I loved this book! It reminded me of Pressed Fairies and the Dragonology books I loved as a kid. Lovely writing, great illustrations, and really fun framing device.

If the illustrations had been just a bit better in regard to the fairies' faces, this would probably be 5 stars. As it was, they could look a little ugly and I don't think they were meant to be. I also got this from my local library and the physical copy is where it's at - it's a lovely book, gilt edges to the papers, and the colors and lay-out of the individual pages are quite pleasing.

Not that it means anything, but I was surprised that in Hawkin's version, fairies lay eggs. It was an interesting concept, especially the flutterpillar, cocoon, and moppet stages of life, but I don't know that I like it.

Similar in vein as Fairyopolis: A Flower Fairies Journal, though this is not meant as a child's journal but an actual informational history, listing fairies by location mostly and gives plenty of "facts" about individual fairy species and their habitats, distinctive features and habits. I am partial to CMB's portrayal of fairies insofar as art goes, but this had a lot more thought put into the writing aspect of it. I would have gone nuts over this as a young girl.

Beautifully illustrated and mysterious and captivating story. Highly recommend to children and adults who want a bit of magic in their life alike. Will definitely be paying attention to the author and illustrator.

5★
“A Note From the Publisher: The original edition of this book, a volume dating from the 1920s, was discovered in the archives of the British Museum of Natural History, in a folder labelled ‘Unverified’. Although the publisher has made efforts to track down Professor Elsie Arbour, no trace has been found of her. For this reason, the publisher cannot confirm the authenticity of the book’s contents, so presents it merely as an item of interest. Readers who are keen to find out whether fairies really exist are advised to carry out their own investigations.”

Oh my, this is a delightful little book for lovers of fairies, magic, art, and – dare I say? – history! The colour scheme is old-fashioned in tones of sepia and what I’d call woodland pastels. Just lovely.

Aunt Elsie is off to the Amazon rainforest to track down a “little known hummingbird fairy” and is leaving her book with Annabelle for safekeeping.

My Goodreads review has an illustration with the caption: Aunt Elsie in her garden in 1923

“Over the last thirty years, I have climbed treacherous mountains, waded through mosquito-infested swamps, and braved scorching deserts, all with the goal of finding and studying fairies in their natural habitats. I have lost count of the hours I’ve spent perching next to streams in the pouring rain to observe river sprites or crawling around in damp woodland to get close to forest fairies. This book is the result of all my hard work. It is a complete collection of my research into these little-known creatures.”

There is a discussion about fairies being difficult to classify because they don’t exist. Aha! Aunt Elsie offers us The Platypus. In the 1790s, nobody believed that this wonderful little Australian creature existed either, but it does. So there.

The chart below shows how the Meadow Fairy may be classified with various other animals. If you look carefully, you'll see her in each section. She's the one with the light golden wings.

My Goodreads review has an illustration with the caption: Suggested classification chart of the Meadow Fairy

There are so many stages of development where one might discover a fairy.

My Goodreads review has an illustration with the caption: Life cycle of a fairy

And here are a couple of early stages.

My Goodreads review has an illustration with the caption: Flutterpillar identification and Cocoon identification

There are so many different kinds of fairies, but I’ve chosen this one to show you an example. This is a small section of the Mountain Fairies page.

My Goodreads review has an illustration with the caption: Mountain Fairies

There are fairies around the world, in all the different habitats, and Aunt Elsie has included lots of pictures and descriptions of them all. Mountains, deserts, houses. This is just a small example.

My Goodreads review has an illustration with the caption: A couple of freshwater fairies, a River Sprite and a Jogah Sprite

Of course, you need to know Fairy Language and the Fairy Alphabet!

My Goodreads review has an illustration with the caption: The Fairy Alphabet

I’m sure this as scientifically accurate a study as you’re likely to find anywhere. It is chock-a-block full of information, all of it beautifully illustrated with detailed descriptions. I must go down to the bottom of our rainforest garden and see who I can find!

Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Books, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books for the stunning preview copy from which I’ve shared a few pictures.

What a wonderful book, prettily illustrated, compiled carefully, voila the book of fairies. You can learn a lot about fairies here, from the unverified book of Prof.Elsie Arbour, found in the British Museum of Natural History. WOW!

So apparently this woman did her fairy research, but unfortunately the book was hidden in the museum. Now published, you can read her mesmerizing work concerning fairies. How about that!

I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
I really love this book! It's written as a non-fiction science guide as if fairies are real, and it gets REALLY scientific down to classifications, looking at characteristics, comparing them to other animals, talking about habitat and how their appearance changes etc. A really fun book that's well made!
If you want to teach children about all of these things I mentioned above, but also want to make it very fun and silly: this is the one!!!

