Créele a tus ojos

Cici: a Fairy's Tale / Cici: Un Cuento de Hada #1

by Cori Doerrfeld, Tyler Page (Illustrator)

A lot is changing for Cici. Her parents are separating, her wacky abuela is moving in, and on her tenth birthday, she wakes up with fairy wings! Cici's new magical powers let her see people as they truly are. But what she learns about her friends and family isn't always easy to accept. In this graphic novel—now available in Spanish—she has only one day to decide to keep her wings and all that comes with them. What will Cici choose?

Mucho está cambiando para Cici. Sus padres se están separando, su abuela se mudó con ellos, y en su décimo cumpleaños, ¡se despierta con alas de hada! Los nuevos poderes mágicos de Cici le permiten ver a las personas como realmente son. Pero lo que descubre acerca de sus amigos y su familia no es fácil de aceptar. Tiene solo un día para decidir si se queda con sus alas. Cuando Cici solo desea que la vida sea normal de nuevo, ¿elegirá creer en el poder de las hadas?

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Childrens, Fairies, Friendship, Family, Middle Grade

48 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Cori Doerrfeld lives in Minneapolis, MN with her husband and two children. She received her undergrad degree in Studio Art from St. Olaf College and her Post Baccalaureate from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She has several published titles including many self authored/self illustrated books.

Reviews

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Upset at her parents' divorce and sad to see her dad leave the house, ten-year-old Cici discovers she has wings and probably magical powers will soon come, too. Suddenly, she can see other people's true characters (if I understood correctly) as they sprout animal parts (mom has octopus arms, as she juggles her tasks, for example), and luckily, Cici's Abuela moves in to her home just in time to explain what is going on.

Although her Abuela, her mom, and even her departing dad offer plenty of support, Doerrfeld manages to keep Cici in charge of her own life. The illustrations are dynamic, sweet, full of motion & bright colors. I think this will be interesting & pleasing to a wide age-range; 6- to 11-year-olds.

I can't wait for the rest of the series!

[Niki Marion · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wish this had been more compelling, but I'm here for Latina protags dealing with complex family/friend situations!

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cici is a young girl whose parents are separating and dad is saying good-bye as he moves out. Cici is devastated and does not know what to do. She is even afraid to tell her best friend. Her 10th birthday is coming up and she is afraid to invite her friend over because her dad will not be there. She finally decides to go to a party with her best friend. She is still unhappy and does not want to be there or be hanging out with those girls. When she gets home, she finds out her Abuela has come to live with them to help out. The next morning, she wakes up with fairy wings and finds out fairies run in the family. On top of everything else, she is not sure she can handle any more changes.

This is a great book for early readers (gr. 2 - 4), especially girls. I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Christiane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cici is already facing some big changes when her father moves out and her abuela moves in…then on her birthday she sprouts wings! I like that this comic has diversity in the characters (Cici and family appear to be Hispanic and there are some Spanish words in the text), and I think the story will be appealing to kids. The art though, especially the cover, make Cici look really young, even though in the text she is ten, which I’m afraid will limit the appeal. I will be showing this to my K and 1st grade classes.

[Turrean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cici looks much younger than she's supposed to be. That, and the perceived cuteness of the topic, will fail to grab some readers. Which is a pity, because there is some excellent storytelling here. I loved one really well-done scene where Cici trips and falls in front of some of her peers. Their mockery, and the less-than-perfect behavior of a friend longing to fit in with the cool kids, were very realistic.

The young heroine's ability to see beyond the mundane surface of things was a fantastic touch. (Octopus Mom!!) This looks like a solid beginning to a good series for lower elementary.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cici gets fairy sight on her tenth birthday, right in the middle of some major changes in her life. She sees things in a totally different way and her grandmother's the only one who can see it too. A great pick for the rainbow fairies crowd. Good life lessons, too, and it stops just short of feeling preachy.

[Amanda Blau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute graphic novel - Cici discovers she can see a magical world and acquires fairy wings on her tenth birthday from her Abuela. The illustrations make this one super appealing. The puppy dragon was super appealing.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

As her 10th birthday approaches, Cici sprouts pink wings and discovers that she is a fairy, a trait she shares with her abuelita. Her powers include “fairy sight”, the ability to seemingly perceive another’s thoughts. This is evidenced by her sister’s appearance as a turtle withdrawn into its shell to deal with their parents’ impending divorce. At school, classmate Hazel announces her own birthday party on the same day as CIci’s, and Cici has to make a difficult choice when she realizes Hazel’s true feelings. Divorce and peer pressure weigh heavily on Cici as she must decide within twenty-four hours whether to embrace her new powers or abandon them. This initial installment of a new graphic series (Cici: a fairy’s tale) is a promising blend of fantasy and reality. The Latina heroine is appealing and her magical abilities are just believable enough to help her make good choices in her everyday life. The bright and mostly pink graphics add humorous details. This title provides a lighthearted approach to real-life challenging experiences that many elementary readers, especially girls, face.

