Do you believe in fairies? Just ask a child that question and watch their eyes sparkle. We all know that children are believers. Too bad we’ve lost some of our beliefs.
As a children’s author, I have the distinct pleasure of spending a lot of time with children. As I often say, children have crystal clear imaginations. Add to this their hearts of gold, and the result can’t be beat. When I visit kindergarten through second grade classes, I read my two fairy books, The Knot Fairy and The Sock Fairy. I talk with the children about the characteristics of fairies, a topic they seem very familiar with. There’s always a child who is proud to announce that “Tinker Bell’s wings are green” or “the Sock Fairy made holes in my socks and my underwear.” One child even shared his intimate knowledge of the Tooth Fairy: “It’s really a man, he’s in his underwear, and after he leaves money, he goes into my mother’s bedroom.”
I enjoy talking to the children about the mischievous ways of fairies, ideas that children readily identify with. One of my favorite exercises after the readings is to ask the children what fairy they would like to be if they could magically become a fairy. The answers are imaginative and often quite funny. Here are a few recent answers to the question, “What fairy would you be and what would you do?”
•UPS Fairy –I would drive a tiny brown truck.
•Earring Fairy – I would find lost earrings and decorate my Christmas tree.
•Fashion Fairy – I would buy all the clothes and my sister couldn’t wear them.
•Mud Fairy – I could bring mud in the house and blame it on my dog.
•Homework Fairy – She would do all my homework.
•Underwear Fairy – Because I have a hole in my underwear.
•Food Fairy – She would bring me candy and then eat my vegetables.
•Ice Cream fairy – I could have all the ice cream I want and eat it all day.
•Messy Desk Fairy – I would sneak into school at night and mess up all the desks.
•Remote Control Fairy – She is a sneak.
•Dorito Fairy – She eats my Doritos.
•Mean Fairy – He punches people.
•Punch Fairy – He makes me cry and cry and cry.
•Tonsil Fairy - So I can bring them home in a jar like my brother.
Now it’s your turn. Think of something mischievous that you have always wanted to do or a mystery that you would like to solve by blaming it on a fairy. Would you be a good fairy or a not-so-good fairy? Which fairy would you be?
