Saffron the Yellow Fairy

Daisy Meadows' Saffron the Yellow Fairy is a honey-sweet fairy hunt for 5 year olds, with a lost fairy hiding in a beehive.

What happens

One thing first. This is the American edition, so inside the book she's Sunny the Yellow Fairy. The UK books call her Saffron (the name on this page). It's handy to know before your reader asks why the names don't match!

Rachel and Kirsty are on holiday on Rainspell Island, and they've made the King and Queen of Fairyland a promise. Jack Frost's spell has scattered the seven Rainbow Fairies, and Fairyland will stay cold and grey until every one of them is found. Two are already safe. Five to go.

This time a babbling stream whispers "follow me". Then a ginormous bee chases everyone across a field and into a stranger's garden. Who's waiting there? Something that looks like an alien from outer space (it's actually Mrs Merry in her beekeeper's suit).

Her honey is fizzy, and it twinkles with tiny gold sparkles. The girls know exactly what that means!

The fairy is sitting inside one of the hives, combing a bee's hair. There's a queue of bees waiting for their turn. Who wouldn't want to see that?

There are lots of lovely silly moments for little ones too. Rachel has to hide the fairy in her shorts pocket in a hurry. She comes out sticky with honey and covered in grey fluff, sneezing and wailing that she can't fly. A splash in the birdbath turns the water bright yellow and lemony.

Then Jack Frost's goblins turn up. They bring frost and icicles to the summer garden and snatch the fairy's wand. Queenie the bee leads a whole swarm after them, and the goblins end up squabbling in a heap. They're rude and grumpy, but much more daft than frightening.

Queenie does hurt her wing in the chase, so a very tender-hearted child might need a moment there. Some gentle fairy first aid follows.

Saffron is book three in a set of seven, and the girls have already met two of the sisters by the first page. Everything's explained as you go, but Ruby the Red Fairy is the place to begin if you'd rather start at the start.

What to read next

If your reader falls for Queenie, Caitlin the Ice Bear Fairy is another Rachel and Kirsty adventure with a little animal at its heart. It's from much further on in the series, and this time Jack Frost has a bear cub on an icy leash.