Fairy Tales Books

It is a beautiful re-telling of Mexican folktales. I loved the colorful illustrations and the emphasis on women. I was impressed by the careful way the stories were authenticated. I think that children will really benefit from reading this book, both in terms of pleasure and in feeling more familiar with Mexican culture.
My favorite stories were Rosha and the Sun, and the Virgin of Guadelupe but all eight stories were wonderful.
The most impressive aspect of this book is the writing. It is perfectly attuned to the age 8 and older group it is aimed at, with flowing prose that beautifully captures its Mexican themes. The writer clearly knows Mexico very well.
I highly recommend this book.

A GREAT CROSS CULTURAL,MULI-ETHNIC,NON SEXUAL STEREOTYPING TALE.
THE BOOK KEPT BOTH MY KIS AND I CAPTIVATED FROM START TO FINISH. THANK YOU MS. GERSON;ALSO,GREAT ILLUSTRATIONS!

I highly recommend this wonderful book. Mary-Joan Gerson has the rare ability to re-tell indigenous folktales in a manner that is both respectful and authentic. Moreover, she captures the passion, intensity and mysticism unique to Mexican tales, having travelled there extensively. Kids, adults interested in Latin American and/or folktales, and/or anyone with a sense of wonder will enjoy this immensely. The illustrations are beautiful too.

It is a beautiful re-telling of Mexican folktales. I loved the colorful illustrations and the emphasis on women. I was impressed by the careful way the stories were authenticated. I think that children will really benefit from reading this book, both in terms of pleasure and in feeling more familiar with Mexican culture.
My favorite stories were Rosha and the Sun, and the Virgin of Guadelupe but all eight stories were wonderful.
The most impressive aspect of this book is the writing. It is perfectly attuned to the age 8 and older group it is aimed at, with flowing prose that beautifully captures its Mexican theme. The writer clearly knows Mexico very well.
I highly recommend this book.

I picked up a copy of Fiesta Femenina because the beautiful cover art looked like some Mexican murals I saw in California. I am blown away, not just by the subject matter -- tales of women's strength in Mexian folklore -- but also by the writing style.

There is one story that really stood out for me called "Rosha and the Sun." It is a wonderful, classic Mayan tale about a determined but tender young woman whose mystical life describes an aspect of the natural world. Gerson creates a truly intoxicating effect with those small but important details: "Rosha's hair was especially thick and lustrous, hanging down like a cornstalk to her feet... It was a hot, sticky day and all the breezes were trapped behind the mountain's wall of trees.... Rosha slipped off by herself to dip her burning feet in the bubbling stream..."

"Rosha and the Sun," and the other 7 native tales are real page-turners, but I must admit that I was taken aback at first by the untranslated words and phrases sprinkled througout the text, but then I discovered that this book has a glossary. A nice touch, I thought.

I have been searching bookstores for years for a book of Latino folklore in English and I have had very bad luck up until this point, so finding a group of such authentic tales that are all about women is very exciting to me. I can only hope that Fiesta Feminina is a harbinger of a whole genre of literature to be created or translated for English speakers.

A real find.

Glenville Lovell's remarkable and interesting way of plotting the story line in each chapter seemed to open up a new thought process as I read. This book captured my attention in numerous ways. Having the experience myself of growing up in a small village, I enjoyed and seemed familiar with the description of some of the places mentioned in the book. Mr. Lovell's skillful and poetic use of language is very refreshing, and I was even more captivated with the use and mix of the dialect, that at times seemed to have taken me back in time to my childhood days. The use of magic and myth, combined with love/love-making, fear, history, insight and triumph indeed revealed a skillfully written story of two young lovers and an entire community whose journey leads to precious insights, awakenings and new beginnings! To fully appreciate and experience this insightful journey - READ FIRE IN THE CANES! Extra-ordinary and brilliant!

Glenville Lovell's remarkable and interesting way of plotting the story line in each chapter seemed to open up a new thought process as I read. This book captured my attention in numerous ways. Having the experience myself of growing up in a small village, I enjoyed and seemed familiar with the description of some of the places mentioned in the book. Mr. Lovell's skillful and poetic use of language is very refreshing, and I was even more captivated with the use and mix of the dialect, that at times seemed to have taken me back in time to my childhood days. The use of magic and myth, combined with love/love-making, fear, history, insight and triumph indeed revealed a skillfully written story of two young lovers and an entire community whose journey leads to precious insights, awakenings and new beginnings! To fully appreciate and experience this insightful journey - READ FIRE IN THE CANES! Extra-ordinary and brilliant!