[Child960801 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sweet little story about a ten year old girl who is going through a lot of change. First, her parents get a divorce. Then she finds out she is a fairy. Being a fairy changes the way the people around her look, showing her more about who they are and who she thinks they are.

Both my 9 year old boy and 7 year old daughter enjoyed these books. Bright, clear illustrations, easy to follow text, engaging story.

While both parents are in the book, this is a story with a strong sub plot of divorce and trying to navigate what that means for children and their parents.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very much a kid's focused story, as a young girl deals with a number of simultaneous life changes. It's a weird dichotomy between the scale of the changes (discovering she could be a fairy) and the situations she deals with (having a bad time at a party), and the pieces don't quite mesh in this first volume. But it's cute enough, especially the artwork, which gets to have a little more fun than its setting would initially lead you to think. Appropriate for younger audiences, but there isn't a lot here for anyone older.

[Dest · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this with my daughter in Spanish (she had to translate quite a bit of it for me). She was truly freaked out by the chickens! But we had a good conversation about what the chickens symbolize (lol). I'm going to get the other books in the series for her even though she said the chickens were like a nightmare. It's hard for me to find high-low books in Spanish for her (high interest for an 8yo, with a lower reading level because her Spanish reading comprehension is more like 2nd grade).

[Beth P · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, I like the layout and that this book features a Latinx main character, however, the parents get divorced and throughout the book Cici and her sister are very upset. It isn't until the last two panels that we see any evidence that the kids may be ok. Too short of a GN for the multiple storylines presented.

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute book for younger readers, grades K-3. Cici is a little girl who discovers that she is a fairy on the morning of her 10th birthday. Short, simply stories focusing a lot on Cici's trouble with her parent's divorce.

[Anne with Violets · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea of a child discovering that she is actually a "fairy" and growing up to find the "magic" that lies within her is refreshing. I think the story would have been more interesting if Abuela's (grandma) explanations didn't interject so much into the narrative.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

graphic novel

[Stacy Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introductory graphic novel. 2nd-4th Grade.

[Sunny Kim]

I like this book. It is funny and good. I loved it

[Jolene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish this book was around when I was a kid. My childhood was similar to Cici's except for the fairies. Clever idea to make to turn sad circumstances into cheerful memories.

[Saanvi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a amazing book! I recommend it!

[Jennybeast · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations are great, but the story doesn't make much sense. I'm probably not the right audience, but there is so much what? going on that I didn't really get into it.

[Faith Tydings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh!? This was a very short story with lots of drama right out of the gate. I’d like to read a few more volumes before really deciding if I liked it or not.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was kind of short. But had a good story.

[Ashley Moser · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little girl finds out she is a fairy on her birthday. She must choose to stay a fairy or not. She chooses to be herself even at the risk of losing her friend.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young latina girl turns 10 and discovers she has fairy powers, just as her life is tanking with a father that has moved out and a best friend that isn't any more. I can see young girls enjoying this.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very interested in this graphic novel series since it features a Hispanic family but I was a little disappointed with it. The illustrations are nice but the flow of the text felt a little jilted to me. I am interested to see what my students think of this series.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cici's family is adjusting to her father moving out and her abuela moving in. At school, navigating friendships can be difficult, especially as Cici feels like she's growing apart from her best friend since kindergarten. When Cici wakes up on her 10th birthday she discovers a magical ability, but she must decide whether or not to embrace it in 24 hours and in the mean time her new-found abilities are helping her to see beyond the human realm for better and for worse.

This series is complex in the best way. Cici has realistic school problems coupled with family issues all with a dose of magic thrown in. The result is a character the reader can really care about and action that keeps the pages turning. The magical abilities work well with the artwork as Cici's extended vision helps readers to gain insight into situations and grasp the incredible gift and burden magic can be.

Recommended for grades 3-5. I can't wait for the next volume!

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art is adorable, and the story seems like it should be a winner. But for me it just fell flat. I think that may be because too many plot elements were introduced together in this short first volume in the series. The whole unveiling of Cici's fairy identity was both underwhelming and rather muddled, and it didn't feel like much thought had gone into the creation of Cici's seemingly realistic, yet fantastic, world. Again, I suspect this may be because BELIEVE YOUR EYES is such a brief introduction to the series, but I still wished for more from it.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

So good and a great way to deal with the issue of divorce. I think the story ends on a little bit of a false hope - and I really hate to be such an adult and go there, but your "belief" alone will not get your parents back together. Sometimes, things just happen. I did love how her becoming a fairy helped her see those around her for what they truly are and that her friend turned into a chicken head just like all the other nerd girls. Loved it.

[Courtney Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute graphic novel featuring a Spanish speaking protagonist who unexpectedly grows fairy wings on her birthday, a trait that runs in her family as explained by her abuela who is also a fairy! This major change coincides with her other life changes- parents getting divorced and her best friend growing apart. Illustrations remind me of Telgemeiers. It would be so much better if it was longer!

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too cutesy for my tastes but I know there will be plenty of young readers that will enjoy this book. And it was a nice message about how to deal with some difficult life issues like divorce and growing apart from childhood friends as well.