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Fairy Lights: Bed Time Poems & Gallery of Fairytale Art from Yesteryear
181 pages, Hardcover
Published April 9, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 23, 2025
Book review:
Reviewed by an 11-year-old - Year 7 student in the UK:
Fairy Lights by Helen Williford-Lower
This would be a good book for teenagers/young adults because it would be easier to read and understand for them.
I like the repetition in ‘A Piece of Amber’
“The spring runs lightly under sylvan shade and more lightly still is fairy love made
So rare ‘twas such a legend was born
‘twixt the setting sun and the white moon’s horn”
The illustrations make the book come alive and are suitable for all age groups. Most words are uncomplicated, but some have the ‘æ’ making it hard to understand.
Reviewed by an 11-year-old - Year 7 student in the UK:
Fairy Lights by Helen Williford-Lower
This would be a good book for teenagers/young adults because it would be easier to read and understand for them.
I like the repetition in ‘A Piece of Amber’
“The spring runs lightly under sylvan shade and more lightly still is fairy love made
So rare ‘twas such a legend was born
‘twixt the setting sun and the white moon’s horn”
The illustrations make the book come alive and are suitable for all age groups. Most words are uncomplicated, but some have the ‘æ’ making it hard to understand.
February 9, 2026
What an enormous accomplishment for first time author Helen Williford-Lower. I do believe the author put a tremendous amount of time, energy, research, and earnest hard work into her novel. The illustrations are fantastic. Her work expands beyond bedtime poems because it would be an excellent book for college students working on their upper level degrees in Literature etc. as they would benefit from studying the original intricate poetry and it could even be expanded to a thesis. BRAVO!
September 29, 2025
Fairy Lights is a wonderful collection of bedtime poems interwoven with fairy lore, myth, and timeless art. Moving through the seasons of the year, the book gathers stories of spirits, shape-shifters, ocean dwellers, elven royalty, and everyday enchantments. It draws from Irish, Nordic, Greek, and New World traditions, blending them into verses that feel both ancient and freshly spoken. Each section carries its own mood, from the playful revels of spring to the melancholy mysteries of autumn and the haunting stillness of winter. Alongside the words, the author curates a gallery of fairytale art from past centuries, which adds a lovely echo of history to the poetry.
What struck me most was the way the poems refused to be pinned down. They could be lyrical and delicate in one breath, then strange, even eerie, in the next. A piece like A Piece of Amber felt tender and tragic, like a whispered legend by firelight, while something like The Baallad of Blaackie Coal made me grin with its folkloric humor and Scots cadence. I loved how the writing carried me away from reason into a place where fairies still dance, seashells sing, and even the smallest bird is mourned with reverence. The language is musical and sometimes unpredictable. At times, I found myself rereading lines not because I needed to but because I wanted to savor the rhythm.
The author clearly delights in layering metaphor upon metaphor, which creates a rich tapestry. This very quality also gives the book its dreamlike atmosphere. It reminded me of wandering through a forest at dusk, you don’t always know what you’re seeing, but the mystery is the point. I also appreciated how personal some of the poems felt. Knowing that pieces like To Wee Russet Tuft came from real experiences gave the collection an intimacy that balanced out the more mythic material.
Fairy Lights feels like a gift for anyone who still listens for magic in the quiet hours. I would recommend it to readers who love fairytales, folklore, or poetry that doesn’t mind breaking free from neat structure. It’s especially suited for those who want to share stories aloud, whether with children at bedtime or with the inner child who still believes in hidden worlds.
What struck me most was the way the poems refused to be pinned down. They could be lyrical and delicate in one breath, then strange, even eerie, in the next. A piece like A Piece of Amber felt tender and tragic, like a whispered legend by firelight, while something like The Baallad of Blaackie Coal made me grin with its folkloric humor and Scots cadence. I loved how the writing carried me away from reason into a place where fairies still dance, seashells sing, and even the smallest bird is mourned with reverence. The language is musical and sometimes unpredictable. At times, I found myself rereading lines not because I needed to but because I wanted to savor the rhythm.
The author clearly delights in layering metaphor upon metaphor, which creates a rich tapestry. This very quality also gives the book its dreamlike atmosphere. It reminded me of wandering through a forest at dusk, you don’t always know what you’re seeing, but the mystery is the point. I also appreciated how personal some of the poems felt. Knowing that pieces like To Wee Russet Tuft came from real experiences gave the collection an intimacy that balanced out the more mythic material.
Fairy Lights feels like a gift for anyone who still listens for magic in the quiet hours. I would recommend it to readers who love fairytales, folklore, or poetry that doesn’t mind breaking free from neat structure. It’s especially suited for those who want to share stories aloud, whether with children at bedtime or with the inner child who still believes in hidden worlds.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews