Dragonfly and the Web of Dreams

The Fairy Chronicles #2

by J.H. Sweet, Tara Larsen Chang (Illustrator)

Illustrations Tara Larsen Chang

Inside you is the power to do anything

The Web of Dreams has been destroyed and every night more and more nightmares are slipping into people's dreams!

Jennifer, or Dragonfly to her fairy friends, is chosen to lead a fairy team to discover what happened to the Web and rebuild it immediately. To do so, they must make a dangerous journey, hunt down the Dream Spider and convince him to weave away the bad dreams.

But the Dream Spider is far away, and danger might be much closer than they think ...

What if you discovered you had magical fairy powers? Meet the girls of The Fairy Chronicles, otherwise normal girls like you who are blessed by Mother Nature with special gifts. Their extraordinary adventures will change the world!

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Chapter Books, Adventure, Childrens, Fairies

119 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now that I’ve finished the first 13 books of this series, I’m going to go back to rate and review each one. I’ve not read beyond the first 13, and I don’t plan to. Because I yam who I yam and because this series is beloved from my childhood, I’m probably going to be more thorough than necessary for a relatively unknown series for seven-year-olds. These reviews will contain very mild spoilers – nothing beyond what is mentioned in the blurb on the back or on goodreads – unless otherwise stated.

4.5/5 stars

The second book in The Fairy Chronicles introduces another formulaic aspect of this series: each book features a different main character. The fairy team in this one is the same as the first book, but instead of being led by Beth (aka Marigold), the team and the story itself are led by my girl, Jennifer (aka Dragonfly – her fairy spirit is that of a red dragonfly). Three fairy mentors accompany the girls: Madam Mum (Dragonfly/Jennifer’s grandmother and mentor), Madam Monarch (Marigold/Beth’s mentor, Aunt Evelyn), and Madam Robin (Thistle/Grace’s mentor, she’s an enchanted robin). The mentors are barely relevant in this one. Of all the main characters in this series, Jennifer is absolutely my favorite. She cares so much about the environment, sustainability, and recycling, and does not care at all if her passion for these things annoys other people. She’s passionate and brash, and I think that’s fun. She has one of the strongest and most notable personalities in the series, along with Dewberry.

This book and Periwinkle and the Cave of Courage are the two I remember most distinctly from my childhood. In this one, The Web of Dreams, which helps combat nightmares and perpetuates good dreams, has been destroyed. Unfortunately, The Dream Spider is currently on vacation, and the fairies need to find him and get him to fix the Web. The Dream Spider was great. I really loved that a spider was shown to be clearly bringing good to the world, even if he was depicted as a bit scary. As a child who had nightmares, this book genuinely brought me comfort when I was young.

This book does a better job of using character flaws and fears to contribute to the story and plot than the first one, which we love to see. I didn’t love the compulsory heterosexuality when the fairies tease one of their friends for talking to a boy, but it’s not inaccurate for that age group. Also, the first book said that brownies are never allowed at Fairy Circle, but that seems to no longer apply in this book or subsequent books.

Tara Larsen Chang’s art is stunning. I love the illustrations of The Dream Spider. I don’t know if the publishers just had a better scanner for this book than they did for the first one or if the artist improved her craft, but the illustrations have more clarity in this one than the first. She does impressive work with watercolors.

Various minor spoilery things that I liked in this book include:
- Jennifer has been forbidden to interact with one of her adult neighbors because she wouldn’t stop pestering and lecturing him about how bad plastic is for the environment. What a queen
- Beth/Marigold’s intense fear of failing when her friends need her most, and her fairy gift of repelling bugs being much stronger than she anticipated
- The first introduction to trolls, as well as fairies from another region
- The description of the Web of Dreams
- Jennifer’s chronic insomnia – I can very much relate. If only it could end up working in my favor too, like it does for her

Overall, a comforting book for a child with nightmares and features a main character with enjoyable character flaws. Definitely one of my favorites in the series.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was about a fairy who had to get the Dream Spider to fix the web of dreams. I liked it.

[Orinthia Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

#92 - 2024

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review: https://hiplibrariansbookblog.com/200...

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Fairy Chronicles series, although they are meant to be read as stand-alone books. This story involves a mission to convince the Dream Spider to reweave the Web of Dreams.

We discovered this series of books because our oldest is in the middle of a fairy craze right now. She has finished numerous series in the Rainbow Magic collection and she just loves them all. But these books are a bit longer, and more complicated in their plot lines and I think better overall. The characters are richer and the story is more sophisticated. So where our library has holes in the series, I expect that I will likely purchase the books and then we'll donate them when we are done.

[Just_me · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit repetitive of the first one but my little girl 6 loved this book. I read it to her in two sittings, as soon as she can (books are ages at about reading age 8-9) I know she will re-read these books like I used to do with my old Enid blyton books.

[Amelia Mapstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well put-together, and exciting chapters! It gives a couple lessons in each book of the series, as I've noticed.

[Chloe Q · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned that biggest isn't always the best.

[bluish silverish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love fairy stories!I don't care if they're childish! Awesome story and graphics!

[Zoey Hemmeter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked how the spider fixed the dream web and all the fairies helped.

[Terry]

You can read our review of this fantasy adventure series at the Reading Tub.