Lily's Pesky Plant by Kirsten Larsen, Judith Holmes Clarke (Illustrator), Judith H. Clarke (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

Lily has a talent for making things grow. So when she finds a mysterious seed in the middle of the woods, she plants it. But the seedling that comes up is not anything Lily expected. It stinks and it oozes sap. Will Lily have to pull up her poor pesky plant?

Children's Literature

Though lesser known than her famous friend Tinkerbell, Lily is a kindhearted, talented fairy in her own right. Her gift is gardening, and she derives great joy from the beautiful flowers she nurtures with equal parts of patience and love. The other fairies in Pixie Hollow also enjoy her garden, not only for its beauty, but for food and healing herbs as well. One day Lily chances upon an unfamiliar seed and, along with her friend Iris (a gardener wannabe), plants it. The mystery plant grows quickly but not prettily: it looks ugly and smells worse! Then the bad smells attract swarms of wasps, which are lethal to fairies. After that danger passes, pink pollen blankets everything, interfering with the fairies' magic and threatening to prevent them from flying. After a rainstorm rids Pixie Hollow of the pollen, two fairies get stuck in the plant's sap and then are almost killed by an owl. This is the last straw and, to Lily's great dismay, the fairies take sides for and against destroying the plant. Just as it appears hopeless Iris flies in bearing delicious golden fruit, courtesy of Lily's strange plant. The plant is saved, Lily is a hero, and harmony is restored in Pixie Hollow once more. A sweet story complete with morals about friendship and loyalty, this is an enjoyable title in Disney's "Fairies" series. The numerous illustrations enhance the book with their vibrant colors and whimsical nature.

School Library Journal

Gr 2-3-These four paperbacks feature the denizens of Pixie Hollow, in Never Land. Beck, an animal-talent fairy, helps to end a war between the hummingbirds and the chipmunks. Lily, a garden-talent fairy, plants a mysterious seed that grows into a noxious but ultimately amazing plant. Tink, otherwise known as Tinker Bell, is a pots-and-pans fairy whose talent disappears when she loses her magic hammer. Vidia is a fast-flying-talent fairy with a mean streak, whose heart warms just a little when other fairies help her clear her name when she is falsely accused of stealing the Fairy Queen's crown. The full-color illustrations are typical Disney animation style. These attractive, fluffy titles will almost certainly fly off the shelves where such paperback series as Tracey West's "Pixie Tricks" (Scholastic) are popular.-Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

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Lily's Pesky Plant

Random House

Chapter One

Early one morning, Lily woke to the sound of birds chirping in the topmost branches of the Home Tree, the ancient maple where Never Land's fairies live. Opening her eyes, she saw the walls of her room stretch ever so slightly as the great tree reached its branches toward the early-morning sun. Lily pushed back her fern-frond quilt and yawned, stretching her arms up into the air.

Lily climbed out of bed and opened the doors of her wardrobe, which was made from a dried gourd. She chose a thistledown shirt and knickers woven from dandelion fluff. Unlike some fairies, Lily didn't like spider-silk gowns and shoes with heels as thin as pine needles. She liked simple, sturdy clothes.

In the tearoom, Lily had her usual breakfast, a cup of lemongrass tea and a slice of poppy seed cake. Some of the other garden-talent fairies at Lily's table sat for a while at breakfast. They refilled their pots of tea and spread heaps of black cherry jam on their bread. But not Lily. The moment her plate and cup were empty, she pushed them aside and flew off to her garden.

Lily's garden was just two frog's leaps beyond the Home Tree, right in the heart of Pixie Hollow. All the fairies agreed that it was one of the nicest places in the entire fairy kingdom. On one side of her garden was a hedge of raspberry bushes. On the other side, a wild rosebush sweetly scented the air. Everywhere bright red and orange poppies sprang from the ground. Clusters of Queen Anne's lace and lilac made pleasant groves where a fairy could sit and think. And throughout the garden, sweet clover sprouted in fairy-sized beds. They were perfect for taking naps in.

The garden was a favorite spot of many fairies, who were always dropping by. Harvest-talent fairies picked raspberries from the bushes. Healing-talent fairies collected herbs for their potions. Other fairies simply liked to walk among the beautiful flowers.

Lily welcomed them all. Next to working in her garden, Lily's favorite thing was watching fairies enjoy the beautiful plants she grew. The fairies also enjoyed Lily's company. With her friendly, direct smile and her sparkling dark eyes, she was as fresh and lovely as the flowers she grew.

As soon as Lily got to her garden, she called out, "Bumble!" At once, a large bee zipped out of the flowers and flew up to her. Bumble was yellow, round, and fuzzy all over. He wasn't Lily's pet, exactly. He had just showed up one day and never left. The two had become good friends.

Bumble always followed Lily as she took care of her plants. She watered them. She checked their leaves for spots. That morning Lily saw that some of the daffodils had been toppled by a breeze. She tied the stems to stakes to help them stand sturdy and strong again.

When she was done making the rounds in her garden, Lily lay down on a patch of soft moss to watch the grass grow. To you this might sound boring, but for her it was every bit as exciting as watching butterfly races (a favorite fairy pastime). Lily was certain that the blades of grass grew faster when they knew she was watching.

Unluckily for Lily, she was the only fairy in all of Pixie Hollow to have this hobby. When others saw her lying in the grass, they usually thought she was doing nothing at all. Often, they would start talking to her. This frustrated Lily, for it broke her concentration.

And that was exactly what happened that morning. Bumble was buzzing around the buttercups in the corner of her garden, and Lily was lying nearby, watching a (very slow) race between two blades of grass. One blade was winning, and Lily was urging the other one to catch up, when a voice broke through her thoughts.

"I say, what a funny thing!" The voice was loud and a bit shrill.

Lily didn't move, except to lower her eyelids. She hoped whoever it was would think she was sleeping and go away.

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