Ruby Fuzzybrush's Star Dance

Reviewed by: Deidre Walsh - Goodall Memorial Library, Sanford, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: April 30, 2016

Review

Ruby is a young fox who lives in Friendship Forest with her fox family and all her friends. Ruby and the rest of her family have a magical talent of being able to make the stars light up and dance. It is a beautiful and magical sight. All the forest animals as well as Jess and Lily love to watch when it happens. But Grizelda the witch wants to put a stop to this magical light by darkening the stars and Friendship Forest forever. She sends her black dragon to do the deed. Once again, Lily and Jess come to the aid of their magical animal friends. Ruby Fuzzybrush works with her human friends to save the fox family and the forest. There is suspense here, but just enough to enhance the story and not enough to scare young readers. The pencil/pen illustrations are marvelous. They are at once detailed, adorable and compliment the story nicely. The illustrations are scattered throughout the book and at the beginning of each chapter. This series offers short chapters, larger font, simple sentence structure, adorable characters, and an enjoyable story arc. Newly independent and reluctant readers will love this. But solid independent readers will also enjoy the magical fun. Give to fans of Daisy Meadows, of animal stories, and to kids who love magic but aren't nearly ready for Harry Potter or similar titles. This is a solid purchase for most libraries and will have a very brisk circulation.

Overall Book Score: very good