Folkland Fables was published 23rd March 2018 and is similar in overall style to the 2001 book written by J.K Rowling called ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’, although this includes wonderful illustrations which add a lot to the book. This story encourages you to use ‘Fairy Sight’ to find the creatures in Folkland Wood, which is based on the real life Falkland estate in Fife, Scotland. The book blends illustrations with engaging stories and magical zoology for an interesting read. Now that I’ve given you the bare bones, check out the rest of the review. I want to start this off by saying that as I grow older I become more disenchanted with fantasy, not the actual act of it, I’ll always be a head in the clouds dreamer but the genre. I used to love books like Lord of the Rings, Eragon and Harry Potter but increasingly I’ve found that except where nostalgia is concerned i don’t enjoy the genre any longer but books like this rekindle that old flame because it captures the spirit of what makes the genre good, combining creatures of myth and folklore with exciting and entertaining narrative. I mean I was hooked from the first page, where I find out that I’m one of those people gifted with fairy sight, sure at 23 years old I’m probably out of the specific age range for the book but as I said I am and always will be a dreamer, and as a girl called Wendy once said ‘I do believe in fairies’. The call to action on the first page would be exciting to read as a child, and it would certainly inspire me to run off into the garden to see if I could see the magical fae behind every bush or tree. This book inspires action and magic from the get go and not a lot of books can claim that. Paired with the engaging and light dialogue are illustrations which add a lot to the proceedings, you can really feel the rich life of the faeries and other inhabitants of the Falkland Wood. I also like the casual conversational style of the narrative, but despite that it doesn’t dumb things down, it’s not too silly but instead presents exactly the type of magic and wonder that makes these stories enjoyable. Honestly this has kind of inspired me, I read a lot of crime fiction and I do really enjoy it but it’s been good to take a break to read something so nice and wholesome and just enjoyable. I cannot recommend this book highly enough, I give It a 5/5 for sheer creativity, and for reaching the part of me that’s always loved this type of story that I thought had maybe gone the way of the dinosaurs, or more aptly perhaps, I’d lost my ‘Fairy Sight’ but a few pages of this book was all it took to renew my powers. And I hope to walk again through Folkland Woods.

This is a wonderful book which transports you into the world of trolls, fairies, kelpies and various other creatures living in Folkland. It catches the imagination of children round 8 years old to the over 60s like myself. I bought 2 copies, one as a gift for a young boy and the other for myself as I knew I would not be able to part with it! The story is loosely based in Falkland Woods, not far from my hometown of Dunfermline in Fife. The real magic in the book is the very distinctive drawings. Jenni has taken photographs in Falkland Woods and etched all of he creatures and their world on top of these pictures which is genius and adds so much to the character of the book. At the end of the book when imaginative minds sigh, you turn the page and there is a list of creatures in the book with a challenge to find each one which takes you right back into the book and really studying these excellent drawings or 'etchings' which is a more appropriate term. Well done Jenni Dudgeon for helping me be a child again and it will take me some time studying all of the creatures nooks and crannies of Folkland, a definite 'must have' for children and adults alike!