Mary Losure is an author of middle-grade fantasy and nonfiction — but not dry, boring nonfiction. She writes about events that have reached legend proportion – like girls who claimed to have photographed fairies and a boy who grew up in the wild. Her latest book is about Sir Isaac Newton. Ms. Losure lives in St. Paul and is also a reporter.
Books by Mary Losure
- Isaac the Alchemist: Secrets of Isaac Newton, Revealed
- Backwards Moon (Fantasy Fiction)
- Wild Boy: The Real Life of the Savage of Aveyron
- The Fairy Ring: Or Elsie and Frances Fool the World
Review of The Fairy Ring
This week, we are finishing up The Fairy Ring, or Elsie and Frances Fool the World by Mary Losure. Afterward, we are going to watch FairyTale: A True Story. Both stories are about the cousins, Frances and Elsie, who faked pictures of fairies around the time of World War I. Although the movie takes a lot of creative liberties with the facts, it will be a nice way to help my children picture a time a place that are very different from their own.
In The Fairy Ring, Mary Losure writes the kind of children’s biography that I always thought should be written. It is factual without being dry. She doesn’t underestimate her readers, but she chose a subject that excites the imagination. She tells the facts in a simple way that kids can follow. In the end, she leaves it up to the reader whether to believe if Frances saw real fairies. Not even her own children were in agreement on that point.
Age Recommendations
This book is recommended for ages 10 and up. I am reading it out loud to my 8-year-old. We need to stop a lot to answer questions and often go back to clarify something important that I thought she understood, but she is very interested in the story and following it pretty well. The toddlers are not at all interested. I had a vague knowledge of this subject when we started and really enjoyed learning the full story. I’ve actually read ahead and finished it on my own.
I’ve also pre-watched FairyTale: A True Story. I would recommend watching it after you’ve finished the book, since it takes so many liberties with the real story. For instance, The girls are much younger and the events happen much closer together in the movie. Overall, though, the film version is a slow-moving but good story and age-appropriate for an eight-year-old. Again, the toddlers will have no interest in it.
Review by Joy Peters May 20, 2013
FFTC did not receive any incentives for this review. Both the book and the movie were obtained from the library.
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