My complicated relationship with ‘Rainbow Magic’ fairy books

April 23, 2017 — by Amy Tang

Sophomore discusses her previous obsession with fairy books. 

My 8-year-old self obsessed over the adventures of Jack Frost, Rachel and Kirsty from the “Rainbow Magic” fairy books. I would devour an entire series of seven books in a day, and as soon as I’d finish, my mom would sigh, knowing that a tantrum was coming if we didn’t return to the bookstore or library for more.

Now, six years later, my reading level has progressed beyond 80-page fairy books, and Daisy Meadows, a collective pseudonym of four authors, has shriveled to me in literary status.

I recently reread “Amy the Amethyst Fairy,” which was my favorite book since its main character and I share the same name. (I’ll admit, my 8-year-old self was quite conceited).

Skimming over the illustration-filled pages as a high schooler made me cringe numerous times. The plot was horrendously predictable, the dialogue felt repetitive and the main characters came off as bland. I expected that my taste in books would change after another eight years of education, but I wasn’t anticipating such a huge difference between now and then.

As I flipped through the pages of the book, I laughed at the illustrations and remembered the long hours my now 20-year-old sister Joy and I had spent trying to draw the covers of our favorite fairy books (we still have notebooks filled with drawings of monstrous and distorted fairies).

The happiest moments of my childhood were the days that the special edition of fairy books was released. My sister and I would celebrate by going to the library for the newest book, pages still crisp from the printer. The book “Joy the Summer Vacation Fairy,” which followed the adventures of a character with the same name as my sister, included three adventures featuring the same fairy.

I remember how jealous I was of her 200-page book, while “Amy the Amethyst Fairy” was merely part of a series. If only I could go back to the times when that was my biggest worry.

“Joy the Summer Vacation Fairy” and “Amy the Amethyst Fairy” are now resting with the plethora of other fairy books on an old, dusty bookshelf in my house. Each series costs roughly $40, and I owned about seven different series along with some random special edition books.

Mom and Dad, I’m so sorry for bankrupting you with my demands of purchasing every single fairy book, which I realize now were not the best pieces of literature we could have purchased. Looking back on it, I probably single-handedly prevented Barnes and Noble from going out of business from 2009-2011.

After realizing that money doesn’t appear out of thin air, I started selling the fairy books on eBay, so if anybody is interested in reading about the adventures of two girls and a fairy, message me!

 
4 views this week