dory and they had fun with the mixed-up fairy tales woven through out the story.

Really liked it. Cute. Perfect for young girls (7 - 10) who like "good witch" stories.