The Seven Tales of Trinket

by Shelley Thomas, published 2012

“Thomas and I like the happy villages the best, the ones where music can be found in the very sounds of bees buzzing or the mooing of cattle. The ones where laughter trickles from under the cottage doors like water over smooth rocks.”

If you and your children love folk tales, and particularly Celtic folklore, this children’s book is a terrific find, a real gem. The author has taken traditional Celtic folk tales and retold them as actual stories that happen to a young girl and her friend. This makes them all the more amazing, because the stories come alive in a magical way. The whole book revolves around a young girl who is searching for her father, himself a famed storyteller. Along the way, she is also discovering her own gift for storytelling. On the advice of the gypsy from one of her first story adventures, she collects seven tales, each unique and different.

We encounter fairies, gypsies, banshees, and other mythical (are they really only mythical?) characters as Trinket journeys on and on. She is such a brave, kindhearted, and loving character that it is impossible to leave the book until we find out if her quest for her father is resolved. (Oh, of course it is! But I won’t say how…though towards the end, it becomes pretty obvious.)

What age group? Some of the stories can be a little scary, but I think any 9-year-old can handle most of them. It’s a book for both girls and boys, as Trinket is never separated from her faithful friend Thomas. The message throughout is about kindness, doing good for others, and loyalty, ending with a strong lesson about forgiveness and understanding. I love this book.
Find this at your local bookstore