This is a gorgeous book, just lovely. It contains the research notes of a naturalist of the 1920's, on fairies from around the world, and there are so many interesting things to learn! Wing types, habitats, adaptions, camouflage techniques, interactions with other species, and more. Along the way, we learn more general things about the different areas of the world the fairies live in, giving us a broader sense of their lives- a nice treat for the junior nature scientists! The accompanying illustrations are beautifully rendered with lots of detail, and the notes with the pictures give additional insights. Unfortunately, fairies are at risk of becoming endangered, along with many animal species, as more and more of their habitats are being destroyed by humans. Hopefully, humans will come to the conclusion that this destruction must end, preserving these areas and their inhabitants, including fairies!

#ANaturalHistoryofFairies #NetGalley

I absolutely love this! It’s easy to get swept up in all things fairy in this book. My daughter was totally obsessed with this.

This encyclopedia of fairies is charming and beautifully illustrated. This is the book I needed as a fairy-obsessed little girl! The creativity put into the illustrations and the way the book is told through the author's personal findings have made me start to look closer at flowers and butterflies for hidden fairies! Overall, a wonderful book for children interested in magical creatures!

This is an adorable and entertaining little book that would be a delightful gift! I loved the quirky premise - an anthropological guidebook to the world of fairies, made by a 1920s female adventurer for her niece, sounded delightful, and the fun illustrations and facts lived up to the promise. The book itself is beautiful, and I can imagine it would be even lovelier on paper. The writing style is perfectly pitched and hugely entertaining - it's the kind of book that would have you wondering as a child if fairies were real or not. Perfect for kids and adults who love Dragonology-style fictional non-fiction.

This is a gorgeous book with tons of illustrations and information about various different faeries. I could see this being on any child's bookshelf and them pouring over it for hours.

Thanks Emily Hawkins, Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group for the ARC.

This is a very cute book about different faeries around the world. Some pretty art too.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this beautiful ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was beautifully made and so superb thanks to the magnificent art that you can't not love and admire. I spent some time on each page because I loved looking at the illustrations. This book is so enchanting and captivating. We, readers and lovers of fantasy, will enjoy this book very much. I can say that fantasy writers must have this book for it is so inspiring. It was interesting how the author gave life to these little beings and she made them look like some kind of animals with different species and everything.

What also made this book so enjoyable to read and "turn its pages"was the illustrations. They gave to the descriptions of the fairies made by the author a lively magical existence.
This book was so wonderful and I had a good time while reading it and looking at the illustrations to the point that I want to go looking for the fairies in my garden and house.

What a fun and gorgeous book about the natural history of fairies all over the world. I loved the illustrations and the writing and can't wait to get my hands on the paper version of this book as well as to bring it to the attention of all the young readers I know.

This was a fun book. I really enjoyed the illustrations of this book, and I learned a lot about fairies. I don't know a lot about them, but now I feel like I know a bit more about them. It's an easy read and the illustrations do help a lot. Highly suggest the book.

Firstly, the illustrations are tremendous. I did not realize that the illustrator was Jessica Roux, in which I adored her illustrations in Victorian Floriography. She is my absolute favorite illustrator, which has been solidified by A Natural History of Fairies.
Hawkins' field guide to fairies is extensive and informative. Not only does she preface the guide with the botanist, she creates an experience that blurs the lines of fact and fiction. The break up of each section was well done, scaffolding the information in a way that was easily digestible. I especially adored the end section which depicted various animals and plants which fairies shared a mutual or predatory relationship with. That section was very rooted in fact that could be useful to children readers, especially the explanations of real plants that provide a habitat.

This was a beautifully illustrated reference book about the history of fairies. Kids will have fun reading the descriptions and learning about the different habitats of fairy species from around the world. You can decide at the end of the book if you believe fairies are real or not. I choose to believe they are real. :)

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

A Natural History of Fairies by Emily Hawkins highlights different multi dimension of fairies. With this in mind, this book is a wholesome length and can be reread multiple times by a reader who is fascinated by fairies. The Illustrations by Jessica Roux were beautifully done and held a high level of detail. Further, it could inspire the reader to create their personal illustrations of fairies. Also, the structure of this book is idyllic for a younger fairy enthusiast to accompany them on their journey into nature and let their imaginative mind run wild. However, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fairies, regardless of age.

For as long as I can remember, building fairy houses in my garden has been a mandatory springtime activity. This book immediately brought me back to those muddy cool days! I adored it, from the gorgeous watercolor illustrations, to the detailed profiles of an array of fairies. One of my favorite aspects was how they worked real world information (classification, habitats, etc) into the book to offer an unexpected education. It was also delightfully diverse, showing fairies of all gender, skin tone, and size on every page! Overall a fun read that I will be purchasing!

A Natural History of Fairies by Emily Hawkins was a cute read about fairies.

The illustrations were beautiful. I loved all the descriptions, types, varieties, etc. Some of the words were hard to read. I think that was due to the format of the eBook since it looked pixilated.

I enjoyed all the information and thought that went into this. I found it a little disorganized at the beginning though.

As an adult, I enjoy a lot of illustrated guides like this even when they are made for children. This one did not speak to me as much. I think it is geared much more towards a child. The illustrations and descriptions were my favouite parts.

I received an eARC from Quarto Publishing Group- Frances Lincoln Children’s Books through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.