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    The Children's Book Review

    The Fairy Ring, Or Elsie and Frances Fool the World by Mary Losure

    TCBR ContributorBy TCBR Contributor2 Mins Read Ages 9-12 Author Showcase Books with Girl Characters Chapter Books
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    Author Showcase

    The Children’s Book Review
    Published: March 27, 2012

    The Fairy Ring Book

    The Fairy Ring, Or Elsie and Frances Fool the World

    By Mary Losure

    Candlewick Press, March 27, 2012

    Elsie is a terrible speller and hates school. The only thing she’s ever been good at is art. Then one day, she gets a letter. It’s from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes stories.

    “I have seen the wonderful pictures of fairies which you and your cousin Frances have taken, and I have not been so interested for a long time,” the great man writes.

    How can she tell the creator of the world’s most famous detective that the fairies in the photographs are cardboard cutouts?

    She never meant to bamboozle him! She and her cousin Frances only took the photos so their parents would stop teasing! It began after Frances told the grownups about the fairies, real fairies, she’d seen
    by the waterfall behind their house….

    Kirkus Reviews
    “The remarkable, true story of a fairy hoax successfully perpetrated by two young girls in the early 1900s offers a fascinating examination of human nature.”

    Booklist—Starred review
    “Losure’s elegant and charmingly formal prose makes palpable the girls’ loss of control as their fame spirals ever wider… The photos themselves are included and, like the astonishing true story, they are simultaneously silly and haunting.”

    Publishers Weekly
    “Accompanied by the famous photos, the story is written in an accessible narrative style that includes the attitudes of the time and explains historical items like the use of hatpins and how cameras of the period worked. An intriguing glimpse into a photo-doctoring scandal well before the advent of Photoshop.”

    The Horn Book—Starred review
    “The yearning for the supernatural and the magical to be real seems timeless…. Losure has written an engaging account of the affair, focusing sympathetically on the two young photographers….”

    A Junior Library Guild Selection

    For more information, visit: http://www.marylosure.com

    The Author Showcase is a place for authors and illustrators to gain visibility for their works. This article was provided by the author. Learn more …

    What to Read Next:

    1. The Stone Lions by Gwen Dandridge | Dedicated Review
    2. Hattie Ever After by Kirby Larson | Review
    3. A Thunderous Whisper by Christina Diaz Gonzalez | Review
    4. Beholding Bee by Kimberly Newton Fusco | Review

    *Disclosure: Please note that this post may contain affiliate links that share some commission. Rest assured that these will not affect the cost of any products and services promoted here. Our team always provides their authentic opinion in all content published on this site.

    Historical Fiction Mary Losure
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    The Children’s Book Review, named one of the ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) Great Web Sites for Kids, is a resource devoted to children’s literacy. We publish reviews and book lists of the best books for kids of all ages. We also produce author and illustrator interviews and share literacy based articles that help parents, grandparents, teachers and librarians to grow readers. This article was written and provided by one of TCBR's regular contributors.

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