With this supernatural tale of island magic,love, and history, novelist Glenville Lovell makes a stunning debut in FIRE IN THE CANES. I read this book recently and could not put it down! The author's quiet humor, sharp wit, and ear for language made this story of a young woman's quest for love and identity a memorable experience. Set in an undisclosed Carribean island in the not so distant past, Lovell skillfully weaves the story of a community and how it re-claimed its cultural roots after a young man is mysteriously murdered - leaving magical seeds behind him. Lovell shows the marks of a true craftsman, quietly leading his readers through the heart's rugged terrain, leaving them invigorated, by the novel's end, with a renewed sense of passion and hope. If you enjoy a little history in your fiction, a bit of the supernatural with your "realism," and humor when examining human relationships, then you will enjoy Glenville Lovell's FIRE IN THE CANES.

Glenville Lovell's remarkable and interesting way of plotting the story line in each chapter seemed to open up a new thought process as I read. This book captured my attention in numerous ways. Having the experience myself of growing up in a small village, I enjoyed and seemed familiar with the description of some of the places mentioned in the book. Mr. Lovell's skillful and poetic use of language is very refreshing, and I was even more captivated with the use and mix of the dialect, that at times seemed to have taken me back in time to my childhood days. The use of magic and myth, combined with love/love-making, fear, history, insight and triumph indeed revealed a skillfully written story of two young lovers and an entire community whose journey leads to precious insights that connected them to their displaced ancestors to achieved new awakenings and complacency. To fully appreciate and experience this insightful journey - READ FIRE IN THE CANES! Extra-ordinary and brilliant!

Mr. Lovell is an excellent writer and very creative. I love books that takes me to another level, books that make you get into the characters. He took me back to my childhood days sitting on the stoop of my grandmother's house in Sturges watching the monkeys eating the bananas. I also went into Harrison's Cave before it was discovered. I saw the beauty of Monkey Road tenantry.

The illustrations in this volume are lush and expressive-- Baba Yaga is truly a sight to see. Boris Zvorykin's vivid imagination perfectly complements the stories, bringing them to life without overshadowing them. Of all the books I read as a child, this is no doubt one of the most memorable and most touching.

The full-page illustrations in this book are simply stunning. The soft pastels blend with the glittering jeweltones, and the fantasy settings and gorgeous characters are sumptuously detailed. Each plate is a work of art and suitable for framing; believe me, if you have a color scanner/printer you'll be grateful. Notes at the end of the book inform us that the illustrations are reproduced from the original gouache paintings, and the pages are in heavy glossy paper.

There are four tales in this volume: The Firebird, Maria Morevna, Vassilissa the Fair, The Snow Maiden.

The pictures will take your breath away. The stories are charming and well translated (from an older Russian translated into French volume), but you will probably be too taken away by the glorious art to really pay much attention to the not-really-for-small-children fairy tales.

I grew up with this book, a gift from my grandmother, and the illustrations by Zvorykin and the stories are as beautiful as any I've ever seen. It is not for preschoolers, however--the language is appropriate for mid-later elementary school as is some of the content (think along the lines of Grimm's Fairy Tales). Plus the quality of the book is high enough (metallic ink, 6-color printing) that some may hesitate to let it be crayoned in. But so marvellous--a truly georgeous publication.

Like a fool over 22 years ago I gave my copy to my nieces my copy of this most wonderful storybook. The illustrations are some of the most imtensive color printing I've seen in many years, the stories are equally wonderful, and would be welcome in anyones' fine book collection.

I have had this book forever... The illustrations are beautiful. Highly recommend it.

this is the legend of how the first strawberries came into being, and it's kind of nice because it's a love story. i'm going to summarize it so if you don't want to know skip over.

one day a husband comes home from hunting to find his wife picking flowers instead of cooking. he angrily reprimands her for this and she indignantly walks off. the husband immediately feels sorry for getting so angry and tries to catch up to his wife to apologize but she's too fast for him so he asks the sun to slow her down. the sun shines itself on various berries but the wife is too angry to see them so the sun makes strawberries right on the ground so the wife would see them, and voila the first strawberries. the wife sees them and thinks to herself that it would be nice to share these with her husband so stops to pick some. the husband catches up to her and they live happily ever after.

it was a nice story. i enjoyed it.

