"There was once a girl called Imelda and all her life she had lived next to a wood...."

Imelda is friends with the fairies, and when a goblin king kidnaps the fairy queen, Imelda helps the fairies trick the goblin into returning their queen - or else. They use the goblin's greed against him, together with their knowledge of the forest's plants ("Blue berries will make your hair change colour, but be careful these red ones will turn you into a worm!"), to vanquish the goblin and free their queen.

See also: Bo the Brave by Bethan Wollvin, Little Witch Hazel by Phoebe Wahl ( )

Imelda lived next to a fairy forest, and spent many happy days playing with the woodland fairy folk and their queen. Then one day a terrible Goblin King arrived, and things began to change. The interloper's followers began to chase the fairies off, and the Goblin King imprisoned the Queen of the Fairies in a little cage. It fell to human Imelda to come up with a plan to rout this enemy, using some magical berries to do it...

After reading and absolutely loving British picture-book author and artist Briony May Smith's Margaret's Unicorn recently, I went in search of more of her work, discovering Imelda & the Goblin King in the process. Although she has illustrated other books, these appear to be the only two (as yet) that she has both written and illustrated. I had high hopes for it, given the fact that I enjoyed the other book, and that it is published by the London-based Flying Eye Books, whose catalog is very strong on beautiful artwork. Unfortunately, I didn't think this was quite the equal of Smith's subsequent unicorn story. Despite the magical setting and premise, I simply didn't feel a sense of enchantment, and I simply couldn't work up much interest in the characters or their plight. The artwork was cute enough, but didn't have that special something that made Margaret's Unicorn stand out. It may be that I am judging this one too harshly, as I can't help comparing it to Smith's other book, but in the end this was just a moderately enjoyable but ultimately forgettable original fairy-tale, one of hundreds that I have read. Tastes vary of course, so I would still recommend this one to young fairy-tales lovers, looking for stories of adventure. ( )

Classic good versus evil. The artwork is fun and busy; which is very fitting for the story. It was lots of fun to read and great for young readers to take on independently. I will definitely use it in my classroom! ( )

Just so you know, I am in love with this book. I had to buy another copy for the library because I refused to give up my review copy. Hopefully I will not be turned into a worm for my greediness.

Also, this is not the best cover picture, it's just what I could find. There's actually a cool binding of gold leaves on the edge and the art is much more brilliant.

Imelda lives next to an enchanted wood and happily plays with the fairy folk there. Until one day, a mean bullying goblin arrives. The fairy queen tries inviting him to a wonderful feast; maybe he won't be so scary if someone is kind to him? Nope, still nasty. In fact, he's not just nasty but greedy and selfish as well! When the fairy queen remonstrates, he steals her so he won't have to share anything - not the feast, not the woods, and certainly not the throne. But Imelda has a plan...and lots of special berries...and the goblin king gets his comeuppance, once and for all.

Innumerable little creatures cavort across the pages in bright colors and silly attitudes. Anyone who enjoys poring over small details will love finding all the different fairies and fantastical creatures that fill the pages in hues from brown and red to green and yellow. Imelda is a perfect heroine, ordinary in her plain brown hair and dress, but determined and resourceful. I absolutely loved the ending - some characters just are mean and being nice to them doesn't help! Kids know this and will delight in the brisk justice of the conclusion.

Verdict: A fairy tale in the best sense of the word with villains and heroines, magic and fairies, and a satisfying ending. This will not only be a fun story for a magic storytime, but will definitely be a favorite for kids for years to come. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9781909263659; Published October 20 by Flying Eye; Review copy provided by publisher; Purchased for the library