Fanny's Dream

by Caralyn and Mark Buehner. (Dial, 1996 ISBN 0803714971. Hardcover, Library Binding.). Picture Book. Grades 2+.
This review by Carol Otis Hurst first appeared in the July '96 issue of Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Newsletter.

Review

In Fanny's Dream we get a gentle, funny and warm story with echoes of a fairy tale. Fanny Agnes is a sturdy farm girl who dreams of marrying a prince, or at least the mayor's son. Convinced that, if it happened once, it can happen again, and ignoring the cruel taunts of her friends and relatives, Fanny waits in the garden in the moonlight for her fairy godmother to fix her up for the mayor's ball. Instead Heber, a short, kind farmer appears and asks for Fanny's hand. With a sigh, Fanny accepts and she and Heber share the work, the hardships and the laughter of their lives on the farm. Shortly after the third child arrives, Fanny stops in the moonlight of the melon patch to rest and her apologetic fairy godmother appears with promises of a new and princess-like existence, but Fanny chooses Heber and returns to their home. Talk about values! And you will, won't you?

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Buttons by Brock Cole. (2000, Farrar. ISBN 0374310017. Order Info.) Picture Book. 32 pages. Gr K-4.
This is a delightfully silly tale of a man with three daughters who bursts his buttons which the daughters go to extraordinary lengths to replace. Cole's text is witty as well as silly and gives us a delightful tale. Read More.

Related Areas on Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site

• Folk and Fairy Tales, Tongue-in-Cheek Versions. Featured Subject with activities, related books and links.
• Farms in Children's Literature