Unfairies: A Graphic Novel

Gr 3-6–A lowly fairy travels from the bottom to the top of their massive oak tree. Young, green, work-averse fairy Pip has landed a job in the Root Stores, where a whole tree’s worth of fairy food is set aside for the winter. When Pip discovers the stash covered in moldy mushrooms, her simple job gets a whole lot harder. Pip must carry a report up the tree’s vast interior to inform the literal higher-ups that Oakhold is on the verge of crisis. But Pip’s an unlikely hero, as she’d rather spend time planning an epic party than saving the day. Nevertheless, her reluctant route weaves through the tree’s trunk and branches, bringing her into contact with a cluster of Oakhold governments functionaries, hotshot military personnel, and ultimately the big cheeses who pull the strings and might have a hand in the food shortage. While the story starts simply, the higher Pip travels, the more Oakhold’s story focuses on intricate sociopolitical absurdities. Aaron’s rich, woodsy green-and-orange visuals are equally elaborate. Densely detailed backgrounds infer Oakhold’s plentiful population, while cutaway shots of Pip’s routes and the tree’s organizational structure provide a highly-fanciful frame of reference. For light fantasy fanatics, this might be just the thing—the creator is deeply immersed in the particulars of the created world, inviting readers along for a wild ride.