Daisy Meadows is the pseudonym used for the four writers of the Rainbow Magic children's series: Narinder Dhami, Sue Bentley, Linda Chapman, and Sue Mongredien. Rainbow Magic features differing groups of fairies as main characters, including the Jewel fairies, Weather fairies, Pet fairies, Petal fairies, and Sporty fairies.
Narinder Dhami was born in Wolverhampton, England on November 15, 1958. She received a degree in English from Birmingham University in 1980. After having taught in primary and secondary schools for several years she began to write full-time. Dhami has published many retellings of popular Disney stories and wrote the Animal Stars and Babes series, the latter about young British girls of Asian origin. She lives in Cambridge, England with her husband and cats.
Sue Bentley was born in Northampton, England. She worked in a library after completing her education and began writing for children once her own began school. Bentley is the author of the Magic Kitten, Magic Puppy, and S Club series and lives in Northamptonshire.
Linda Chapman has written over 50 children's fiction books, including the following series: My Secret Unicorn, Stardust, Not Quite a Mermaid, and Unicorn School. She lives in Leicestershire with her husband and daughters.
Sue Mongredien was born in 1970 and grew up in Nottingham, England. She has published over 100 children's books, including the following series: The Adventures of Captain Pugwash, The Magic Key, Frightful Families, and Oliver Moon. She has also contributed many titles to the Sleepover Club series and written picture books. Mongredien created the Royal Ballet School Diaries under the pen name Alexandra Moss. She lives with her family in Bath, England.
The Night Fairies' magic is missing --- and now Fairyland is in the dark
Rachel and Kirsty can't wait for their week at Camp Stargaze They'll get to roast marshmallows, tell spooky stories, and sleep in cool cabins. But when the Night Fairies' magic goes missing, Rachel and Kirsty have another activity to add to their list --- helping their fairy friends
The Rainbow Magic series came up multiple times while I searched for worthy fantasy books for young readers, appearing in a post titled “The 60 Best Fantasy Books for Kids” on Reedsy Discovery blog and a similar post titled “Best Fantasy Chapter Books For Kids” on the children’s literature blog Imagination Soup. I was somewhat familiar with this very popular series, as my daughter had owned some of the books when she was younger. I chose this title because the cover featured a multicultural character, though her race and ethnicity are never clearly defined in the story, leading to a generic portrayal.
The story is a simple one and likely familiar to anyone who has read a book in the Twilight Fairies subseries: nightmares have invaded Camp Stargaze after the mischievous Jack Frost and his goblins have stolen Sabrina’s dream dust, leaving protagonists Kirsty and Rachel to save the day. Though Kirsty and Rachel spend much of their time in an ordinary world, I would consider this an example of a high fantasy story because Camp Stargaze is surrounded by the Fairyland Palace and Jack Frost’s Ice Castle, and fairies, goblins, and other magical elements abound.
This book would certainly appeal to young readers, as the story is clear and concise. There are also some black-and-white illustrations inside, drawn in a cartoon style with simple lines, to help beginning readers along. The colorful cover design of this book and others in the series might inspire them to start a collection and inspire a love of reading. Aside from that, however, there’s not much substance here. Therefore, I would suggest including the seven-book Twilight Fairies subseries in K-2 classroom libraries as an eye-catching entry into series books and fantasy fiction.
Daisy Meadows and her fairies are my childhood. I collected so many in my youth, knowing all the fairies and their importance, and sticking with the two special girls who go to be a part of the magic. Years ago I had to give my beautiful collection away, now still part of my childhood school where little girls are picking their favourite fairies and playing pretend. It's fun to hear stories from my old teachers telling me how over the years so many students have grabbed these books and fallen in love with the tales of two girls, Jack Frost and the fabulous glittering magic that is the fairies. On Christmas last year, my sister surprised me with a boxset of these books, but cause you cannot collect these darlings as easily anymore. I was over the moon! If anyone has a little one who needs a little magic in their life, wants to read and needs a big creation to be hooked on...it is Daisy Meadows!
Yes, I still have to read Book #5, but I’m not holding out hope for me ever reading a Rainbow Magic series in order.
Much like her fellow Night Fairies (not Anna, her outfit was atrocious), Sabrina looks like she stepped out of my middle school self’s dream closet. I absolutely owned a ruffled skirt like hers and wore it with brightly coloured leggings. Personality-wise, she was okay. Nothing about her ticked me off, but I wish we got a little more from her. (Love that they had her sing a lullaby! I think I actually would’ve been disappointed if Sabrina hadn’t sung a lullaby.)
I’m also really happy with how they decided to connect Sabrina’s powers back to India the Moonstone Fairy since her powers are also all about dream magic. I really appreciated that choice to state that Sabrina learned how to use her magic from India because it’s so cool to see previous storylines get carried over into the newer books.
Scenes that I thought were funny: -Sabrina’s entrance being of her sleep-flying. -“I had a horrible dream that Jack Frost became king of Fairyland, and the goblins were running around the palace gardens pulling the heads off the roses and paddling in the Seeing Pool.” - This is even funnier because King Oberon’s nightmare was just Jack Frost stealing his crown, but Queen Titania was going through it. Her seeing Jack Frost becoming the new ruler as being just as bad as his goblins simply making a mess is objectively hilarious. -That one goblin getting whacked because he was about to reveal Jack Frost’s biggest fear.
Random Thoughts I Had -An outdoor sleepover sounds like my personal nightmare. -I loved that little scene of the girls’ new friend Matt saying that he’s excited to go home and continue learning about what Professor Hetty taught them because that’s exactly what I love about camps like this; helping kids discover skills and interests they could’ve never imagined for themselves. -I’m sorry, but Jack Frost in his PJs with his blue teddy bear clutched to his chest was absolutely precious! -Anna ruining the vibes by being the first one to fall asleep at the party. (party pooper) Amy the Amethyst Fairy tucking her in was really cute though!
Fairy Mentions: -Obviously India & Amy! -Alice the Tennis Fairy (who was sitting with India!) -Carrie the Snow Cap Fairy & Coral the Reef Fairy -Isabella the Air Fairy, my beloved (who is that with her though??)
This is the last of seven books in the Rainbow Magic Night Fairies series by the group of authors who go by the pseudonym Daisy Meadows. While the stories are basically the same and follow a simple formula, they are entertaining for young girls who are starting to read chapter books and I love that our oldest is just ripping through them. We both read the books separately and talk about what happens. I'm not a huge fan of them, but each story only takes about 5-10 minutes to read. And these stories center around the nighttime and a summer trip to camp, so it's perfect for summer reading. Our oldest is starting to read them very quickly, too, and she can read several of these stories in one day.