So, I just wrapped up "The Keeper of the Little Folks: The Fairy Balm" by Carbone & Véronique Barrau, with Charline Forns on art duty. It's a whimsical graphic novel that brings you into the world of Élina, who finds out her grandma is the Keeper of the Little Folk – fairies, nymphs, and naiads, oh my!

The story kicks off when grandma decides to pass the magical torch to Élina just in time for a naiad emergency at Bird Lake. The premise is pretty cool, and you're in for a cozy adventure. The characters, especially Élina, are likable, and the mix of everyday life with fantastical elements adds a nice touch to the genre.

Now, here's the thing – it's a solid three stars from me. The illustrations by Charline Forns are lovely, don't get me wrong. They give life to these fantastical creatures in a way that makes you want to dive into the pages. But, and there's always a but, the pacing stumbled here and there. Some scenes felt like they needed a bit more oomph, you know?

But hey, there's potential here. The series has room to grow, and I’m curious to see where it goes. There's charm in "The Fairy Balm," and with a bit of fine-tuning in the pacing department, it could easily become a cozy favorite. So, if you're into a mix of everyday life and magical escapades, this might just be your cup of tea.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

The Keeper of the Little Folks: The Fairy Balm, written by Carbone and illustrated by Charline Forns, is an interesting children's book that combines fantasy and adventure. While the story has its moments of charm, it also has some flaws that bring its rating down to three stars.

One of the main strengths of the book is its illustrations, which are beautifully drawn and add a lot to the story. Forns' artwork captures the magic and wonder of the fairy world, making it easy for young readers to get lost in the story. The characters are also well-developed, and their personalities are distinct and memorable.

However, the book has some weaknesses that prevent it from being a great read. The plot is somewhat convoluted and can be difficult to follow at times, which may be confusing for younger readers. Additionally, some of the dialogue feels forced, and certain scenes feel rushed or underdeveloped.

Overall, The Keeper of the Little Folks: The Fairy Balm is a decent children's book that will likely appeal to readers who enjoy fantasy and adventure stories. While it has its flaws, it has some charming moments and beautiful artwork that make it worth a read.

This was a very cute graphic novel. I loved the pictures. A girl is being passed a gift of protecting the beautiful small creatures as her grandmother is dieing. The problem is she can not see these creatures yet. We follow her as she races to see them in time to save them.

A adventurous story about fantasy and what you choose to believe. A must for middle graders!

Thank you #NetGalley and Europe Comics for giving me the opportunity to read this!

This was fine...not my favorite, but definitely not terrible. I think some children will enjoy this story and art.

After finding out her grandmother is hiding a, not so little secret, Elina is thrown into a missing person investigation.

Very cute, middle-grade fantasy. Pleasant artwork and a solid, if slow-building, plot.

Adelaide, the Keeper of the Little Folk, is getting older and has broken her leg. So when the Little Folk send her an SOS, she can't go, but she recruits her granddaughter Élina to go so what they need in her stead. She directs Élina to a secret area in her house, where she finds a guide book and ingredients to make a potion that suddenly allows her to see all the fairies and elves and others that her grandmother talks about. It turns out a local naiad has gone missing, and Élina and her new friends must figure out where she went and how to keep the lake she resides in safe.

This is a quick little entry into the fairy world graphic novel. A lot of these elements have been done before, but not necessarily in this specific combination. It is a good pick for middle grade fantasy lovers who wish that little folk were just a special salve away and enjoy special grandmother/granddaughter relationships.

Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. (It is mentioned someone is kidnapped and in danger of being forced to marry someone. Nothing beyond that.) Violence is threatened, but thanks to magic the worst injury is grandma’s broken leg.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ep 4 of my reading slump series.

3.75 ⭐

This is such a cute graphic novel. I love the art style so much.

For the story, I think it's kinda slow but builds up right. I just wish this was much more longer than what it is. I also enjoy the Spiderwick feels to it.

Picked this up while I was in a reading slump even as a 40-year-old woman I enjoyed the story read it all in one setting looking forward to purchasing the book. Would definitely recommend to readers of any age.

