Rose Csorba beautifully illustrated this journal-of-sorts about a group of Fairy Hunters. Ashley and narrator Laura, aided by their friends Big Rabbit and Turtle, find the fairies that exist in every day things. Pocket Fairies, Teacup Fairies, Sock Fairies, and others have their own brief story and the story of their capture.

The idea that this story is for children and adults alike is a bit of a stretch. I think children would be entertained by the idea that fairies are everywhere if you just look hard enough and Csorba’s skillful art is entertaining. However, as an adult, it sounded to me like “Laura” was Ashley’s step mother, Big Rabbit and Turtle making up the rest of the family members, and that this book might be more of a way for “Laura” to relive a nice time of bonding with Ashley. There were a few times Laura says things to Ashley that make Ashley’s mom sound like not nearly as much fun as Laura. Thinly veiled.

I was mostly annoyed with the heinous editing. There were randomly capitalized letters in the middle of sentences, punctuation seemingly thrown about, and sentence fragments galore outside of dialogue. For those reasons, I wouldn’t want this to be a staple in my child’s library. Fairy Hunter’s Ink. is written for an age group of children who are learning the correct way to write.

There was also this line, “But Turtle surprised us, he did, and more about that you shall hear,” which I’m guessing was supposed to sound magical or something. As soon as I read it, I thought of Yoda. Things like this are really just matters of editing, but they bugged me enough to mention.

Complaints aside, Fairy Hunter’s Ink. is a very creative children’s book with some very good points. The interaction between Laura and Ashley and their friends is heart warming. The idea that fairies are part of every day life and you just have to look hard to find them is truly a metaphor for taking the time to enjoy life amid the chaos. If your child were particularly interested in this book, you could certainly use it to inspire your own Fairy Hunters group and have you child help you come up with your own fairies.

My favorite fairies were the Book Fairies (of course) who all wear glasses. They read so much that they forget to eat, eat meals at odd times, and are very forgetful. I can relate!