On the inside cover there were 14 other titles featuring the chipper fairy Pearlie...How did I miss these totally?
And then I guessed. Yep, it was published ten years ago in Australia! Ahh. So I snagged a copy of the 10th anniversary edition (and first American release). Turns out Pearlie has a TV series (which has also made it to America) made by the Aussies and the Canadians (probably pretty good since it's Nelvana, they do good stuff...usually)
This first in Pearlie's series introduces her. She's a park fairy (who knew parks had fairies...other than Triangle Park -- ha ha bad Dayton joke...) She decides one day to make a list of all the things each park animal should do, so the animals won't be confused. She hangs the list on the front gate of the park and heads off to bed.
In the night two troublesome rats find the list and plan mischief.
The next day every animal is doing the wrong thing. The Mama Duck is trying to leap from tree to tree (without wings). The spiders are trying to croak on lily pads. The frogs are trying to spin webs with yarn...Pearlie investigates and finds a mixed up list...and when she discovers who made the mess, they get what's coming to them.
Cute. Not deathless literature nor hysterical comedy (which one might expect from one of the Queens of Aussie Comedy) but cute. Mike Zarb's wide-eyed illustrations are a lot of bright fun & a perfect match. Pearlie is a nice spunky female character who gets a diverse supporting cast in future volumes. Worth a try. We're getting them for our pink-and-sparkly fans. Should be great fun for the easing into chapter fans...though there are no chapters...and some of the vocabulary might be outta their reach, so it might work best as a read-together for a first time through!