The Charm Bracelet FROM OUR EDITORS
While visiting her grandmother at Blue Moon, Jessie discovers a path into the Fairy Realm, a magical world of fairies, elves, unicorns, miniature horses, and mermaids. But everything in this magic kingdom is not as idyllic as it first seems. To save the realm, Jessie must use all her human talents.
ANNOTATION
When Jessie searches for her ill grandmother's missing charm bracelet, she is led to a magical world and finds she has a reason and right to be there.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Enter the Realm
of magic....
When Jessie visits her grandmother at beautiful Blue Moon, she discovers an amazing secret, and enters the Realm for the first time.
Fairies, elves, tiny horses, and all kinds of magical beings live in the Realm. A noble Queen in a great golden palace rules them all. A high hedge keeps out dangerous creatures.
But the Realm is in terrible danger. Jessie must outwit an evil enemy and save the land before it is destroyed forever!
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Rodda (Rowan of Rin series) launches the Fairy Realm series with this taut, engaging fantasy tale. Jessie visits her maternal grandmother, Jessica, at Blue Moon, a rambling old house with a "secret garden" where Jessie feel safe and peaceful. For five years, the woman has lived alone, since the death of her husband, a renowned artist who painted scenes featuring castles, fairy princesses, elves and miniature horses. Jessie shares more with her grandmother than a name: each always seems to know how the other is feeling. Suddenly Jessie becomes aware that her grandmother, who has been weakened by a fall, is in some kind of grave trouble and that she must help her. Following a voice beckoning her to the secret garden one night, Jessie is transported to a fairyland that she recognizes from one of her grandfather's paintings-his last. Rodda deftly fits together the pieces of a creatively complex puzzle whose fragments include a missing charm bracelet, a cloak that renders the wearer invisible and a secret spell that must be used-once in a blue moon-to renew the magic in the land of Jessica's birth. Despite what sound like familiar elements, an intriguing plot and appealing characters make this a sure choice for budding fantasy fans. Readers will likely wish to accompany Jessie on her second adventure, The Flower Fairies, due out the same month. Ages 7-10. (Mar.) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.
Children's Literature - Sharon Oliver
This first book in Rodda's "Fairy Realm" series lures middle readers into an engrossing fantasy world. Young Jessie and her mother are visiting Jessie's Grandmother in hopes of persuading her to move from her beloved home, called Blue Moon, but Jessie has no idea of the adventure that lies in store. It turns out her ailing grandmother is actually a queen from the fairy realm and the realm will be overrun by evil forces if the queen does not return to renew the magic, an event that takes place every 50 years or "once in a blue moon." However, Grandma's missing charm bracelet (the source of her memories) and her weakened condition from an injury prevent her from making the trip. Instead, Jessie is pulled into the fairy realm by mistake and has only two days to defeat the evil fairy Velda and find a way to return her grandmother so that the realm may be saved. The imaginative creatures who help Jessie on her way are appealing and fanciful. A talking horse, a nervous elf and a cloak of invisibility all help Jessie on her quest to save the fairy realm. A fast-moving, compelling fantasy adventure, this novel will attract readers, in particular girls in grades 3-5. 2000, Harper Collins,
School Library Journal
Gr 1-4-Jessie's grandmother's health is failing rapidly and the woman seems unconcerned that the charm bracelet she always wore is missing. She knows she had something important to do before her upcoming 70th birthday, but she can't remember what. In a parallel world, the fairies are trying to save their kingdom from an evil ruler. Jessie accidentally travels to that world, becomes embroiled in their struggles, and saves the day by retrieving the magical charm bracelet, thereby restoring her grandma's memory of her connection to the fairy world and what she must do. It's all a bit predictable, but beginning chapter-book readers will appreciate Jessie's take-charge attitude to defeat the evil usurper and revel in her success at saving her grandmother and the fairy kingdom. Geared toward transitional readers, the short chapters each begin with one full-page, black-and-white illustration, aptly showing the magic of the book.-Debbie Whitbeck, West Ottawa Public Schools, Holland, MI Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Writing for a younger audience, the Aussie author of the "Rowan of Rin" series sends a human child to rescue a fairy land about to be overrun by, as one hysterical elf puts it, "trolls and-ogres and-goblins-and dragons-and-giants-and-monsters-and-and-." Searching for her failing grandmother's prized charm bracelet, young Jessie stumbles into a realm that bears an astonishing resemblance to the paintings her grandpa used to create before his death. As it turns out, Jessie's grandmother is not only a former resident, but heir to that country's throne-and so the only one who can renew the spell that keeps the baddies at bay. Giving Jessie a talking pony and other allies, an invisibility cloak, a fast-approaching deadline, and an imposter claimant with nefarious intentions, Rodda tells a suspenseful, well-knit tale, enlivened by humor and heroism, climaxed by a clever ruse and some nick-of-time spell casting. Though restored to youth and beauty when brought back to her land, Jessica's grandmother opts to go back with her granddaughter to the world of humans-but Jessica, now with a charm bracelet of her own, is definitely slated for future visits. The series has been running overseas for several years, and to judge from its opener, should have made the jump long ago. (final illustrations not seen) (Fiction. 7-9)
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