Fiction Wednesday - A review of Daisy Dawson is on her way!

I have a lot of books waiting to be reviewed. And I mean A LOT. Sometimes a book may sit on a shelf for a while before I get to it. For some reason, today's title was one of these books, and I am now kicking myself for taking so long to get to it. What was the matter with me? This is one of the sweetest and most charming books I have read in quite a while. So, without further ado, I present Daisy Dawson.

Daisy Dawsonis on her way!

Steve Voake

Illustrated by Jessica Meserve

Fiction

For ages 7 to 9

Candlewick Press, 2007, 978-0-7636-3740-8

   Daisy Dawson is a dreamy sort of child who, all too often, is late for school because she gets distracted by something. She loves to greet the farm animals that she meets as she walks to school, and to look at the world around her.

   One morning Daisy sees a yellow butterfly that is caught in a spider’s web. Being a compassionate child who loves animals, she frees the butterfly from its prison. The freed butterfly touches Daisy’s cheek before it flies away, and Daisy experiences a strange tingling sensation on her cheek which then spreads all over her rather small person. Just as the sensation reaches the “tips of her toes,” Daisy hears something very odd. She hears a blackbird singing, and for the first time in her life, she understands what the bird is saying. Daisy is convinced that she is imagining things. After all, “Birds can’t talk.”

   The Daisy calls out to Rover, an old bloodhound whom she gives a treat to every day. Rover comes over,his usual grumpy-looking self, but this time he talks to Daisy. Daisy is astonished, and she is also delighted. She has a grand chat with dog, and she learns that he is actually called Boom.

   This is just the first such encounter that Daisy has. She also talks to a horse, some gerbils, and an ant who loves to sing. When Boom disappears without a trace, Daisy is able to use her new ability to find out what has happened to her friend. She is appalled to find out that Boom has been caught by the dogcatcher. Somehow she and Boom’s other friends are going to have to rescue him before it is too late.

   Young readers who like animals are sure to be charmed by this magical, sensitive, and often amusing book. Steve Voake takes his readers into Daisy’s world so that we see things as she does. Powerful descriptions add a special element to the tale, showing readers that beauty is all around us if we take the time to see it.