The Trouble With Tink

(Disney Fairies)

by
Kiki Thorpe

illustrated by

Judith Holmes Clarke

& The Disney Storybook Artists

Random House, January 2006, 109 pp.
ISBN: 0-7364-7271-0

Genre: Early Chapter
Subgenres: Disney / Fairies
Reviewed: 4/17/2006

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Excerpt

"Tink," the voice said.

Tink turned. Terence was standing behind her on the branch. She'd been so wrapped up in her thoughts, she hadn't even heard him fly up.

"I haven't fixed the ladle yet," Tink told him miserably.

"I didn't come because of the ladle," Terence replied. " I saw you leave the tearoom."

When Tink didn't explain, Terence sat down next to her on the branch. "Tink, are you all right? Everyone is saying that . . ." He paused. Like Queen Ree, Terence couldn't bring himself to repeat the gossip. It seemed to unkind.

"That I've lost my talent," Tink finished for him. She sighed. "Maybe they're right, Terence. I can't seem to fix anything. Everything I touch comes out worse than when I started."

Terence was startled. One thing he had always admired about Tink was her fierceness: her fierce dark eyebrows, her fierce determination, even the fierce happiness of her dimpled smile. He had never seen her look defeated as she did now.

"I don't believe that," he told her. "You're the best pots-and-pans fairy in the kingdom. Talent doesn't just go away like that."

Tink said nothing. But she felt grateful to him for not believing the rumors. For still believing in her.

"Tink," Terence asked gently, "what's really going on?"

Tink hesitated. "I lost my hammer," she blurted at last.

Synopsis

In Pixie Hollow, the secret heart of Never Land, Tinker Bell "Tink" is a pots-and-pans fairy. Not only is she a pots-and-pans fairy, but she is the best pots-and-pans fairy. Using her tinker hammer and her talent, Tink is able to fix any pot or pan that has been damaged.

One day, while playing Fairy Tag with some of her friends, Tink loses her hammer. Devastated, Tink searches everywhere for her hammer, but cannot find it. As her work begins to build up, Tink looks for a replacement and finds a red pebble on the beach. Everything she fixes with that pebble looks bad and begins to leak.

Rumors start to fly around Pixie Hollow that Tink has lost her talent and that any pots and pans that need to be fixed should not be taken to her. Tink's good friend, Terence, still believes in her and she finally confides in him that she has lost her hammer. Tink also admits that she has a spare hammer, but it is in Peter Pan's hideout. She confides that she thinks that Peter is mad at her for leaving because Peter was spending all of her time with Wendy.

Maybe with Terence's help, Tink can finally face Peter Pan and get her spare tinker hammer back.

The Trouble With Tink is the first book in the Disney Fairies series and is written by Kiki Thorpe and illustrated by Judith Holmes Clarke. This stand alone book is also illustrated by the Disney Storybook Artists. This series is intended for young readers aged 7 to 9.

Review

Being an ex-employee of the Walt Disney Corporation, I love a lot of things that they do. Also, my daughter is a huge fairy fan. So when I heard that Disney was going to put out early chapter books about Tinker Bell and other fairies, I knew I had to get my hands on these books.

The first thing I noticed while flipping through this book is the incredibly beautiful images that were created to enhance the story. You can see that the artists really cared about what they were creating and the pictures are gorgeous. I give the artists a big thumbs up.

As for the storyline, Kiki Thorpe does a wonderful job telling us a story about Tinker Bell. I had never really thought about how Tinker Bell got her name or what type of fairy she was, and I really enjoyed learning about her. It is also nice reading a story about Never Land without Peter Pan being the main character.

Young readers will highly enjoy this story and the illustrations.

Overall, I think that The Trouble With Tink is a great start to a series that I hope will be around for a long time. After all, what child doesn't love a good Disney story . . . especially one about the most famous fairy in the world.

I rated this book a 9 out of 10.