3.75 Stars!
I didn’t even know that this was the third Rainbow Magic series because, for some reason, I was under the impression that the Jewel Fairies was the third series… the point is, this is the one OG series that I’m reading for the first time! (Which is why I wish that I’d read this series in order.)
I think conceptually this is such a solid series! The Party Fairies are in charge of such different things that having their magical items be party bags containing most of their magic is such a great way to show them as more of a cohesive unit. I also like that rather than stealing their party bags, Jack Frost had this whole elaborate plan of luring the fairies by getting his goblins to cause a bunch of chaos in the human world, which would force them to show up to help save the parties and then the goblins can steal their party bags. The girls always have a missing item to find, so for this series to have them protect the fairies and their objects when they inevitably show up was so cool and I don’t think it’s something they’ve attempted to replicate since.
I also think that the goblin character in this book is pretty fucking iconic. This goblin truly had sharp claws and a dream. At first I was like, oh maybe he got his hands on some scissors, but then you see him tear his way out of that tablecloth and you realize he was just causing all this chaos with his bare hands. I think he was able to do significant damage, which is rare for current goblins and they usually come in packs. Him undoing all of Rachel and Kirsty’s hard work and them getting so sick and tired of nonsense was actually very funny.
This book had a lot of funny moments in general.
-“Isn’t it just like Jack Frost to want to ruin everyone’s fun?” // “If he wasn’t always so mean, he could have come to the surprise party for the fairy king and queen’s 1000th anniversary.” - Kirsty and Rachel complaining about how annoying Jack Frost is and Rachel dropping facts as always.
-“Garbage?” Grace said, poking her head out of Kirsty’s pocket. She looked a little flustered and her hair was all messy. “Thanks a lot!” - I adore Grace! She was so sassy and honestly, maybe as big of a nuisance as the goblin was. I love it when the fairies are absolute disasters, so Grace is easily a top 15 fairy for me. (Also, I just wanted to point out that Grace was actually drawn with messy hair in this scene and I really appreciated that little detail.)
-Kirsty shoving Grace into her pocket is so funny because remember when Rachel did the same thing to Saffron the Yellow Fairy? A rare occurrence of them sharing a brain cell. (I mean, every time Grace had to hide was just the funniest thing ever!)
-Horrendous timing by Jaime’s mom that made for great comedy.
-Them tying up the goblin like a mummy was absolutely hilarious to me.
A few other random thoughts I had that aren’t important to anyone but me, therefore they must be included:
-Grace’s design is pretty basic to me, although I do think her wings having sharper edges to mimic her symbol was a nice touch.
-I think it’s so funny that there’s a Jaime and a Charlotte in Wetherbury Village because those are the names of the two most famous charges for the Baby-Sitters Club.
-Now why did I think the King and Queen have been ruling for more than 1,000 years??
-I thought replacing the usual poem at the beginning with an invitation to the anniversary party was a super unique idea. I wish that they’d use this concept more often (when it’s relevant, of course) just to refresh the series every now and then.
-Have Pearl and Buttons ever met?
-I know that the girls suggesting they help out with Jaime’s birthday party might come off as them only doing it to help their fairy friends, which is already a pretty noble reason, but I would argue based on reading Bella the Bunny Fairy last year, that they would’ve helped even if there weren’t any fairies involved.
-Kirsty’s always been so resourceful, I think she’s such a good problem-solver with how quick she was to run home and grab some colourful tape and reassure Jaime that the torn-up streamers were a blessing in disguise because now he can add another colour to his decorations.
-Ah, I forgot that there was this whole explanation in the earlier Rainbow Magic books of how Jack Frost would use his magic to make his goblins look bigger when they’re in the human world. I don’t know why they stopped mentioning it, first of all. And second of all, if that’s the case, then why do they look human-sized whenever the girls visit the Ice Castle?