Joan Kindig, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
Alice believes she is a fairy-in-training. She is certain that when she becomes a permanent fairy she will be able to do all of the things real fairies do. For now, she must content herself with small-scale magic like changing her dad into a horse (so he can play horsey with her) and making herself disappear (turning off the light switch). Her fairy dust is sugar that, in her mind, changes her yucky oatmeal into yummy cake. Sometimes, though, her magic powers get her into trouble and the Duchess (mommy) locks her in the tower (her room). In Alice the Fairy, Shannon returns to the unsophisticated, childlike paintings that were so successful in No, David! and its sequels. Since this is told from a preschooler's point of view, the artwork is the perfect complement to the story. Alice is a typical preschooler who truly believes if she hides under a blanket, she has disappeared. It is this innocence that makes the story so believable and charming. Alice is pretending to be a fairy and the reader wants nothing more than to join Alice as she waves her magic wand all around her world. 2004, Blue Sky Press, $15.95. Ages 3 to 8.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2004 (Vol. 72, No. 19))
Young David, who ran bare-bottomed into the hearts of zillions, has a sister-or at least a kindred spirit! Unlike her nonverbal relative, though, she's quite a chatterbox. Introducing herself as a "Temporary fairy," she proceeds to demonstrate tricks she can do-magically turning Dad into a horsie, a plateful of Dad's cookies into her cookies, and, by waving her wand too close to a glass of juice, a white dress into a red one-and can't-making the dog, or her strewn clothes, float off the floor. A peg-toothed child sporting tied-on wings, and a sequined tiara atop blonde curls, Alice dances through Shannon's blotchy, scribbled domestic scenes. Her big personality shines forth from both pictures and hand-lettered nattering, and the touch of vulnerability that he adds to her brash self-confidence makes her all the more likable. Watch out, Olivia. 2004, Blue Sky/Scholastic, 40p, $15.95. Category: Picture book. Ages 5 to 7. © 2004 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Anne Hanson (Library Media Connection, February 2005)
Alice uses her imagination and her trusty magic wand to change her father into a horse, his cookies into her own, and to make leaves fall from the trees. She disappears with the assistance of her wand and a light switch, and when that's too scary, she uses her blanket instead. She'd really like to make her dog float to the ceiling, change her bath water to Jell-O, and make her clothes line up and dance into the closet, but she will need to go to Advanced Fairy School for that. She's pretty sure she may never achieve Advanced Fairy School, but that doesn't stop her from trying to change that frog into something more interesting. Alice is joyful, creative, angry, and smart, and if you believe her story, it's all because she has fairy magic emanating from her wand. Only her mom, The Wicked Duchess, puts an occasional damper on her days. This is a delightful book in which the main character's imaginary life is as full as Calvin's in Calvin and Hobbes comics. It is a wonderful story told with up close and funny illustrations. Recommended. 2004, Scholastic, 40pp., $15.95 lb. Ages 3 to 8.

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, November 2004 (Vol. 58, No. 3))
She may look like an ordinary goldy-locked, gap-toothed urchin with strapped-on wings and a sequin-studded wand, but she's a "Temporary fairy" with the creds to prove it. After all, she can turn her oatmeal into cake with a sprinkling of fairy dust (well, sugar), turn her dad's chocolate-chip cookies into her own (through an act of bold preemption), and make herself disappear with a wave of her wand (swatting the light switch). Admittedly, making the dog levitate and her clothes magically dance onto the closet rod is going to take a bit more practice, and she does have a touch of trouble with the duchess, who serves her broccoli and confines her to her chambers for turning her white dress red. Shannon's heroine looks suspiciously like a relative of his rollicking David (No, David!, BCCB 9/98 etc.) and inhabits the same domestic turf where impishness, properly viewed from a child perspective, is the normal course of events. Hasty shwooshes of heavily applied paint that spill untidily from scrappy black outlining underscore the rambunctiousness of the Temporary fairy herself. While this romp doesn't have the David books' bonus of limited vocabulary, it will appeal to little gals who comprise equal measures of sugar and pepper. (Reviewed from galleys) Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2004, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2004, Blue Sky/Scholastic, 40p, $15.95. Ages 4-7 yrs.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2005)
Fairy dust is very useful. I use it to turn oatmeal into cake." In the accompanying illustration, a tiara-adorned girl piles sugar on her breakfast, showing off one of her many magical fairy tricks. While she's not as rude as her literary cousin, David (No, David!), fans will still enjoy the basic goodness, exuberance, and wild imagination of Shannon's latest character. Category: Preschool. 2004, Scholastic/Blue Sky, 32pp, 15.95. Ages 2 to 5. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.

Roseann Pastir (The Kutztown University Book Review, Spring 2005)
This charming book is about an imaginative little girl named Alice who pretends that she is a fairy. She tells the reader that she can make the autumn leaves fall with her magic wand but hasn’t yet learned to make her dog float or how to make he clothes dance into the closet. She knows that she will have to go to advanced fairy school for those tricks so she decides to be a temporary fair forever. This book is written by the author of the David books and is just as charming. All children have fun pretending and this is shown with great wit and humor. I fell in love with Alice and the reader will too. Category: Picture Book. 2004, The Blue Sky Press, $15.95. Ages 5 to 7.

Denise Szymczak (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 17, No. 4))
Alice describes her activities as a “temporary fairy,” which includes magically changing her father’s cookies into her own cookies and using her magic wand to turn off the lights. This book has lovely pictures depicting a broad range of playful and daily activities. The text also addresses concepts of pretend and magic as well as the process of reframing events to draw different inferences. This is an excellent little story. Fiction. Grades PreK-2. 2004, Blue Sky, Unpaged., $15.95. Ages 3 to 8.