SOLVED. Childrens book about fairies, each chapter focused on a different one, one had a flying armchair. [s]

[Y]

I had this book as a kid, though I don't remember exactly when; I believe it was late 80s, possibly 87-89, but may have been as late as the early 90s.

Anyway, the book was about a group of fairies, I think the first chapter/short story introduced all of them, then subsequent chapters focused on one of the fairies at a time. Also, I think all the fairies were female. I remember it being a decently sized book, hardcover, though I can't recall the color of the cover. I want to say red, but maybe not.

The book had color illustrations, and one of the fairies was blond and wore blue clothes, I think. She had a flying armchair, and in a later chapter she freezes to death, trying to warm some creature with her breath in the middle of a winter forest.

I think there was also an Asian-influenced fairy, and I think her story had something to do with a hair comb, though I may be misremembering that.

In fact, I think most, or at least several, of the fairies ended up having some sort of sad ending.

[Tab]

Y, since you mentioned the book as having illustrations, do you know what age group the book was geared towards?

The death of the fairy, plus the use of chapters seems more middle grade.

Did the illustrations fill up the whole page, or small spot illustrations?

Were they realistic, cartoony, watercolor, simplistic, etc?

[Y]

Most of my memories on it are pretty spotty, so I'm not entirely sure whether I'm telling the truth or not about almost anything, lol.

I'm pretty sure it wasn't geared for very young readers, as the book wasn't that thin, page-wise, and it wasn't a picture book.

Illustrations took up maybe 1/2 to 1/3 of the page? And it didn't have illustrations on every page.

The illustrations themselves were fairly detailed, colorful and pretty, more on the realistic side than being cartoony, but not overtly realistic.

[Amanda]

YES! I think this is also the book I'm looking for! But I had forgotten about the flying armchair until I read your post. I know I read it in the 90s, and I got it from my hometown library. It was heavily illustrated, but not a picture book. It was kept in the area of the library where chapter books were kept - appropriate for 4th - 6th graders, probably. But it wasn't as thick as chapter book. It was taller than it was wide.
There was also a fairy dressed in dark clothes that was "evil," but not really evil? And I want to say that that the last chapter was about all of them, like the first chapter, and their stories all came together at the end, or something.

[Jay]

Hi - the only book I can think of with a flying chair is the 'Wishing Chair' series of children's books by old-time author Enid Blyton. The children in the book rubbed some magic balm on the chair legs and it magically sprouted wings, taking them anywhere they wanted to go.
Could this be your book?Cheers and good luck!

[Tab]

Maybe, The Last Slice of Rainbow and Other Stories ?

Here is a review I found from Kirkus:
Nine offbeat adventures occur in a fey but perfectly logical world, where very human children cope sensibly with magical events. An ill-tempered princess concentrates on her one skill: moving objects without touching them; but it's her kindhearted maid who, while carrying out an unreasonable order (dealing with a bathtub full of giant spiders), attracts a passing prince. A five-year-old queen is punished for teasing the cat: her hair screams, for years, till she first learns that she can bear it because she must, and then finds a creative use for it. Several of the stories deal symbolically (and sometimes enigmatically) with creativity; there's a boy in the habit of using short, rude words (they end in T: Dit, Fot, Sut) who learns in solitary silence the power of language, and a painter who has an ironic pair of encounters with a kelpie. On their primary level, these simple-seeming stories might have been written by talented children; Aiken's wildly original ideas are childlike in their inventiveness; but their skillful, thought-provoking combination is inimitably hers. A handsomely produced book; Berenzy's 11 white-on-black illustrations are delicately detailed, shining with the stories' bizarre humor.

[Ket]

Almost 100% sure that this is The Woodland Folk in Fairyland.



Major character death completely-age-inappropriate gave-me-nightmares? Check.

Flying armchair, blonde fairy with blue clothes, Asian fairy, all women, red cover, generally sad endings, this is your book. :)

I loved this one as a kid! Even though it made me cry every time. Definitely gave me a healthy fear of death pretty young to see a fairy die.

Here's a link with pictures to some of the inside pages, scroll down to see all 6 of the fairies on their various vehicles: http://knittingiris.typepad.com/knitt...

[Natasha]

Granny's Wonderful Chair ?

Good luck finding it!

[Y]

Tana wrote: "Almost 100% sure that this is The Woodland Folk in Fairyland.



Major character death completely-age-inappropriate gave-me-nightmar..."

WHOO-HOO! Yes, Tana, you are absolutely correct! This is the book from the vague memories of my childhood! The "fairies on their various vehicles" illustration is one of my most vivid memories of the book. And thanks to Amanda for bumping my thread, which I'd forgotten all about. Hopefully this was the book you were looking for also.