Emmalina the wingless fairy would rather frolick in
the mud with frogs than properly sip dewdrops. Via MLive.
One-hundred-year-old fairy Emmalina would rather play in the swamp with frogs than engage in traditional fairy activities, having decided that "fairy life is not all that it's cracked up to be." However, Emmalina cannot earn her wings unless she becomes "good at something important."
"After failing at opening flowers or stringing dewdrops on spider webs," reports Muskegon Live, "Emmalina returned to her frog friends and eventually becomes Emmalina the Mud Fairy, Protector of Frogs."
Veteran author and illustrator Amy Young gathered inspiration for her story from the natural surroundings of her studio, which lies on a river tributary. "Usually, stories are character-driven," Young said. "But this is very locally inspired from my surroundings and a pixie from Grand Haven."
For the feisty fairy herself, however, Young drew on her experiences mentoring a young tomboy through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. (Fairy Line's own motto is Just Do Good! and we applaud Young's volunteerism.) Young recalls, "[Zoey] would say: 'Let's go do something. Let's run around. Let's jump off this rock.' She looked like this dainty little girl but was so full of energy and action."
Despite its recent release, The Mud Fairy has already received acclaim from Publishers Weekly and Junior Library Guild.
