#643 of 1001 · May 5, 2022

Come journey underground and back again with the Heather Forest and Susan Gaber’s amusing and fantastic The Woman Who Flummoxed the Fairies. A talented baker produces cakes so delicious that they are always devoured right down to the last morsel. This result vexes a band of fairies accustomed to feasting on leftover cake crumbs; they therefore kidnap her and order her to bake a cake especially for them. The canny woman realizes that the creatures may well keep her forever as a servant in their underground abode. She therefore insists on having a few items transported from her home—first baking ingredients, then her pets, then her husband and baby. The ensuing commotion convinces the fair folk that they had better release the woman and let her bake on her own terms. Forest’s enjoyable writing style meshes well with the energetic color and composition of Gaber’s watercolor, gouache, and acrylic art. A note for folklore enthusiasts: Forest has adapted this story from folktales orally collected in the Scottish headlands. #woman #fairies #fairy #bake #baker #baking #cake #cakes #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks