Rainbow Magic: Ruby the Red Fairy by Daisy Meadows

Rating: Not for me

Reading level: Early Elementary

This is just not my favorite among the Rainbow Magic books I’ve read, which is unfortunate because it is the first book in the series and gives the background for why Jack Frost, the mischief-maker, is upset with the fairies. 

Possible Concerns:

• Scantily dressed fairies: he illustrations that depict girls a bit too skantily. Ruby fairy’s skirt is super short, and her dress is off-the-shoulder. Several other fairies have their midriffs showing. Yep, I know I’m a square and super conservative, but I just don’t see why they couldn’t be elegantly and still modestly dressed. For this reason I really liked Rita the Frog Princess Fairy.
• Fairies, goblins, magic

I prefer my 5-year-old daughter read some of the others with more modest clothing.

Things I liked:

• The girls run to check in with their parents before exploring the beach together.
• Parents are viewed generally positively.
• Forgiveness (or lack thereof). Jack has his feeling hurt and doesn’t forgive. This is a great opportunity to talk about forgiveness.

If you’re looking for other options from the same author, I liked Rita the Frog Princess Fairy and Daisy the Duckling Fairy. (I thought Giselle the Christmas Ballet Fairy was so-so, but I didn’t like Katie the Kitten Fairy.) In general, with all of this series and its spin-offs, a good quick look at the modesty (or lack thereof) displayed in the illustrations would go a long way.