Book Review - 'Fairy Door Diaries: Eliza and the Flower Fairies' by Megan McDonald (Writer), Lenny Wen (Illustrator)

'Imagine a door.

A teeny-tiny fairy door.
Now imagine it is magic.

Open the door.'



It's been a long time since a children's chapter book made me feel like a kid reading fantasy in the school library again, but golly gossamer wings, did 'Fairy Door Diaries: Eliza and the Flower Fairies' deliver.

It's a short read that unabashedly, wonderfully follows child logic all the way through.

It is about a little girl named Eliza, who has a secret door to a fairy land in her private cubbyhole - the "Land of UnderStair" - in her bedroom. Nestled inside her cosy UnderStair lair are stuffed animals (that may be alive and whispering), drawings, and books such as 'The Daisy Chain Book of Fairies', and her diary, where she calls herself "Eliza of the Elves". With her dragonfly pin come to life, her "familiar" Haiku, Eliza has her adventures through the teeny-tiny, mossy door into the Land of the Fairies, wherein lies an enchanted forest, full of flower fairies, thyme bracelets, green-skinned witches, bark-skinned witches, curses, and sentient winds and storms. Plus fairy dust, and sprinkles of magic; magic that is usually small, quiet and unnoticeable, unless you believe in it.

There is nature, and flowers and rainbows everywhere! Magic and fairies are equal to them!

'Fairy Door Dairies' is like if Tinker Bell was good-natured all the time, and ever so fondly took over an 'Alice in Wonderland'-type storybook world. It is also like 'Rainbow Brite', and 'Dragon Tales', but with flower fairies. Its premise make its ripe with potential as a Saturday morning cartoon - it's positively blooming with it.

It is easy to interpret the fantasy world and elements as being from young Eliza's imagination, and whether or not it is doesn't matter. Just enjoy the excited child's rich imaginative adventure, that will later be written down in her diary, and read aloud to her younger sister, as a "true story?".

The fact that the fairy land and its door are already known and established by Eliza at the beginning of the book, as soon as she rushes home from school to her beach cottage, and into her bedroom cubbyhole, may confuse some readers, and make them feel like they've picked up a sequel instead of the first book of a series by mistake. But it isn't too disorientating or distracting. Again, just enjoy the creative fairy tale.

Why, daffodils with giraffe heads pop up at one point!

So charming, whimsical and magical. And nostalgic.

Like reading the fairy tales and adventure series you loved as a kid.

Oh, and the illustrations are cute and colourful, as well.

I recommend 'Fairy Door Diaries: Eliza and the Flower Fairies' for children, and older, who are children at heart.

Final Score: 4/5