Even Fairies Need Glasses

by Sienna Williams, Natalie Smillie (Illustrator)

A magical story for little fairies everywhere!

Fairy Cassie is starting Fairy School, but her poor eyesight causes hair-raising results whenever she casts a spell! Can Cassie learn to love wearing glasses and become the best fairy in class? Find out in this magical adventure all about accepting who you really are.

Genres: Childrens

24 pages, Hardcover

Published July 7, 2016

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an utter delight, its filled with beautiful illustrations and rhyming verse.

[Bob Richmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Even Fairies Need Glasses in my ophthalmologist's waiting room while waiting for my annual checkup. The Igloo Books edition, with author's and illustrator's names not listed. I found author Sienna Williams and illustrator Natalie Smillie online. Both authors live in the UK, as do all three YouTube readers ("glosses" for glasses).

Plot summary: A fairy child starts fairy school. She doesn't want to wear glasses for fear of embarrasment and bullying. All her spells go awry. She finally gets glasses, and after that spells well.

The story is told in lively verses:

Cássie was a fáiry who was quíte misunderstóod.
The próblem was her éyesight, which wásn't very góod.
It máde her very clúmsy, and howéver hard she tríed,
the mágic spells she cást seemed to cáuse tróuble far and wíde.

Rimed dipodic tetrameter couplets, with strong medial caesura, an underappreciated very traditional English verse form going back to Beowulf.

I would have loved to read this book to my three daughters and three grandchildren, but at 85 I'll have to take the favorable reviews by three and four year old girls you've read already.

I was enthralled by the book, and also appalled. I found two similar books for girls, none for boys. ("Douglas, You Need Glasses" is about a dog.) I got my first glasses (I'm nearsighted) when I was eight years old, bullied by my father. i needed such a book then, or maybe my father did.

[Grace Heneghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose this book because I immediately loved all of the bright colors on the front page. And I also chose it because as someone who wears glasses everyday, I thought this might be a book that my younger self could have related to when I was younger. This is a book about a little fairy who needs to wear glasses, but she is afraid of the other fairies bullying her for them since they aren't "pretty". So, she starts fairy school and refuses to wear the glasses that she needs to be able to see. Her assignments and classes at school, start getting very difficult and she ends up not being able to do most of the activities she needs to. Eventually, she realizes that she is going to have to wear her glasses in order to do well in school and once she starts wearing them, she becomes the smartest fairy in school.
I chose this book for my read aloud because of the bright, happy colors and the fact that I can relate to a book like this because I also had to start wearing glasses in middle school and was embarrassed at first. Confidence is very important, especially when it comes to things that you cannot change, such as having to wear glasses and this book gives many examples as to why wearing glasses is beneficial and nothing to be embarrassed about.

[Leah G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute. As a person who wears glasses, I really appreciate this book.

[Dannie🌸 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one kinda ate like the author was rhyming and shit, I’ll give them their flowers plus it was a nice overall message for kids who need to wear glasses🤞🏾🤭