Sadie the saxophone fairy (by Daisy Meadows)

(Amazon UK link)

I had read ‘Poppy the Piano Fairy’ to my grandchildren. That was the first ‘Music Fairy’ book in the very lengthy ‘Rainbow Fairy’ series by Daisy Meadows, which they borrowed from the library. Since the library also had the last of the ‘Music Fairy’ books (‘Sadie the saxophone fairy) I agreed to read that too. 

It was fairly obvious to me that seven instruments, stolen by the goblins in the first book, would be rescued one at a time (over the course of seven books). But I was mildly curious to find out how it would all end.

The first book mentioned a music competition, in which the goblins hoped to participate. The last book, as I had expected, features the day of the competition. The goblins are forming a band and playing the last un-recovered instrument (a saxophone). The fairy who usually plays it is called Sadie, and the two girls who like to help the fairies are Rachel and Kirsty.

Recovering the saxophone proves to be harder than expected. In the first round of the competition, the goblin band does very well. If they win, then the secret of fairyland will be exposed, so it’s important to Sadie and the girls that they don’t. They also want to help Kirsty’s friend Courtney who is playing in another band. But her saxophone has been sounding very off-key recently (due to the Fairyland saxophone being stolen).

It’s quite an exciting story, in a low-key way. Or it would have been if I didn’t know it was a children’s story and that everything would - of course - be resolved satisfactorily in the end. In 75 pages there’s a surprisingly complex plot and the writing is fast-paced. I read the book in one sitting. While I had no wish to seek out the five intermediate books that recount the recovery of five other instruments, I was pleased to read this one to see how the author resolves the situation.

As with the 'piano fairy' book I read the previous day, it did somewhat concern me that Fairyland was seen as a big secret. Moreover, it's supposed to be kept that way, without parents knowing. I was also concerned also that all the ‘good’ folk in the books are female, the ‘bad’ ones male. But this may just be my adult perspective. Just as I was never aware of racist or other controversial undertones apparent in books in the 1960s and 1970s, so today’s children probably take stories like this at face value, and enjoy the adventure.

I don’t know that I would recommend this. But it’s another book that will encourage young fans to read more themselves, after their parents have become fed up with the similarity of the stories. Enid Blyton did that for me as a child, and it appears that Daisy Meadows (a pseudonym for four different writers) is doing that for some of today’s early readers.

Review copyright 2022 Sue's Book Reviews