Tiny Jenny: Little Fairy, Big Trouble

by Briony May Smith

Overview

Join Tiny Jenny, a mischievous fairy born to a family of wrens, as she sets out to find her "real" family.

Mr. and Mrs. Wren are surprised when a tiny, wingless fairy hatches from one of their eggs...but they lovingly name her Tiny Jenny and raise her as their own. 

Tiny Jenny--like all fairies--grows to be a menace in the woods. She digs up squirrel nuts and blocks mole hills. The other forest creatures are not happy. So Tiny Jenny decides it is time to leave her home and seek out her real fairy family. 

But it turns out the fairies are anything but welcoming!

Oh, where does Tiny Jenny truly belong?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593650493
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	08/06/2024
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	48
File size:	23 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Briony May Smith is the creator of Margaret's Unicorn, which was an Indie bestseller and has been licensed in twelve countries. Her second picture book, The Mermaid Moon, was licensed in seven countries. Briony's other books published in the US include Imelda and the Goblin King, which the Wall Street Journal called "enchantingly illustrated." She lives in the UK.

Editorial Reviews

04/29/2024

One of the hatching eggs in Mr. and Mrs. Wren’s cozy nest is incongruously bright pink, and a small, human-like hand protrudes from it. “Oh dear!” says Blackbird, “Does this mean the fairies are coming back?” But the wingless creature that hatches out isn’t a full fairy, and the kindly Wrens and their feathered offspring embrace her as one of their own, naming her Tiny Jenny. But her innate exuberance—“Well done, me!” she declares when she crashes to the ground after an unsuccessful attempt at flight—alarms the Wrens’ animal neighbors. Upon Owl’s suggestion that she look into her possible fairy background, Tiny Jenny runs away to join the gossamer forest beings, only to discover that they’re actually insouciant bullies (“They didn’t forage for food or gather twigs or sing songs. They just... smashed and stole stuff”). Tiny Jenny is indignant but also torn—does she belong anywhere? Smith (The Mermaid Moon) combines elegantly rendered mixed-media images with whip-smart humor and an irrepressible protagonist—the result is a fractured fairy story with a distinctly contemporary sensibility. Tiny Jenny is rendered with pale skin; the fairies are shown with a range of skin tones. Ages 4–8. Agent: Charlie Bowden, Pickled Ink. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"Smith combines elegantly rendered mixed-media images with whip-smart humor and an irrepressible protagonist—the result is a fractured fairy story with a distinctly contemporary sensibility." —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2024-05-17
Jenny isn’t your typical fairy.

Born to a wren family who lovingly names her Tiny Jenny, the young fairy resembles a pointy-eared little human child. Tiny Jenny has no wings, but she gets up to plenty of mischief without them, prompting an owl to advise her to seek out her kin. The fairy queen offers Jenny the opportunity to earn a pair of wings. But to her dismay, the fairies turn out to be cruel—they “smashed and stole stuff” and almost attacked her wren family before she stopped them. In the end, she eats all the mushrooms in their fairy ring to force them to leave. Safely back in the nest, Jenny’s pleased to be home and opts to stop making mischief…for the most part. Smith depicts lush, textured forest scenes, dappled with warm, Thomas Kinkade–esque glows and moody shadows. The romantic art style and language (the fairies “wended their way through the forest” in search of “plunder”) evoke an older sensibility. While the illustrations are arresting and the innocent cheek is somewhat charming, the story contains a bit too much text to captivate the younger readers who would otherwise appreciate the simple tone. Jenny and the fairy queen are tan-skinned; the other fairies are diverse.

Vivid illustrations will hold readers’ attention, though the text may leave them cold. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews