Piper Green and the Fairy Tree: The Sea Pony by Ellen Potter illustrated by Qin Leng

Easy Fiction Treasure

The opening pages of this book gives readers a map of the Piper Green's island home. I love maps especially when they give a context to a story. If you look closely you can see Piper's house, the little store, the ferry wharf and a lighthouse. Piper has a fairy tree in her garden where she places objects and finds objects.  In The Sea Pony, Piper finds a whistle. She heads off for a day of lobster fishing with her dad and her whistle attracts a wonderful seal. Earlier in the day Piper watches as a horse, yes a real live horse, is delivered to her island. Piper imagines riding on the back of her seal but even better would be the feeling of riding on a real horse. There are twelve short chapters in this book with plenty of terrific illustrations and the delight of Piper's own "cheeky" voice.

When I walk into any bookshop of course I head to the children's section which oddly is nearly always at the back of the store. Once there, one of the first sections I seek out are the junior novels and beginner chapter books. If I had seen the Piper Green book, by Ellen Potter, in any of the bookshops I visit regularly,  I am sure I would have picked these up for my former library. There are five books in the Piper Green series and while I have only read one - The Sea Pony - I am now a huge fan. These books are sure to be popular in any Primary school library and in paperback these books are very inexpensive. I highly recommend you add them to your collection. I was delighted to discover Ellen Potter is the author another book I have talked about here for senior primary readers - Slob.

Look at the cover of The Sea Pony. Look at the illustrator name. YES it's Qin Leng. Now go and look at my review of Shelter - one of my most favourite picture books.

Here is a podcast where Ellen Potter talks about The Sea Pony. Publisher's Weekly describe the Piper Green series as:

"Skillfully blending humor, pathos, and warmth with an atmospheric setting, Potter has created an honest, empathic slice-of-life story, laced with a touch of magic."