Kirsten Richards

Moonlight the Unicorn’s High Tea Hiccup by Sally Sutton and Kirsten Richards

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2020 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults Junior Fiction Finalist

The Miniwings books are totally FABO! I’ve loved all of the books in the Miniwings series but Moonlight the Unicorn’s High Tea Hiccup is one of the best. Moonlight is the Miniwing who loves food and there are plenty of tasty treats on offer when Sofia and Clara are invited to a high tea with their great-aunts. Where the Miniwings go trouble follows and their mischief is super messy in this story.

As a librarian I love these books because they’re so perfect for young readers and as a parent I have loved reading them to my 5 year old. Sally Sutton has created a special language, Miniwingese, which makes the stories really fun to read and makes you laugh out loud. Each of the Miniwings have their own unique personality so it’s fun to make up different voices for them. They also really like to sing so there are songs throughout the story. Part of the appeal of these books is that they’re packed with colour illustrations. Kirsten Richards’ illustrations bring the cheeky Miniwings to life and she must have really enjoyed creating the mess in this book.

I love this series and I was excited to see that there is another book coming soon.

Here come the Miniwings!

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Miniwings is a terrific new series by Sally Sutton and illustrated by Kirsten Richards that I have to rave about.  The first two books in this new series have just been released and I can’t get enough of them.  I want my own set of Miniwings!

The Miniwings series is about two sisters, Clara and Sophia, and the mischievous little Miniwings (think My Little Pony toys that come alive whenever it’s just them and the girls).  There is Moonlight (a unicorn who loves his food), Glitterwing (who rains glitter when she flaps her huge, sparkly wings), Whizz (a fast little pony who loves playing tricks), Comet (a show-jumping and dressage star who hates losing), Firestorm (who is brave and a little bossy) and Oceana (who is loves the water and is very messy).  They love to have fun and play tricks so they are always getting Clara and Sophia in to trouble.

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Glitterwing’s Book Week Blunder is about Clara and Sophia getting ready for Book Week at their school.  They meet their favourite author and try to make their book character costumes, with a little help from the Miniwings.

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In Whizz’s Internet Oopsie, the Miniwings discover the internet and the marvels of shopping online.  When they are left at home while the girls go to school the Miniwings find Mum’s credit card and go shopping.  When deliveries start turning up on their doorstep Clara and Sophia have to figure out how to sort out the mess, especially when one of their surprise packages is a goat.

I love everything about these books!  The covers are really eye-catching, with their appealing colours and sparkly stars, so you just know that girls in particular are going to be desperate to get their hands on them.  The Miniwings themselves are adorable but also super mischievous.  They each have very different personalities and Kirsten Richards shows this in her stunning illustrations.   Sally Sutton’s stories are so much fun to read and I know that kids are going to read these books over and over.  Sally has a lot of fun with language and has created her own Miniwing-ese.  The Miniwings  like to use words like ‘noggin-flash’ (idea) and ‘delishy’ (tasty).  The Miniwings also like to burst in to song throughout the story which made me laugh every time.

The Miniwings series are perfect for young readers who are just getting in to chapter books.  These fun, engaging stories are sure to hook young readers on books for life.  I can’t wait to see what the Miniwings get up to next!