I think that this remarkable little book is meant to be enjoyed by children of any reading age, ( parents included) it's target audience is wide and all inclusive of anyone who isnt afraid to learn a little something while enjoying some visually appealing illustraions.
I don't think this is a 'traditional' story by any measure because the story line is so well constructed with symbolism to convey a multiplicity of messages to a young (and not-so-young) audience, at varying levels. Basically, if you can read or if you like to be read to, this is your pick for an illustrated children's book.
This is the story of a young fairy Leah, (symbolising any young child) who made a mistake (as everyone does) but who chose to tell a lie about it. She thought she would have been able to work around the problem by seeking the help of her friend (named Satiah - which means 'truth' in sanskrit.) Her friend Satiah's advice is ( understandbably) that Leah confess the truth in its entirety to her mom. Leah decided not to follow this advice and instead told a couple more lies to cover for the first one. The problem was that as a fairy, telling a lie weakened her wings ( symbolising the fragility of anyone's credibility and the weakening effect of lying ) until eventually, she lost her wings (credibility) altogether. When her mother discovers what transpired, she gives her a chance to make amends for herself and here ensues the lesson on 'cause and effect' and how one action can have many consequences - the lesson of 'Karma.' This part of the story teaches the young fairy (child) about being responsible for one's actions ( which all children and hhhmm...some adults need reminding about.)
When Leah decides to take full responsibility for the consequences of her actions, it meant moving away from her home (the Lime Tree) and living with another fairy family who were born without wings, but who instead had amazingly powerful voices, as they would sing in order to accomplish their work. - since they couldn't fly around to do so. (This part of the story teaches about the transformative capacity of energy: sound into physical matter and the bigger picture implication - the power of one's language on creating one's reality! or of the power of 'mantras.' )
As a useful side effect, singing also benefits the singer in terms of allowing her to build and lift her own energy. ( Who doesn't feel better after singing their favourite song, right?) As it turned out, this was actually the precise remedy that Leah needed to be able to rebuild her wings! Leah had to sing a special spell / manra to harness the power of sunlight and transform it into her wings (another example of the transformative capacity of energy, but this time from light to matter, using sound.)
All these events occurred on a backdrop of synchronicity. (I've not yet come across another children's book that has attempted to explain this concept to children. In fact - I think there may be a few adults out there who don't get it to begin with! May be they should read this book!)
Leah successfully re-gains her wings ( after making the required effort) and in the end realizes that she is now blessed with the chance to teach other young fairies. So the story ends on a note of hope and reinforces the life lesson of the cycle of learning and teaching.
I think this was a great little book and personnally can't wait to read the next in this authour's series to my 5 year old who thoroughly enjoyed it!
My thanks to N Kissoon and A Kesckes.
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Nov 13th, 2009
