Polly the Party Fun Fairy ¦ Honey the Sweet Fairy

In an era of branded children's literature, the Rainbow Magic Party Fairies series keeps on expanding, with a formula that clearly attracts girls in this age range. For formulaic writing it is. A party is to be held to celebrate the Fairy King and Queen's 1000 jubilee, and the Party Fairies are preparing. Wicked Jack Frost and his goblins are out to spoil the celebrations. And that's where best-friends Kirsty Tate and Rachel Walker enter upon the scene to outwit the goblins. In Honey the Sweet Fairy the girls visit Fairyland to help Mrs Twist the sweetshop owner. In Polly the Party Fun Fairy, they turn into fairies to thwart a goblin in a more earthy adventure, the Brownie mini-jamboree. The character-isation and storylines are as substantial as sherbet lemons, the dialogue, scene-setting and illustrations every bit as saccharine. Wendy and the Lost Boys would have something sharp to say.