Too Many Fairies: A Celtic Tale

There was once an old woman who hated chores. “Work! Work! Work! How I hate it! Hate it! Hate it!” One day some fairies show up. They…clankety-clankety-clankety―clean all the dishes. Swishety-swishety-swishety―sweep the house. Flumpety-flumpety-flumpety―shake out the bedclothes. Clickety-clickety-clickety―work on all the knitting. But then there is nothing left to do. So, they tear everything apart and start again! Clankety-clankety-clankety, swishety-swishety-swishety…The fairies are driving the old woman crazy! How will she get them to leave? Lively watercolor illustrations add to this retelling by master storyteller Margaret Read MacDonald. An author’s note is also included.

Margaret Read MacDonald received her Ph.D. in folklore from Indiana University and is an author, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s librarian. Each year she travels to exotic places on the hunt for new tales―Kota Kinabalu, Alor Setar, Shanghai, Palembang, and Buenos Aires, to name just a few. Among her recent books are The Singing Top: Tales from Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei; Five Minute Tales: More Stories to Read or Tell When Time Is Short; and Earth Care: World Folktales to Talk About; and Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur! A Palestinian Folktale, an American Library Association Notable Book. Dr. MacDonald lives in Kirkland, Washington. To learn more about her work, visit www.margaretreadmacdonald.com.

Susan Mitchell received her degree in drawing and painting from Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland. Soon after graduating, she visited Plymouth, England, where a fortune-teller told her she would “go across the water,” have one son, and illustrate children’s books. She soon moved to Montreal, Quebec, with her new Canadian husband and began her career in children’s books and had a son. To learn more about the illustrator visit: www.susan-mitchell.com.