This is a cute story about a little fairy child named Jethro who encounters a human child named Annabelle. They develop a fast friendship and Annabelle shows the the kindness of sharing her lunch with them. Annabelle tells her parents and they pretend that they believe her. The fairy family eventually gets back in their car and leave for the fairy traveler's picnic and leave Annabelle with the gift of a fairy watch with fairy time, which fits her as a ring. Annabelle tells her parents about her fairy adventures and they shake their head in agreeance, still disbelieving. ( )

A little girl discovers a family of fairies. Although they are right there in front of her family, only she and her little brother can see them. Her father doesn't see them, but he tries to pretend that he does. Mom cannot see them, but makes them tea and cakes. She spends they day with them until they have to leave. She wants to go with them, but she is simply too big :-(

** I've always held the belief that as we get older we tend to take less notice of all the magic in the world. We become jaded. I cannot recall the last time I met an adult that had an imaginary friend. ( )

Australian picture-book author and artist Bob Graham, whose April and Esme: Tooth Fairies was a charming combination of traditional fairy-lore and contemporary family details, returns with a similar tale in Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child. Here we have young Annabelle, a firm believer in fairies, who persists in watching for the little winged creatures, despite her father's general disinterest, and his comments that they are unlikely to appear amidst the chaos of their urban yard. Her vigilance is eventually rewarded when the Byrds - a hamburger-truck-flying fairy-family, en route to the annual Fairy Travelers' Picnic - crash-land in the weeds, and agree to come to tea. Eager to show her new friends off to her skeptical parents, Anabelle is instead surprised to discover that they cannot see the Byrds...

Chosen as one of our April selections, over in The Picture-Book Club to which I belong, where our theme this month is "mystical/magical creatures," this sweet little tale captures that feeling of childlike wonder, in which all manner of enchantment seems possible. I thought Annabelle's family was captured fairly well - the distant father, the sympathetic (but not really in-tune) mother, the baby brother who obviously has no trouble seeing what Annabelle sees - and I also appreciated the Byrds, with their quirky, unexpected vocation, and mode of travel. I particularly liked that the (initial) fairy visitor was a boy, as that really subverts the "girliness" of so many of these stories. The artwork, done in watercolor and ink, was likewise appealing. In short: a nice updated "fairy-tale" for the contemporary child! ( )

This is an engaging tale of some not-so-traditional fairies who end up in Annabelle's yard and cannot be seen by her parents, who are "too grown up". Although the fairies cannot do magic, Graham has made them charming, each with its own personality, and his illustrations, which are soft, with bright colours and outlined in black, compliment the story very well. Children will love this play with their imagination and the idea that children are special because of it. ( )

Bob Graham is an Australian author and illustrator, and Jethro Byrde carries some charm of the South Pacific in character names and in the inclusion of teatime. Jethro Byrde was short listed for The Children’s Book Council of Australia. However, it is easily accessible to children around the world. the main character, a young girl named Annabelle, is playing in her small backyard with her baby brother Sam, while her mom reads and her father works on his laptop outside in the sun. The family live in a city, and Annabelle manages to stumble upon a family of fairies that needs her help. They end up spending the afternoon together, having tea and playing music. Annabelle and Sam are the only two who can see the fairies, as the parents “don’t have time for fairies.” When the fairies leave Annabelle, she still thinks of them gracing her city. The departure from country homes being hosts to fairies is a fun new way for kids who are not necessarily from rural homes to identify with a fairy story. Jethro Byrde is light without a lot of action and it invites readers of any age to stimulate their imagination. Ages 3-8 ( )