Polly the Party Fun Fairy

Daisy Meadows' Polly the Party Fun Fairy is an outdoorsy Rainbow Magic adventure for 5 year olds, set at a big get-together in the woods where every game goes wrong.

What happens

Kirsty's Explorers troop is off to a mini-jamboree, and Rachel's allowed to come too. Last year there were races, prizes and marshmallows round the campfire. So it's basically a party in the woods!

And a party means trouble. Jack Frost is after the Party Fairies' magic bags so he can throw a party of his own, and his goblins have been spoiling human parties all week. This is book 19 in Rainbow Magic and the fifth Party Fairies story, but the opening catches everyone up.

Kirsty and Rachel volunteer for the obstacle course. Their team is just ahead when their rubber boat springs a leak in the middle of the stream. (So does the other team's!)

Then comes the egg and spoon race. Emily's egg is rotten. Kirsty's hatches into a fluffy yellow chick, right there on her spoon!

Following her chick into the trees, Kirsty spots a shimmering blue light. It's Polly. She's lost her party bag, and she's surprisingly cheerful about it (the other fairies say she's always losing things).

Polly is lovely company. She's giggly and a bit scatty, and she's sure there isn't a goblin for miles. Your reader will know better!

The chase is the fun part. The goblin escapes across the stream on an upside-down Frisbee, rowing with an egg spoon. So Polly turns the girls into fairies, and Rachel has a very clever idea involving one of the buckets from the obstacle course.

Polly's got a secret up her sleeve before she flies home, too. You'll find out what it is when the troop plays pass the parcel.

It's gentle all the way through. The goblin takes a swipe at Polly with his spoon and only just misses her wing, and that's about as tense as it gets.

It's an American edition, so the girls wear sneakers and pants and snack on cookies. Easy to read straight past.

For a child who'd happily spend all day outside running races and getting muddy, this will feel very familiar. Who hasn't been on a sports day where nothing quite goes to plan?

What to read next

If camping is their thing, try Morgan the Midnight Fairy next. Kirsty and Rachel are at Camp Stargaze for a midnight feast, and the campfire just won't get hot. Even the marshmallows come out cold.