Fairy Prince and Other Stories

A collection that opens with pure enchantment: a nine-year-old narrator describes her family's Thanksgiving gathering, where the arrival of the handsome Derry Willard disrupts the cozy household and captures her older sister Rosalee's attention. But the true magic lies in the Christmas tree "budding" tradition, a tender ritual where the family nurtures hopes and dreams into existence. Abbott writes with the kind of effortless charm that makes the mundane feel sacred, whether it's a mute brother's quiet presence, the chaos of relatives gathered around a table, or a child's absolute certainty that fairies are real. These stories sit at the intersection of reality and wonder, capturing a particular early 20th-century American domesticity that feels both specific and timeless. The child's voice is irresistible, forward, observant, slightly impish, utterly convinced that the world is magical. This is comfort reading in its truest sense, the literary equivalent of warm cider and a crackling fire.