My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had originally picked this book up solely based on the cover. It was so pretty and then when I saw the elegant drawings that accompany the chapters, I had to purchase it. Beyond the exterior Fairies is a mini encyclopedia or really a fantasy guide on the history of all cultural fairy lore. The book is divided into two parts,
Part One - The Fairy Realm which discusses the personalities and characteristics of fairies
Part Two- Fairies from Around the World which takes you from Britain, to Asia, to Africa and even Australia and shares the each cultures own history of fairies.
Most of my growing up I had thought that all fairy legends came from England and the Celts, but I was very surprised to discover that fairies are completely world wide phenomenon's. From the Brothers Grimm to J.R.R Tolkien; from the Jinn in his lamp from Africa and the Middle-East to the Nagini, the snake shape shifter from India, any and all fairy and mythological creature that is in the same category are discussed. I was just amazed by the fount of information the was in this little book and how much it actually covered.
This book was wonderful! Any fantasy and/or fairy lover would enjoy reading Skye Alexander's meticulously researched study of fairyfolk. Fairies can also be useful for any up and coming fantasy writer, seeing there are fairies from other countries I had never even heard of and gives great creative material to use.
Aesthetically, the book is just visually stunning and charming. The lilac colored cover is what initially caught my eye. The pages are filled with traditional drawings taken from old books and paintings. Little bits of information are also inserted into the middle of paragraphs, that range from actual fairy sightings (supposedly) to historical facts that inspired some of the most popular fairytales.
By the way, this is not a kid's book! Sex is brought up quite a few times, so if you're wanting to share this with your little girls, read ahead first to censor some of the adult content that sporadically shows up. Either than that little warning, the book is a great, fun and informative read and really got me interested into Skye Alexander's other fantasy guides for Mermaids and Unicorns as well.
I had originally picked this book up solely based on the cover. It was so pretty and then when I saw the elegant drawings that accompany the chapters, I had to purchase it. Beyond the exterior Fairies is a mini encyclopedia or really a fantasy guide on the history of all cultural fairy lore. The book is divided into two parts,
Part One - The Fairy Realm which discusses the personalities and characteristics of fairies
Part Two- Fairies from Around the World which takes you from Britain, to Asia, to Africa and even Australia and shares the each cultures own history of fairies.
Most of my growing up I had thought that all fairy legends came from England and the Celts, but I was very surprised to discover that fairies are completely world wide phenomenon's. From the Brothers Grimm to J.R.R Tolkien; from the Jinn in his lamp from Africa and the Middle-East to the Nagini, the snake shape shifter from India, any and all fairy and mythological creature that is in the same category are discussed. I was just amazed by the fount of information the was in this little book and how much it actually covered.
This book was wonderful! Any fantasy and/or fairy lover would enjoy reading Skye Alexander's meticulously researched study of fairyfolk. Fairies can also be useful for any up and coming fantasy writer, seeing there are fairies from other countries I had never even heard of and gives great creative material to use.
Aesthetically, the book is just visually stunning and charming. The lilac colored cover is what initially caught my eye. The pages are filled with traditional drawings taken from old books and paintings. Little bits of information are also inserted into the middle of paragraphs, that range from actual fairy sightings (supposedly) to historical facts that inspired some of the most popular fairytales.
By the way, this is not a kid's book! Sex is brought up quite a few times, so if you're wanting to share this with your little girls, read ahead first to censor some of the adult content that sporadically shows up. Either than that little warning, the book is a great, fun and informative read and really got me interested into Skye Alexander's other fantasy guides for Mermaids and Unicorns as well.
I need this!
ReplyDeleteIt's a great little book! Skye Alexander also wrote books on mermaids and unicorns which are also fascinating.
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