Okay, now let’s talk about Australian chapter books. The earliest of chapter books. Age 4-7 early. Not an early reader, I can assure you. We don’t talk about those here.

Just to give you an idea of how good I think Lily the Elf is, I rated two of these books 5-stars on Goodreads. Out of the thirteen chapter books I’ve ever rated. So far.

Premise

Lily deals with very common, very simple, age-appropriate situations. But she’s an elf. Not the arrow-shooting, long-eared fantasy kind. The tiny fae folk, hidden-from-humans fantasy kind. Traditional European mythos elves. Similar to Isadora, this twist reframes every “normal” situation into a much more interesting normal situation. Let’s jump ahead to the series breakdown so I can show you what I mean.

Series Breakdown

Lily has six books, the last one released in 2016. That probably means we’ve seen the last of Lily, but I can still hold out hope. The last two are somewhat hard to find, especially if you want the non-large print versions.

(1) The Midnight Owl – Lily is scared of the owl noises outside her window at night. Because she’s a tiny elf and owls are huge and scary. Surely it can’t be saying anything good.
(2) The Precious Ring – Lily finds a human ring that’s perfect for a swimming pool. She knows it’s not hers, but how can she give it back, even if she wanted to?
(3) The Wishing Seed – Lily makes a wish on a dandelion seed for a princess crown, then prepares for it to come true.
(4) The Elf Flute – Lily wants to play her new flute, but she isn’t very good at it.
(5) The Jumble Sale – Lily can’t bear to give up her old things, but might have to make a compromise for something she wants.
(6) The Sleepover – Lily’s cousin is staying over for the first time since they were young, but will her cousin be the same as she remembers?

Those last three don’t sound modified by elf, but they are in the details. Elf instruments create nature-y music. Lily’s old jumble sale items are elf-themed. The books and games at her sleepover have “Elf” in the names. Sometimes just saying it’s an Elf thing immediately makes it one-hundred percent more whimsical. Your imagination gets to run a lot with a little.

Characters

Let’s not forget to go back to the characters. There’s only really three, but they’re all really important.

Lily’s Granny

The fun adult that lives in the house behind Lily’s. She’s usually the one Lily turns to with a problem first.

Lily’s Dad

The slightly less fun adult that lives in Lily’s house. He’s usually the one that turns to Lily when there’s a problem.

Lily

I saved the best character for last, and not just because she’s the main character. Lily is super real and has all the agency. You’d think in a series with two of the three characters being adults, Lily wouldn’t have that much agency, but she does. She always realizes the right decision naturally herself and acts upon it, even if she had other reservations. I really don’t want to ruin them, because they’re the major turning points in each book.

Cool Stuff

Lily Is Small
But not too small. She’s small enough to play in rings, but also big enough to bring them back to their owners. Small enough to be scared of owls, but big enough to talk to them. Small enough to be hidden from human eyes, but real enough for readers to believe she might actually exist.

These Stories
The Precious Ring and The Jumble Sale are those two Lily books I rated 5 stars. Both have very relatable situations and I really like the turning points that cause Lily to do the right thing. Excellent mentor texts for early chapter books. Don’t think for a second that low word count and simple stories means you can’t have good characters. You try writing a five chapter book in 1200 words. I’ll get on that, too.

The Cover Arts

This isn’t a Cover Story post, but I still wanted to talk about the cover arts. Super clean layout, super cute outfit changes, super same color scheme. The background changes details after book 2. The flower even gives a reference point for how small Lily is. Flower small.

Early Readers vs Early Chapter Books

Okay, maybe we talk about early readers only here. Just in this small section. A tiny bit. So you know why Lily is absolutely an early chapter book. Not an early reader.

The Text
Lily’s font size and word count per page is denser than early readers. Lily’s books have an ATOS level of 3 or higher. The words used don’t seem to follow a strict simple word list. No mention of reading levels on the cover. Chapter book check one.

The Pictures
Black and white art and they’re not on every page. Chapter book city.

The Content
Lily gives away her baby things of her own accord because she meets a pregnant mother who needs them. She performs alone on stage at the Grand Elf Concert. She stays up past midnight multiple nights in a row. Seems pretty chapter book to me.

Conclusion

Don’t count early chapter books out just because they’re early. There’s always something to be learned. Not just by the kids who are starting to read, but by us writers too.

Also Lily’s just a fun read, so maybe check the books out. From your library if you can find them. The books are almost as tiny as Lily herself, so keep your eyes peeled.

Maybe I’ll do a more in-depth article later about the differences between early readers and early chapter books. There’s certainly more to talk about than can fit in the microscopic section above.