Book review: Helen the Sailing Fairy

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A review of the children's book 'Rainbow Magic: Helen the Sailing Fairy' by Daisy Meadows.

Review by Sarah Moriarty, volunteer book reviewer.

Aimed at young readers (5-11 years), this charming book combines adventure, friendship and inclusivity. It follows three friends — Kirsty, Khadijah and Gracie — on an exciting school trip that turns into a magical rescue mission.

During their first sailing lesson, the girls discover an icy bottle with a frozen fairy inside. The sailing fairy introduces herself as Helen and immediately explains that she has a stammer.

This presents the perfect opportunity for Helen to explain what a stammer is, which is done so in a straightforward and thoughtful manner. I particularly liked that Helen's stammer is presented as just how she speaks rather than being exaggerated or a central part of the storyline. In this way, the book promotes acceptance and an understanding of different ways of speaking, which is so important for children with a range of speech and language needs to see represented.

As the adventure unfolds, the girls and Helen embark on a quest to rescue the other water sports fairies, who each possess a magical object crucial for their roles. The fairies' magical objects were hidden by Jack Frost and his goblins, who turns the fairies' water sports festival into an ice festival. He then uses a spell to hide the magical objects — including Helen's magical lifejacket, before trapping the fairies in icy bottles and hiding them in the human world. Luckily, Helen is found by the girls on their school trip.

...the book promotes acceptance and an understanding of different ways of speaking.

The girls decide to rescue all of the fairies, find their magical objects, and return them all to fairyland. Whilst working well as a stand-alone book, it is also part of a wider collection of 'Rainbow magic: The Water Sports Fairies' books that builds a whole world for young readers to enjoy.

Throughout the six chapters (80 pages), the illustrations by Georgie Ripper help young readers visualise the magical world of Rainbow Lake National Park. They are also thoughtfully placed, breaking up passages of text to support reading comprehension for younger readers.

Overall, 'Helen the Sailing Fairy' is an enjoyable adventure book that promotes friendship and inclusion.

'Rainbow Magic: Helen the Sailing Fairy' by Daisy Meadows is published by Orchard Books and is available to buy in paperback and Kindle versions.

Thank you to Sarah Moriarty for reviewing this book. Sarah is the founder of SLCN Stories, a website sharing inclusive stories aimed at raising awareness and supporting children with speech, language and communication needs.

See our For Parents section to see the range of support for children who stammer.