This Cheyenne tale is a great lesson about how words of anger hurt and about forgiveness. Also a nature pour-quoi tale! Can be shared easily with very young, important message for older boys and girls as well as adults. After reading this, eating strawberries will be just a little sweeter!

A wonderful story that teaches a timeless lesson. Everyone married or yearning to be should read it. Now I always get strawberries to follow-up an arguement.

I love this book both for it's great story and because it is a terrific resource for teachers. It's one of those books (like Where the Wild Things Are or Runaway Bunny) that just grabs kids up and speaks directly to things they are deeply connected to. In this case: inequity, anger and how to deal with those feelings.

If you are a teacher (or parent) and want a book that addresses these issues witout being overly complicated or inauthentic - run, don't walk and buy this wonderful book!

This beautifully illustrated lyrical book is very special. It's story of thoughtless words, anger and forgiveness is told simply, but powerfully. It is a lesson both adults and children can hear over and over. The lush watercolor illustrations are breathtaking. I buy this book as a wedding present, and read it on the last day of classes that I teach, and think of it whenever I bite into a ripe, sweet strawberry.

AR level 1.5, great beginning reading book, my son who is not thrilled with reading loves to read this book. A story about 5 fishermen, who a good at fishing, but not so good at counting how many fishermen there are, a little girl comes a long and saves the day, and she gets all the fish. But the fishermen are happy they have each other. 32 pages


if you enjoy this kind of book, Try "Sir Small and the Dragonfly" Level 1.8.

This was hands down my favorite book as I was learning how to read. I remember sitting in our guest room by myself and reading this book from the begging to the end all by myself. I screamed with joy and ran downstairs to tell my mother, who was probably proud of me but also annoyed with how I screamed and ran down the stairs. I always wondered who wrote this book, and if they see this, then thanks. It's a funny book that tells a good story and children will love it.

This is a wonderful addition to a home or K/1st library collection. The story and illustrations are whimsical. The math "mistake" is great practice for youngsters with problem solving. This is an entertaining book for emergent readers to read on their own or to be used as a read aloud.

What a comical book! My son loves it and it was easy for him to read and understand.

My kids laughed all the way through it. They were given a chance to count and talk through the fishermen and their mistakes. My oldest read it and laughingly told me I had to read it to my 2 1/2 year old. Fishing is very big in our house and the book was picked for that connection but is well worth reading.

One day, someone told me this story. I was so moved by the story that I checked Amazon and they had this beautiful book. The story and pictures have become a very important symbol that I have bought numerous copies to hand out to the teenage boys that have difficult lives that I have worked with at school. In addition, I keep a few on hand to give out to anyone I feel needs to have this wonderful book. It is my hope that they can refer back to it when life gets very dark for them. This story is more than PMA, it is true. It was awesome to read where the story originated from and the watercolored pictures and tastefully done. In addition, the information about the author is very touching and the forward by Bishop Tutu is remarkable. Yes, you will want to buy this book. Yes, you do!

This was a wonderfully illustrated children's book sold at an African gallery in New York City on Broadway. An old tale from Ghana about how an Eagle realized it was the King of the Birds, Majestic, Regal, and meant to SOAR rather than grovel on the ground with chickens. Nothing is sadder than a soul who won't claim their best self and rise up to the challenge.

Birds of a Feather Flock Together and in the words of Les Brown "You can go out every day and find pidgeons but it takes time to find eagles, and eagles fly!"

Teach your children to claim their Eagle spirit today!

This African Tale is about a farmer who comes across a baby eagle and decides that he will raise it as a chicken, and so he takes it back to his farm and puts it with the other chickens. The eagle soon learns how to act like a chicken. Everything continues on fine until one day the farmers friends comes over and says this is no chicken this is an eagle and he belongs in the sky. It takes the man three times until the eagle flies away into the sunset. I like this story because it shows how much things change depending on their current environments, and sometimes that environment can hold us back from being the best we can. The author does a great job at portraying the act of finding ones true self and become independent. The illustrations in this book are also great.

