Child of Faerie, Child of Earth by Jane Yolen

This is a great book, both to read out loud and to read to yourself. I found this a couple of years ago and I loved it instantly. It's a simple story about a girl who meets a faerie buy and goes off to faerie land with him. In return she shows him what her life is like on earth. In the end the come to the conclusion that they are better off in their own worlds, but part with a gift. They don't part forever and remain friends until they're both old and grey, but no one ends up getting spirited away.

This book is wonderful. The illustrations are energetic and colourful, but soft and whimsical at the same time. The best part though it always the way in which the story is told, and Yolen presents this story in poem form. Here's an example;

He was a child of faerie folk,

A child of sky and air,

And she was a child of humankind,

Of earth and toil and care.

They met in the dusk of Hallow's Eve,

When widows grieve

In widow's weave

They met in the dark of Hallow's Eve,

She had flowers in her hair.

It's almost lyrical way it's told both sets the mood of the story and makes it very easy to read. It's also great because it's one of the few faerie stories for children that features a male faerie. Most of the faeries in children's books are female and this opens up faerie love to young boys too. And the fact that Jane Yolen is the author doesn't hurt!