Cover and internal illustrations by Chris Mould

When Truth Pixie was small, her Great Aunt Julia cast a spell which means she can only ever tell the truth. And that’s a good thing, right? Wrong! Lonely and miserable, the Truth Fairy has upset her family and friends with her truths to the point she rarely ventures out and does her best to ignore people when she absolutely must leave the safety of her home. When the cupboards are bare and food shopping becomes essential she heads to town. But will she manage to control her truths when faced with a Troll?

Told in verse, The Truth Pixie is a wonderfully uplifting tale of life, loneliness, worries and the power of true friendship and a must read for building empathy in our world, and for understanding that even when being truthful, we can do so with kindness.

As with Reasons To Stay Alive (for adults), Matt Haig takes life’s complexity and drills down to the basics – it isn’t always a wonderful life, and actually, that’s ok. With poignant messages for children struggling with change, friendships and saying goodbye, this is an all year round story perfect for helping children (and adults) accept life’s ups and downs.

Chris Mould’s illustrations match the tale perfectly with humour and brevity by turn, making this a truly special little book that deserves a place in every school library, if not every stocking this Christmas.

Huge thanks to Jen at Shapes For Schools for sending me a copy for review along with their teaching resources  which can be used as part of english lessons, or as extra-curricular activities and have a reading comprehension focus, but also cover other areas of the curriculum. The resources cover all of the books in the series, with links to Charles Dickens and Queen Victoria too. You can download the resources here.