A Masterpiece for Bess

(Disney Fairies)

by
Lara Bergen

illustrated by

The Disney Storybook Artists

Random House, December 2006, 113 pp.
ISBN: 978-0-7364-2418-9

Genre: Early Chapter
Subgenres: Disney / Fairies
Reviewed: 12/15/2007

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Out of Red Paint

Normally, Bess made her paints in small batches. But she'd spent far more time collecting the currants than she'd planned. If she was ever going to get all those fairies their portraits, she'd have to start speeding things up--a lot! That meant making lots of paint.

Bess kicked off her shoes and rolled up her spider-silk leggings. Then, ever so carefully, she climbed into the shell.

"Oops!" Bess slipped and almost fell. She caught herself on the shell.

POP! Squish! The pulpy fruit burst out of its skin and oozed coolly between her toes. Bess stomped around in the bowl. Her feet moving faster and faster.

She tried her best to keep her wings high and dry. But she could tell they were growing heavy with juice. No matter, she thought. They'll have plenty of time to dry while I paint. She looked down at the ruby red juice in the shell. Her heart filled with joy. Without thinking about it, she began to sing. . . .

"Oh, fairy, fairy, fly with me--"

"Bess? What are you doing?"

The voice behind Bess took her by surprise. She wavered, and her foot slipped.

Splash!

Bess fell face-first into the sticky red currant mash.

Synopsis

In Pixie Hollow, the secret heart of Never Land, Bess is an art-talent fairy. One day, she paints a portrait for Tinker Bell, and Tink absolutely loves it. In fact, every fairy in Pixie Hollow who sees it really seems to love it. By the end of the day, Bell has had fourteen requests for portrait from other fairies. She starts on a couple of them, but soon comes to realize that she does not have enough red paint.

When she collects her supplies, some fairies approach her and ask her for their portraits. After she makes the red paint, she is very sticky with juice and falls in the river. She is saved by more fairies and they also want portraits.

Every where Bess goes, fairies or sparrow men want their portraits painted. The worst thing is, none of them ask Bess if she wants to paint their portraits. They just all assume that Bess will do it and that theirs is the most important one to be painted. Bess's main problem is that she wants to make everyone happy and cannot seem to say no.

Poor Bess, she is no longer happy herself and doesn't want to paint anyone's portrait . . . and no one wants to hear what she has to say.

A Masterpiece for Bess is another book in the Disney Fairies series. It is written by Lara Bergen and illustrated by The Disney Storybook Artists. This series is intended for young readers aged 7 to 9.

Review

I felt very sorry for Bess in A Masterpiece for Bess. Have you ever been in the situation where you do something and everyone loves it? They all say that want the same thing from you and at first it is great. Then, because of the work involved, you start to feel overburdened. Then the stress hits and you wish it had never happened. This is what happens to the main character in A Masterpiece for Bess.

The thing we learn about fairies is that they jump from one fashion to another, always latching onto the hottest thing (sounds like the youth of today). So, when the portrait of Tink became famous, everyone wanted one too. And poor Bess just couldn't say "No" to anyone that asked. Boy, oh boy, sometimes you just have to say "No" to people. This is a lesson that Bess learns the hard way. I really enjoyed this story and felt very sorry for Bess as her stress level increased.

A Masterpiece for Bess is another excellent Disney Fairies book that I highly enjoyed, and early chapter readers will too. To tell the truth, any child who loved fairies, especially Disney fairies, will love this story. Wonderful. it is also a good lesson for all readers.

I rated this book a 9 out of 10.