Book Review
Franklin and Luna and the Book of Fairy Tales
Written by Jen Campbell
Illustrated by Katie Harnett
Published September 17, 2019
The Premise
Franklin and Luna enter a book of fairy tales in search of the tortoise Neil.
Son's Review
(Age: 4)
On what I should write in the review:
It is good!
On the best part:
The end because they are all happy together.
On the bookshop:
I would like to go there. I would just look around. I would find books to read. I like the spiders with glasses. That one has glasses *points* and that one and that one! But that one doesn't. I wouldn't open the locked book.
On entering a fairy tale book to rescue someone:
I would go and rescue him. I wouldn't be scared.
On recognizing fairy tale characters:
I know that one, and that one, and that one, but I don't know their names. I know the three little pigs from the three little pigs book! I don't know that one [the princess and the pea]. I would let [the fairy tale characters] come home with me.
(Clearly, I need to up my fairy tale reading with this kid.)
On the series:
I like them all!
Mom's Review
I am a sucker for books that take place within other books. My favorite series is the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde, where the main character is able to dive into the Book World and meet different characters. With that in mind, you can probably appreciate how excited I was to read a children's book with T with a similar construct! T enjoyed the story and pointing out characters he knew, but I think I was more thrilled by the premise than he.
Just as we expect from the two titular bibliophiles, more book-love abounds in Franklin and Luna and the Book of Fairy Tales, as well as love for each other. You could read Book of Fairy Tales alone, but it definitely builds on the other Franklin and Luna books. This story begins with Franklin's sadness over no acknowledgment of his 606th birthday, but he lights up when Luna takes him to a bookshop. While they browse, Neil gets into trouble opening a padlocked book. And so the main plotline commences: Luna and Franklin attempt to rescue Neil from the book that literally pulled him in. Spoiler alert: They succeed.
Upon reflection, I do not think that the main plotline holds the real story. The background story is the more valuable (even if I was ecstatic about the whole entering-a-book-within-a-book thing). Luna and Franklin's love for each other, and their easy companionship, is what sticks with me after reading to T. Luna works to organize a surprise party for Franklin with the entire village and his lunar relatives. She distracts him from the party prep by taking him to his favorite type of place. Their comfort with one another is palpable on the first and final pages, and the final lines of Book of Fairy Tales sum it up perfectly:
"Is this our happily ever after?"
asks Luna, drinking tea.
"I don't know," Franklin grins.
"But we have friends and books,
and that's the best that it could be!"
Why we chose this book:
T and I are both Franklin and Luna fans (see Franklin's Flying Bookshop and Franklin and Luna go to the Moon), so we were delighted with the opportunity to review this newest installment. A review copy was provided by Thames and Hudson in exchange for an honest review.
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