What Do We Know About Fairies?

by Ben Hubbard, Laurie A. Conley (Illustrator)

The What Do We Know About? series explores the mysterious, the unknown, and the unexplained. Are fairies supernatural helpers or mischievous tricksters? Find out everything we know about the history of these magical and mythical creatures.

For centuries, the presence of fairies has been both debated and celebrated. To many cultures, their existence is as true as the sky is blue! In British and Spanish folklore, fairies sometimes live in barns and houses, helping with household chores for free, while in Celtic culture, fairies are frightening spirits who put curses on people. Some fairies are shy, hiding from humans in the forests, while others help hikers lost in nature. 

Fairies have been depicted in fairy tales such as Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, and other classic literature. In modern stories, fairies are often beautiful, magical winged creatures with a variety of powers and capabilities. Whether we call them fae folk, fair folk, or fairies, the question Are fairies real, and, if so, where can we spot them?

112 pages, Paperback

Published August 4, 2026

About the author

Ben Hubbard is an accomplished non-fiction author of books for children and adults. He has more than 160 titles to his name and has written on everything from Space, the Samurai and Sharks, to Poison, Pets and the Plantagenets. His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages and can be found in bookshops, libraries and schools around the world.

Reviews

[Clive Dodge]

Penguin's WhoHQ imprint is a wonderful series of non-fiction books for young adults, distributed through mass market vendors like Amazon and Books-A-Million, as well as through school book fairs. Each book is dedicated to an important figure, historical event, or pop culture phenomenon, treating the subject with objective reporting and using text features to enhance the reading experience for young people. This entry in the series was no exception.