I truly enjoyed this children's picture book, which appeals to all ages, because of the inspiration and message it conveys. In Africa a small eagle chick if found lost after a storm. It is taken back to a village where it is raised as a chicken. It talks, walks and eats like a chicken unto one day a visitor notices that amongst the chickens there is an eagle. He tries everything to get it to fly but it believes and acts like it is a chicken, until one day he takes it back to the mountains where it was found as a chick to meet the sun at sunrise. Upon the mountain, once taken from the environment it has been placed in and seeing the bright light of the horizon and the view it realizes it can fly and does so and never lives the life of a chicken again as it soars high in the sky.

I loved the message because it shows that we as a people have been treated like chickens by society, but we are truly royal eagles. Don't be content on being a chicken, but stretch forth your wings and fly! The illustrations are wonderful, and the message is worth attaining the book alone. This is a good book to add to the treasure chest of books within your home or your children's collection to inspire them to spread their wings and fly to reach new heights in the horizon's light! God is Love!

I bought this wonderful book for my nephews and loved it so much I'm buying another for my grandson. The story of an eagle that is brought up among chickens and thinks and acts like a chicken until it is encouraged to fly like an eagle has several messages. I'm a prison chaplain and it reminds me of the men and women who could be soaring on eagles wings if they can break out of the mold of their emotional environment. It has a spiritual message - we are children of God and can live a victorious life if only we will appropriate it. It also can illustrate the release of the soul at death. But it is definitely a delightful tale in it's own right.

In Florence, Italy, Guido inherited a bakery from his father. He isn't a good baker, and he and his wife barely have enough income to survive. Gradually, Guido sells all of their furniture to make ends meet. When he sells their bed, Maria says, "' Enough is enough!' she shouted. 'I can't sleep without a bed. A bed I want and a bed I'll have!'" Guido searches all over Florence and is finally given an elaborately carved bed by a mysterious seller of beds. When he and Maria go to bed that night, they discover that they have been given a magical bed. It flies nightly out of the window -- carrying its occupants.


With a lilting story wrought with the mystery and magic of an Italian fairytale, the author presents an undeserving protagonist who fails on all counts -- except for his very wise choice of a wife. The realistic
paintings (except for a bed that flies) are exquisitely detailed and crafted. The painting of the bed flying over the tiled rooftops of Florence, with every one of the multitude of tiles shaded and distinct, is masterful. The illustrator's pictures of baked goods look good enough to eat. An amazing, perfect duet.

Nancy Willard weaves a wonderful fairy tale of modern tones emanating life's little lessons. John Thompson's magical pigmented canvas is freshly baked and alluring to the senses.
See also Your Favorite Seuss: A Baker's Dozen by the One and Only Dr. Seuss

Guido and his spouse, Maria, live in the beautiful city of Florence in a small apartment over the bakery they inherited from Guido's father. Although they work extremely hard and lead frugal lives, the money they generate from the bakery is simply not enough to cover their living costs. A dwindling customer base is the main reason for this sorry state of affairs, for Guido, unlike his father, skimped on the key ingredients and made flavorless dough. Although Guido resorted to selling off their furniture, piece by piece, Maria drew the line when he sold their bed and she demanded that he find a new one.

Serendipity leads Guido to an extraordinary bed shop, where he acquires what is, unbeknownst to him, a magical bed. This bed takes Guido and Maria to a magical town far away, where a master baker gives them a special kind of yeast. When Guido and Maria bake bread with the unusual yeast, the delicious smells and tastes bring them so many new customers that their financial constraints disappear virtually overnight. Unfortunately, they learn the hard way that such a gift is not to be squandered through greed and short-sightedness.

The Flying Bed offers readers a powerful set of lessons about entrepreneurship and poverty, cleverly woven into an imaginative story with stunning images. Children and adults alike will appreciate the interesting plot, the well-developed characters, and the eye-catching scenes from Florence and the bakery. This first-rate book makes a valuable addition to any collection of children's literature with substantive content and dramatic illustrations. The Flying Bed puts fun and magic into the business of learning economics.

Enjoyable story, and very nice pictures. It also prompted my son to ask questions about the greed of the baker and which led to a discussion of what people value.

Nancy Willard's THE FLYING BED features warm paintings by John Thompson, 2006 Hamilton King award winner, as it surveys the end of summer in Florence and a magic shop crammed with beds. A woman's offer to show off the best bed of all results in some surprises in this fun fantasy for grades 2-3.

This and many other Enid Blyton books where read to me and I also read as a child, I bought this and others for my grandchildren who absolutely love them. The stories are very imaginative and if you have even a spark of imagination the characters are so real you can make up all sorts of stories based on the characters after you have finished the book. When you have finished reading it the kids always want more!

