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Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite
I’m sure you’ve heard about fairy tales. But have you ever heard about tairy fails? Well, it’s something like a fairy tale; it’s even set in a fairy tale land. But a tairy fail is actually a fractured fairy tale that will have readers doubled over with laughter as they follow one very bad girl, Sylvia Locke, as she confronts something even more challenging than she bargained for. In David Horn’s Sylvia Locke and the Three Bears, readers are introduced to this child, who is mean to her loving grandparents, rude to everyone, and a bully to some of the rare magical creatures that inhabit Fairy Tale Land. She may have been abandoned by her parents, but that doesn’t give her the right to be so mean, now does it? And, when she breaks into the Bear family’s house (you know the story of the three bears, right?), Sylvia discovers a magical mirror (is it mirror, mirror on the wall, or mirror, mirror on the fall?). And so the adventure begins. Will Sylvia’s experiences change her for the better?
David Horn’s early chapter book, Sylvia Locke and the Three Bears, is the first book in the Tairy Fails series. The story begins from the Wizard of Flosz’s point of view as he attempts to write what is presumably a fairy tale, as it begins with the classic line, “Once upon a time.” The author effectively uses the Wizard to describe the unsettled and difficult situation next door where Sylvia lives with her grandparents. The Wizard sets the stage for what will follow, providing the character development of this mean child. Following the Wizard’s narrative, the author switches to Sylvia, writing the story from her point of view. The plot moves quickly and young readers will marvel at the comparison to popular fairy tales as Sylvia goes from one misdemeanor to another. The language is simple and spell-binding like a good fairy tale should be, even if it’s really a tairy fail. There are some black-and-white drawings throughout by Judit Tondora to add another dimension to the developing story. This is a gem of a magical story that will enchant young readers.
