The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
Author: Catherynne M. Valente
Illustrator: Ana Juan
Book 1 in the Fairyland series
Pages: 330
Published: 2011
Age: 10+
Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.
With exquisite illustrations by acclaimed artist Ana Juan, Fairyland lives up to the sensation it created when the author first posted it online. For readers of all ages who love the charm of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the soul of His Dark Materials, here is a reading experience unto itself: unforgettable, and so very beautiful.
Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy (2009); Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Books of the Year (2011); Locus Award for Best Young Adult (2012); Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee for Children's Literature (2012)
Video
About the Fairyland Series
Books in series order
- 1.The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making(2011)
- 2.The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There(2012)
- 3.The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two(2013)
- 4.The Boy Who Lost Fairyland(2015)
- 5.The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home(2016)
- +The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland - For a Little While(2011)
Reading age: 10+ years
This series should be read in order.
Gather up your courage and your wishes; grab a little pinch of luck and prepare to be swept away, in a ship of your own making, to a land unlike any other...
September is a twelve-year-old girl, Somewhat Grown and Somewhat Heartless, and she longs for adventure. So when a Green Wind and a Leopard of Little Breezes invite her to Fairyland – well, of course, she accepts (mightn't you?).
When she gets there, she finds a land in crisis and confusion—crushed by the iron rule of a villainous Marquess—she soon discovers that she alone holds the key to restoring order. Having read enough books to know what a girl with a quest must do, September sets out to Fix Things.
As September forges her way through Fairyland, with a book-loving dragon and a partly human boy named Saturday by her side, she makes many friends and mistakes; loses her shadow, her shoes and her way. But she finds adventure, courage, a rather special Spoon, and a lot more besides...