Edith: The Girl Who Was 100 Years Old

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to stay young forever? To not have to grow up and do 'adult' things? How about making inanimate objects come to life with the power of your mind? Well, Edith can do both! When she was younger, two different fairies granted two forms of magic to Edith, and what follows is a magical journey of self-discovery as Edith learns what is important to her: friendships, resilience, and the ability to experience new and exciting adventures. On her 100th birthday, Edith decides that enough is enough. She wants to grow up and experience adulthood like everyone else, and so she sets out on an adventure to make this happen with her faithful dog and a lemon she brought to life.

This is an early-reader chapter book with beautiful illustrations used to enhance the story as it goes along. Edith's adventures are shared with some amazing vocabulary (radiant, scraggy, plateau) and an energetic storyline. This story might work as a read aloud, though it involves more magical fairies than some tamariki may like. It lends itself nicely to inference and predictions; one possible class activity could be to create a story map based on it as a part of a narrative writing unit. Overall, 'Edith' is a beautiful story with a great moral, which I'm sure many young readers will enjoy.