Uma graphic novel muito terna, que narra uma história familiar bem como um conto de fadas, com fadas, que conectam a humanidade à natureza. As ilustrações são lindas e, com certeza, devem cativar as crianças, que são o público alvo.

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A very tender graphic novel that tells a familiar story as well as a fairy tale, with fairies, connecting humanity to nature. The illustrations are beautiful and should certainly captivate children, who are the target audience.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read and review The Keeper of the Little Folks by Carbone and Véronique Barrau and Charline Forns.

This graphic novel was an easy read unlike ones I have read in the past. The artwork, however, was really lovely and was probably the stand out of the entire novel.
It was a fluffy and cute read, and would be good for those who enjoy that sweetness in graphic novels.

The Keeper of the Little Folk had such beautiful art and out of the whole thing, I think that was my favorite part of the graphic novel. The story was kind of underwhelming for me and didn't intrigue me that much but I did think it was cute. It reminded me of The Spiderwick Chronicles a little bit, but fluffier and cuter. I'm interested to see how the rest of the story will go.

Omg, I don’t think words can explain how adorable and fun this graphic novel was!
We follow our main character as she and her mom temporarily move into her grandmother's house while she is in the hospital recovering. When she visits her grandmother in the hospital she insists that her granddaughter looks after the little people or the fairies that her grandmother oversees. And soon enough she is helping the little people with their crisis.

I loved this story and loved the illustrations even more.
4 stars.

***ARC provided by Europe Comics via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was really cute. I really liked reading it. The art style is very nice, but I do think the translation was a little bit dodgy at times and also quite insensitive to people with OCD.

This is such a beautifully illustrated graphic novel about magic and love! It’s absolutely adorable and a super quick and easy read. I loved the illustration style and the characters but I think my rating would’ve been higher if there was a little more character and story development throughout. If this was another 100 pages longer I think it would probably have been a 4 or even a 5 star for me but it just felt like it was too short for me to thoroughly enjoy it. I’d definitely recommend and if there are more volumes released I would definitely be down to visit this magical world again!

The Keeper of the Little Folk, Vol. 1, is a graphic novel following a girl named Elina. Her grandmother is in the hospital, so she and her mother go to visit. While visiting, she's exposed to the world of the Little Folk and a problem they're having. It seems like it's Elina's turn to take care of them, now.

This is a fine graphic novel, especially for kids, but it's really nothing special. It mostly just repeats existing tropes that exist in these urban fairy grandparent-to-grandchild kinds of stories and doesn't do much interesting with them. It was enjoyable, the art was pretty, and I think it'd be perfect in a grade school classroom.

I found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable quick read and would absolutely recommend this to anyone. As a reader the combination of script and exceptional artwork helps to transport us to the land of the little folk. I felt that the artwork suited the plot well and added to the vibe of the tale being told. Furthermore, I thought the plot was well thought out and progressed well, with an informative script helping guide us along. I read this in one sitting which was helped by the shorter length, but even so I didn’t want to put this down. I’ll definitely be looking into getting a physical copy of this in the future!

Cute modern fairytale story, with heavy reminiscent of Spiderwick Chronicles, but is more for children I think, it's more light.

Art - 4 stars
Story - 3 stars . I up to 3.5 stars b/c of the sentient trees ;)

Granma Adelaide had an accident, and her broken leg keeps her in the hospital because of her age, her daughter takes care of the house and maintains that it is time for her to go to a special resthome, especially because of her 'hallucinations'. Well, we can imagine what they will be when it comes to fairies.


Elina, instead decides to listen to her grandmother and thus finds out that everything is true, and that the fairies need help because the naiad in the park has disappeared.

Llyam and the rest are really cute, and the adventure is really fast as well as the mystery.

It leaves me the idea that we should listen more to older people when they tell us something, and not immediately discount them as too fantastic, because they may have a real background. It bothers me the idea of immediately thinking about greening my grandmother's house, and declaring it non-independent.

Thought it got and ending, clearly is a first volume of a series.




+My thanks to Netgalley for the digital copy+

A young girl discovers that her grandmother has been keeping a magical secret involving fairy folk, and now it's up to Élina to take over the responsibility. This is a a sweet, and involving tale for middle grade readers. The illustrations are gorgeous. And, I loved the special relationship between Élina and her granny.