Myself and my brother read this book when we were young and enjoyed it tremendously. He recently bought it for his daughter and also gifted me a copy, which I am going to treasure.

My sister and I read this book as children,and really enjoyed it. It is the kind of humour and happenings that children love. I have tried for years to get a copy, but now it is finally being reprinted. I can't believe my good fortune!It is also a favourite of my own children. I will definately be buying several copies. Enid Blyton is the best!

I read this book as a child and was enthralled by it. I still enjoy reading it today as an adult. I highly recommend it for any child! Enid Blyton has a gift for wrapping you up in world of the Faraway Tree and all it's adventures!

I cannot encourage teachers, librarians and parents enough to add Enid Blyton and especially this series to their shelves. Great bedtime read-aloud, excellent introduction to listening to chapter books.
Note to owners of older copies, this new version has been altered. I was slightly shocked when my copy arrived. The names of the children were different than in my old used copies of the first two stories! Bessie is Beth, Fannie is Frannie, Dick is Rick and Jo is Joe. It's not a big deal and I just say the old British version as I read aloud, but I wish I'd known that it had been revised. I also suspect that some words were 'updated', but it's not terribly noticable. I'm just glad another Blyton book is back in print!

400 years of Afro-American folklore are represented in From My People, a fine volume gathering a diverse range of tales, from Brer Rabbit and African motifs to proverbs, recipes, and folk songs. It's the range of writings which sets From My People apart from competing collections on Afro-American oral traditions, making for a comprehensive and important title.

It is a sad fact of our times that the folklore of Black America is almost a vanishing art. As a folklorist, historian, and story teller, it saddens me that I often ask kids if their parents tell them any stories and they don't have a clue, and our older folks tales of Old John, Anancy, Brer Rabbit, the Signifying Monkey, Shine and the Titanic, Raw Head and Bloody Bones, etc. are unknown to most people of my age and younger.

Fortunately, people like Prof. Daryl C. Dance are doing what they can to rectify this situation by anthologies such as this. She does an excellent job not only in preserving this kind of material but also the classic folk sermons of Rev. C.L. Franklin and lesser known preachers as well as songs and children's games. Material such as this has been done before, especially by Zora Neale Hurston, Richard Dorson, and Roger Abrahams, but not very recently.

So overall, this book is a treasure. However,as much fun as Black folklore is to read, its better if watched or heard orally. Somebody needs to make a CD or DVD documentary of this sort of thing (hint hint to my fellow folklorists and scholars out there).

This huge anthology covers black folklore going back to slavery and up to the latest classic email story. Poems, spirituals, great speeches and famous sermons are included. There is a chapter on little written about black crafts and art and culural activities such as step shows and rent parties. It could be argued that the book is too big. Bibles and dictionaries weigh less than it does but From My People is a reference book. It gives a quick overview of 400 years of folklore. This should be in school libraries across the land.

Kimberley Lindsay Wilson, author of Work It! The Black Woman's Guide to Success at Work.

For most people, the term "folklore" probably conjures the image of songs and stories, but as Daryl Cumber Dance illustrates, it's much more than that. It's about quilts and the history they embody. It's about hair styles, dress, food, traditions of marching bands, sermons, speeches...even internet rumors and graffiti. As one chapter is headed, it's about "The Style of Soul."

Start at any topic that piques your interest, and I promise, you'll find it impossible to put this book down. There are surprises around every corner...for example, I was delighted to find a low fat recipe for greens!

This vast, rich book belongs in every library.
Curator, AfroAmericanHeritage dot com

How often have we sat at the feet of our elders and heard stories imparted to us regarding the days gone by? Handed down through the generations, these tales were not only meant for entertainment purposes, they impart wisdom and provide a living lesson. In 400 YEARS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN FOLKLORE, author Daryl Cumber Dance has created a compilation of folktales, folk music - including spirituals and freedom songs - as well as blues and ballads, folk arts and crafts, proverbs and many other pearls of wisdom that breed familiarity in the Black community. The African slave trade tore our early ancestors from their native lands, stripping them of their individual identities and beliefs, yet our strong forefathers were able to maintain some of their culture and the stories that were once told to them.

