Do You Believe in Fairies?

Published in 1924, when children's fantasy still trusted in its own enchantment without irony, this collection gathers tales of goblins and giants, dreaming children and imprisoned fairies. The stories possess a specific early-century charm: a little girl who runs until her feet leave the ground, reaching for clouds she insists are within grasp; a gentle giant mocked by clams until his sorrow reshapes the seashore; a fairy chained by enchantment, waiting for a prince who may or may not come. Andrews writes with the conviction that childhood is a country worth protecting, and her poetry and illustrations serve as maps to that vanishing kingdom. The book does not condescend to its young readers or lard sentiment over simple truths. Instead, it offers what children have always sought: permission to believe in what cannot be proven, and the assurance that imagination is not escape but its own form of reality. Nearly a century old, these stories retain their strange power to make the invisible visible, if only for an afternoon.