Fairies by John Malam is a great book to introduce children in the mythological world of Fairies. The book includes stories from legend in which fairies were thought to have been involved, a basic outline of what people consider a fairy to be, the types of fairies, and other interesting tidbits of information. The book is well illustrated and quickly draws the reader's eye to the colourful and interesting pictures of the fairies. This book also introduces children to Greek mythology as it introduces children to classic Greek literature in the form of summarizing stories in which fairies were believed to take place. For example the book summarizes the story of Jason and how he was saved by nymphs on his return voyage for the Golden Fleece. While the story is not an accurate telling, it is something that will catch the interest of young readers, and maybe engage them in learning more. Additionally the book provides pictures taken by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths of fairies in the early 1900's. The two girls had taken pictures of cardboard fairies that had everyone believing that they were real. What takes away from this book is the end in which the author tells children that fairies are not really real but a part of the imagination. I think this is rather like telling children straight out that Santa Clause is not real. After teaching children all about the different kinds of fairies and stories about them, it seems like a contradiction to end with 'fairies are not real'. The book did not have to encourage children to believe that fairies are real, however, it would have been better to leave the children wondering if they could possibly be real. ( )