Ms. Dance does a wonderful job in capturing the vernacular used in some of the stories as well as providing some historical background to set a frame of reference for her readers. Each story and every entry into this collection caught my attention. I was compelled through the pages by my curiosity and to be reminded of days gone by. Each was very well put together, yet I found my favorite folk tale to be "De Ways of De Wimmens" which is a humorous short tale revolving around Adam and Eve's first days together and the establishment of gender roles. This story literally had me laughing out loud because even today, I can relate to the basic truth found in this tale.

400 YEARS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN FOLKLORE is not just a collection of folk tales. Don't get me wrong, Ms. Dance does rightful justice in providing glimpses into our dynamic society. She reaches back into the early days, guides us through the civil rights era by including powerful sermons by Reverend C.L. Franklin, Martin Luther King Jr., Jesse Jackson and many more. She even addresses some of today's disconcerting issues, such as urban gentrification and gang violence.

In summary, the selections included in this book run the gamut throughout the reaches of time. It provides glimpses into the strong traditions held by the Black community and imparts some wisdom as to how these traditions may have taken root. In writing 400 YEARS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN FOLKLORE, Ms. Dance stated, "My goal throughout my career and in this anthology has been to collect, transcribe, preserve and respect the integrity of the folk text." In my humble opinion, she did just that. Ms. Dance should be lauded for her efforts.


Reviewed by Nedine
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

No wonder this book won the BEA's Best YA Fiction award. Truly, a delightful read. Interesting characters, captivating plot, with splashes of humor. What an amazing, interesting world the author has created. In a way, she reminds me of a female Carlos Casteneda, as the young Hispanic college professor embarks on a spiritual journey (albeit at the whims of her zany ancient ancestor who appears in different animal forms) and undertakes the art of white magic to help her family, in particular, that militant sister of hers who is always getting into trouble. LOL.

No sorprende nada que este libro haya ganado el primer premio en la categoria de "Young Adult Fiction" en espanol en Expoamerica de la American Librarians Association. Presenta el tema de un modo divertido y ameno. El lector aprende bastante sobre los angeles y su importancia en la vida sin tener que "estudiar" tal materia. Excelente.

Este libro sobre los angeles me encanto por completo. Encontre tanta informacion util. Ademas, hay una historia (ficcion) que cuenta las aventuras de una joven profesora y su familia y amigas. Por medio de las cosas que les pasan pude entender como usar los poderes de los angeles en mi vida. Fui a carolinadasilva.com y supe que la autora ha escrito 5 libros en esta serie sobre la magia. Voy a leer todos.

Even though this book in Spanish I was able to read the English manuscript while working on the cover artwork.

I very much enjoyed this book. It is the perfect combination of fictional novel and how-to book. There are lessons on conjuring fairies, finding your spirit guide etc. All woven into a very interesting and engrossing story about a woman and her long dead native american grandmother.

I would rate this book among one of my favorites for a good entertaining read. I think you'll enjoy it too!

Fuego Angelical es un libro muy interesante, tanto para quienes interesan adquirir conocimiento básico sobre los ángeles, como para aquellos que desean deleitarse con una técnica de construcción literaria novedosa, diferente, refrescante y entretenida. En la historia, Carolina Da' Silva se comunica con el espíritu de una antepasada, quien había sido curandera hace más de un siglo y quien además, se llama como ella (Doña Carolina). Doña Carolina le ofrece datos básicos sobre los orígenes, poderes y las formas de invocar a los ángeles. También, le revela cómo construir amuletos específicos para invocar la ayuda angelical e información detallada sobre cada uno de los 72 ángeles de los nuevos coros, de los ángeles planetarios y sus asociaciones zodiacales. Sin embargo, cuando uno está leyendo el texto le parece estar leyendo una novela. En la historia Carolina Da' Silva, su hermana adolescente, Angela y su amiga Brinna están interesadas en la magia angelical por diferentes motivos. Carolina y Brinna practican la magia Wicca y ambas aportan sus conocimientos sobre rituales mágicos y hasta recetas de cocina para atraer la presencia de los ángeles. Mientras que Angela, es una adolescente típica que tiene problemas por su rebeldía hacia los adultos y su hermana trata de que aprenda a protegerse de los peligros de la vida invocando la ayuda de los ángeles. La narración se relaciona con los incidentes de la vida de los tres personajes. El conocimiento se entrelaza con la narrativa y hace que la lectura sea fácil, entretenida e instructiva.