The Harvest Queen

Alison Mews is co-ordinator of the Centre for Instructional Services at
The Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Drawing on elements of traditional fairy lore, Joanne Robertson has
created an original tale where fairies lurk beneath the surface of
contemporary life. This is the day for Grandma and Brigit to create
Carlin the Harvest Queen—a scarecrow-like figure made of garden
produce and a pumpkin head. When Carlin is completed, Grandma warns
Brigit that she must never enter a fairy ring, if she should chance to
see one. Brigit knows that only someone wearing a four-leaf clover can
see fairies, so she finds one. As darkness approaches, so do the
fairies, to dance with Carlin. As Brigit watches, the fairies form a
ring around her. Remembering that Grandma declared red was a protective
color, she quickly places Carlin’s beet necklace around her neck and
seizes the bouquet with its red peppers and radishes, thereby outwitting
the fairies. When Brigit returns home, she resolves to have Grandma make
her four-leaf clover into a pendant.

Karen Reczuch’s realistic illustrations are full of suppressed
energy. Her fairies are quite angelic, without menace, despite the
anxious looks we see on Brigit’s face. She aptly mirrors the gentle
foreboding evoked by the story.

The Harvest Queen can be shared with small children, even at bedtime.
The surprise twist at the end (it is revealed that Brigit’s mother had
a similar experience as a child) will delight them. Recommended.