Too Many Fairies: A Celtic Tale

by Margaret Read MacDonald, Susan Mitchell (Illustrator)

An old woman is at her wit's end when a troop of fairies won't stop cleaning her house.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fantasy, Ireland, Fiction, Storytime, Fairies

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2010

About the author

Follow
Biography
Dr. Margaret Read MacDonald travels the world telling stories....always on the lookout for more great folktales to share. She shapes these found stories into tellable tales which anyone can share with ease. Filling her folktale collections with these delightful tales, she creates perfect read alouds for you and your family. MRM wants everyone to experience the joy of a beautifully told tale. She hopes you will read them a few times...then put down the book...put down the electronic device...and just TELL the story to your children!

Some of her favorite folktales she expands into picture books...hopefully with delightfully readable language while will roll right out of your mouth. Share them with your children and then....act the tales out! Revisit the tales by TELLING them! At bedtime. While on the road. Fill your pockets with great stories to share wherever you go.

Joining her Folklore Ph.D. with her 30 plus years as a children's librarian, Margaret brings folktales to life in playful, lilting language which should delight both reader and listener.

See her performance schedule at: www.margaretreadmaconald.com

Reviews

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our pre-school story time crowd enjoyed standing up and doing the actions suggested in this picture book. (There were nearly sixty children in one session and thirty-five in another session. We don't have sign-ups, name-tags, or age-breaks. The littlest ones sit on laps and the others fill our decorative area rug).

We pantomimed "knocking at the door" by clicking our tongues and tapping a fist against the other hand. We "washed dishes" by rolling our hands while repeating "clankety, clankety, clankety, clankety". We "swept the floor" using sweeping motions while repeating "swishety, swishety, swishety, swishety". We "made the beds" by making motions as if fluffing a blanket while repeating "flumpety, flumpety, flumpety". We "knitted" by tapping our pointer fingers together while repeating "clickety, clickety, clickety".

Great fun for all!

[Set · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very CUTE Celtic story about brownie fairies that come to help a woman that shirks about her work.

[Elaine Budner · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely tale!

My granddaughter Penny and I read this book at bedtime! We had fun! The artwork is very pretty. We enjoyed this book very much. My granddaughter dictated this review!

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't really know what to say about this one. It was kind of weird. I just couldn't identify with this old lady at all. If fairies came in and did my housework for me, they could be as loud as they wanted to be. That's what earplugs are for!

The kids listened to this one, and seemed to enjoy it ok, but there wasn't too much reaction from them. It's a good book for reading aloud for sounds, though.

[Donalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun "fairy" story with repetition and onomatopoeia that will appeal to young readers and encourage participation during read alouds. Nice message about the value of doing your own work, too.

[Hillary · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book uses the word “Hate”, commonly, as the main idea. My daughter is highly sensitive, 5 yo, and she said it was mean. Again, this is a personal review but wanted to share it uses - Hate ... she hates this, hates that etc. If your child is also HSC.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A woman wishes that she wouldn't have to do housework. Soon several fairies show up at her door to do her housework, but they won't stop when the jobs are done. A funny tale that warns to be careful what you wish for. The illustrations are great too.

[no · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was really funny! The art was so cute too! The cat's face on one page had me laughing so hard lol.

[Sue Mosher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story with repetition about a woman who hates her housework, but doesn't think much of fairies either.

[Arlene Wilson-Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, how I love the story!

It makes my heart flutter because the fairies are so cute!!! That's why I love them!!! And the old lady.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story about not complaining. My child liked the artwork more than the tale (as she put it "do my chores and I won't care if you're loud".

[Elizabeth Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

so cute. great illustrations. amazing colors ... well done!! are you a fairy fan? so creative & fun!

[Jbondandrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very cute little story.

[Chloe Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! A nice fairytale with good morals!

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well drawn!

A fun little book that really shows how much harder you can make your life by complaining rather than getting on with things.

[The Reading Writing Puppet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute message. Cute story. Cute illustrations. I love the fairies 🧚‍♀️

[Gretta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fun to read out loud, and it was a hit with the child :)

[Heather Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

megan winter reading 2017, children's book, picture book, holiday book, st. patrick's day, fairies, work, helping, kindergarten, first grade, second grade,

[Elizabeth Bergin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An old woman is complaining about doing housework when a fairy shows up at her front door to do the work for her. As the woman continues to complain, more fairies show up. Soon, the fairies won't leave her alone--they continually mess up what they've cleaned so they can keep cleaning. Can the old lady find a way to get the fairies to leave? "Too Many Fairies" is a newer version of an old Celtic tale. The story is simple and easy for kids to read and understand because some sections repeat. This is a good book for reading aloud or for younger readers who are beginning to read independently. The illustrations are cute and fit the mood of the story very well. After reading the book, students can read other old tales or create new versions of other tales.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

MacDonald, M. (2010). Too Many Fairies: A Celtic Tale. New York: Marshall Cavendish Company.

