Twig, A Fairy Story For Kids and Adults

When I was just five years of age, I became fascinated by a book that one of my sisters was given as a birthday present. The name of the book was simply Twig. I thought this was really interesting as our family name is Trigg. Possessing the name Trigg, one is subject to many teasings on the variations of the name such as the "trigger" of a gun, Trigger, Roy Roger's horse, and of course, a small branch on a tree - a twig.

I loved having this book read to me at bedtime and I am sure it influenced my dreams with visions of fairies and other magical creatures for many years.

Even though the story of Twig is about a little girl and fairies, I found it fascinating and magical. That probably had much to do with my maternal grandmother being a somewhat mystical person with a huge, rambling back garden incorporating an orchard, plenty of hiding places for kids games, and, as she told me from time to time with a twinkle in her eye, fairies, elves, and goblins. My grandmother loved butterflies and cultivated a great many plants that attracted them.

She said every butterfly that came into her garden was actually a fairy.

In this whimsical storybook, Twig lives in a funny house in the middle of a city. The backyard of the house Twig lives in is very small and very empty. The only real things that exist in Twig's world are a tin can, a solitary dandelion, and a stream whose source is a drainpipe. A strange and motley collection of creatures live and flourish in her imagination.

Twig, who is a very imaginative little girl finds the tin can (actually an empty tomato can) with a label comprised of bright red tomatoes pictured on it. When turned upside down, it looks like a pretty little house. And, just the right size for a fairy! Twig stands it upside down next to the dandelion that is close by the stream. And the story in the book is an account of what happens in and around that little house one Saturday.

Twig's company in her world is a cat named Old Girl, an old horse who pulls an ice delivery wagon, a little elf who comes along to live in the house and, at Twig's request, turns her fairy-sized, (though he cannot manage wings) and a friendly sparrow who fetches the Queen of the fairies to help.

The book is still available so I won't be a spoiler by revealing too much of the storyline. Needless to say, the story is cram full of magic, much fun, plenty of fantasy mixed in with reality, and acts of kindness that relate very well to the very young. And just because it centers around a girl does not make it a book just for girls. Twig falls into the category of a children’s book for ALL children and ALL adults, one that every child should read or have read to in the first half dozen years of life. It is a book that can be handed down from generation to generation.

Twig provides a gentle kind of humor; a genuine kindliness, and most importantly of all, a great emphasis on stoking a child's imagination. The opening sets the tone for the entire book and begs the question; what makes a great children’s book? After reading Twig, my head was still filled with images of elves, fairies, houses made of tin cans, and other strange things for days after.

Reading Twig as an adult is just as enjoyable as having the story read to me as a child. As an adult reader, I love the following passage:

“She looked and looked. And pretty soon she saw a little tiny star, no bigger than a toothpaste top, come out right above the backyard. She saw it come out and begin to twinkle, all by itself. Why! It wasn't evening yet. There weren't any other stars around. There was nothing around except a plain, ordinary sky. But the little star kept twinkling.

And—somehow—the sky didn't seem so plain and ordinary anymore. Why! Even a little star no bigger than a toothpaste top made quite a difference—a little star, twinkling all by itself, made a difference in the whole sky."

The last sentence in the above passage should be explained to any child as early as the child can be expected to understand it. Every child is special. Every child born has the potential to make a difference.

That is what stands out to me in Twig, as an adult, revisiting a book I had read to me 72 years ago.

Children are fascinated by magic and Twig is very simply a magical book.

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