Into the Waves Takes the Never Girls Back to Pixie Hollow with a Splash!

Imagine if you were a girl who loved fairies, and you and your friends had your own private portal to a magical land where fairies lived, and you could visit it whenever you wanted to. That’s the wonderful reality for the four ordinary kids who are the titular Never Girls of Kiki Thorpe’s series of books for elementary school-aged readers. They have found a way from our world to Neverland (or possibly, Neverland found a way to them!). For these girls Neverland doesn’t revolve around Peter Pan, though he does make the occasional appearance; instead, their gateway takes them to Pixie Hollow, where they have all sorts of magical adventures with the fairies who call it home.
The series begins with In a Blink, which introduces the foursome of adventurous Kate, the animal-loving Lainey, the glamorous Mia, and Mia’s little sister, the fairy-crazy Gabby, and features their astonishing discovery of the magical land of Pixie Hollow. This series is perfect for early readers looking for a long series to devour, as it now spans eleven books. The eleventh book in the series, Into the Waves, has just been released. Lainey, whose favorite things to do in Neverland are practicing animal languages with the fairies who specialize in all things animal, and riding on the wild deer, has finally gotten permission to have a pet of her own in the real world. But it can’t be anything that will get out of her room, so Lainey settles on a goldfish; one that seems to have lots more charm and sparkle than its bowl-mates.

Of course Lainey wants her fish to meet the fairies, so she brings his bowl on their next trip through the portal. Then disaster strikes when his bowl is upended in a brook, and he’s off downstream before anyone notices. When the girls realize what’s happened, they quickly grab an inflatable pool boat from home and follow as quickly as they can. But rough water, dangerous rapids, and crocodiles make their goldfish rescue mission one of the most harrowing adventures they’ve ever had in Neverland! Without the fairy dust that makes things light enough to fly, they couldn’t have made it.
Give these books to anyone who had fairy wings they wore day and night when they were a year or so younger than they are now! Or offer them to any second or third grader who loves stories of ordinary kids having extraordinary adventures. The books are fun and exciting without being scary, and it’s really easy to imagine spending enchanted hours visiting Pixie Hollow and playing (and learning) with the fairies. It’s also really easy to imagine a member of the target audience binge reading happily on the fairy magic of it all!
Is your early reader a fan of fairies?