Illustrated by Susan Mitchell

Adapted from a Celtic tale, this story is about an old woman who, after complaining about all the chores she has to do is visited by several fairies who do the housework for her. But when the old woman becomes irritated by the fairies, she cannot get them to leave and must visit the village wise woman for instructions on how to get the fairies to leave.

I thought this book was cute and ages 4-8 I think would be most interested in this story. This would be a great book to read aloud because students would be able to repeat certain phrases and sounds and predict what the fairies would do next. This is a book, and author definitely worth checking out.

[Sarah BT · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anyone who has chores and housework will appreciate this tale! The fairies are trying to be helpful, but when the woman decides she's had enough, the fairies can't stop. They finish the chore they are working on and just take the bed apart or make the dishes messy and start all over, noise and all.

I don't know if I'd mind some fairies stopping by my house to help with my housework, but like the old woman, maybe the noise would be too much. And do you really want fairies all over your house? The illustrations are sure to delight and add a nice fairy tale touch to the story. A cute book and a creative read about chores.

[Millie Simonds · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great book to use in the classroom when studying folk tales. It is a Celtic Tale by Margaret Read MacDonald which I think is pretty unique because I haven't seen many celtic books on the shelves. It is illustrated by Susan Mitchell. This story also was a good story for teaching a moral lesson about complaining too much. I really think that children would respond well to this book because it has beautiful pictures to go along with the story. It is also one of the more kid friendly folk tales that I have seen as far as topics go. I would use this in my classroom by reading it and then having the children draw and color one of the fairies in the book.

[Jasmine Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a great book to use in the classroom when studying folk tales. It is a Celtic Tale by Margaret Read MacDonald which I think is pretty unique because I haven't seen many celtic books on the shelves. It is illustrated by Susan Mitchell. This story also was a good story for teaching a moral lesson about complaining too much. I really think that children would respond well to this book because it has beautiful pictures to go along with the story. It is also one of the more kid friendly folk tales that I have seen as far as topics go. I would use this in my classroom by reading it and then having the children draw and color one of the fairies in the book.

[Sarah Rostkowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Book would be for ages 4-6. its an easy reader and kids would be able to understand it. Too Many FAiries is about an old woman who complaints about her housework, comes in the shape of crazy-cleaning fairies who as soon as they have washed the dishes, swept the floor, made the bed and done the knitting, undo all their work so they can start again. The village wise woman gives the old woman the right advice to both get rid of the fairies and stop her complaints.

this book had many bright colors and the pictures were drawn pretty well for a kids book.

[Laura Sims · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is a picture book taking a Celtic folk tale and presenting it in a delightful way. The pictures are fun and evoke a feeling of old-time charm. A woman complains about having too much work to do. When some fairies come to lighten her load, she discovers that the noise and mess (demonstrated through a clever use of onomatopoeia) is not worth the trouble, and seeks the help of a local wise woman to help get rid of the fairies. Charmingly illustrated in watercolor, the vibrant colors bring the Celtic folktale to life…complete with fairy dust.

[Sandra Stiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once an old woman was cleaning her house when she began to grumble about all of the work. A fairy knocked on her door and took over her chore. Every time the old woman started a new chore and then grumbled a new fairy knocked and took over. Soon there were too many fairies in the house and they were driving the old lady nuts, because they refused to leave. How will she ever get rid of all of these fairies?
I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you ever grumble about doing housework? The old lady in this story does and something very unexpected happens. Fairies appear to do the housework for her. But not is all as rosy as it seems. Read this fun, folktale-inspired book before doing spring cleaning. It is sure to be a winner for whiners! Ages 3+.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful Celtic folktale that is fun and also discourages complaining about chores. Perfect for parents to read aloud with their children! The rhyming and repetition of the fairies' ditty, the onomatopoeia and the colorful illustrations are very engaging for children.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures were cute, but bordered on a little too twee... But the story had a great structure, lots of action words (I love me some onamonapia action). The use of repetitive phrases was also well done and the story had a good rhythm to it. Would be a good story to tell with props.

[Briana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars for the colorful, engaging, and fun illustrations!

Plus, there is a cottage and fairies. Snarky little fairies!

A unique tale, though I found the authors translation to be a bit...meh.