The Woman Who Flummoxed the Fairies
Retold By: Heather Forest
Illustrated By: Susan Gaber
An old Scottish tale retold for all who love a touch of magic, a bit of good sense, and a lot of fun!
The fairies never get a taste of the fine cakes made by the bakerwoman who lives at the edge of the forest. Her cakes are so good they are eaten down to the last crumb. The fairies want her to make cakes only for them, so…they capture her.
But the bakerwoman flummoxes the fairies — she confuses, perplexes, surprises, and befuddles them with an ingenious plan that ends up pleasing everyone!
My Review/Thoughts:
I have to agree with the last line in this humorous and creative book “For fairies’ gold, they say, is like love or knowledge—or a good story. It is most valuable when it’s shared.” The Woman Who Flummoxed The Fairies is just that- a very good story.
I found the illustrations rustic-old timer, but full of beautiful detail. Throughout the book I found myself snickering at what the bakerwoman made these fairies do. The kids were laughing at the scene of items floating out of the house by these invisible fairies, which was witness by a very flummoxed husband a baby. Even the dog and the house cat floated out the window.
The ending had me laughing so hard it became contagious. The baby’s final role in the whole ordeal was priceless. This is one story that we all loved as a family, that we have read over and over again-never tiring of the laughter it produces.
If you would like to see other books or find more information on Heather Forest, you can find her on her website, Heather Forest, Storyteller/Author.
About The Author:
Heather Forest’s unique minstrel style of storytelling blends original music, folk guitar, poetry, prose and the sung and spoken word. She has toured her repertoire of world folktales for the past thirty years to theatres, major storytelling festivals, and conferences throughout the United States and abroad.
Ms. Forest has written seven children’s picture books based on folktales. Her first book, “The Baker’s Dozen: A Colonial American Tale” (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988) won an American Institute for Graphic Arts Award and was selected by the Children’s Literature Center of the Library of Congress to be part of a traveling book exhibit sent to Russia in celebration of the 1989 Year of the Young Reader.
Her second book, “The Woman Who Flummoxed the Fairies: An Old Tale From Scotland” (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990) is a Junior Library Guild Selection and was chosen as a Pick of the Lists for 1990 by the American Booksellers Association.
“A Big Quiet House: A Yiddish Folktale from Eastern Europe,” (August House, 1996) was an American Booksellers’ Pick of the Lists. Her newest picture books, published by August House include “Stone Soup” (1998) s Choice Selection, “Feathers: A Jewish Tale from Eastern Europe” (2005), “The Little Red Hen” (2006), chosen as a New York Public Library’s 100 Best Children’s Books for Reading and Sharing, and “The Contest Between the Sun and the Wind: An Aesop’s Fable” (2008).
Ms. Forest’s first full-length folktale collection, “Wonder Tales from Around the World” (August House), won the Storytelling World Anthology Award for 1996. Its sequel, “Wisdom Tales from
Around the World,” received the 1997 Storytelling World Anthology Award.
Ms. Forest has been selected as a recipient of the 1997 Circle of Excellence Award presented by the National Storytelling Association. Her many performance credits include The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., The National Storytelling Festival, TN, The Museum of Modern Art, NY, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Scotland, Tales of Graz Festival, Austria, and the
Glistening Waters Storytelling Festival, New Zealand.
She has been a featured teller at major storytelling festivals throughout the United States, a keynote speaker at the National Storytelling Congress (USA), and has taught storytelling
and communication arts seminars as a guest lecturer at universities and at the National Storytelling Institute (USA) in Jonesborough, Tennessee.
Ms. Forest holds a Masters Degree in Storytelling from East Tennessee State University and a Ph.D. in Leadership and Change from Antioch University . She is founder and Executive Director of Story Arts, a cultural arts organization in Huntington , New York , U.S.A. that presents storytelling concerts and workshops in schools, theatres, and community centers in the Long Island , New York area.