The Fairy Detective Agency: Operation Bunny
On sale
4th October 2012
Price: £5.99
Lancashire SLS Fantastic Book Awards, 2015
Emily Vole makes headline news in the first weeks of her life, when she is found in an abandoned hatbox in Stansted Airport.
Then, only a few years later, her neighbour Mrs String dies leaving Emily a mysterious inheritance: an old shop, a small bunch of golden keys and a cat called Fidget. It’s the beginning of an adventure of a lifetime as the old Fairy Detective Agency comes back to life.
It is up to Emily to reopen the shop, and recall the fairies to duty. Together they must embark on their first mystery and do battle with their great fairy-snatching enemy, Harpella.
Then, only a few years later, her neighbour Mrs String dies leaving Emily a mysterious inheritance: an old shop, a small bunch of golden keys and a cat called Fidget. It’s the beginning of an adventure of a lifetime as the old Fairy Detective Agency comes back to life.
It is up to Emily to reopen the shop, and recall the fairies to duty. Together they must embark on their first mystery and do battle with their great fairy-snatching enemy, Harpella.
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Reviews
This is a funny and exciting story with memorable characters and great illustrations from the brilliant David Roberts that should be popular with young readers.
Young readers will be captivated by the idea that magic is just beneath the surface of everyday life in gardner's new series about a fairy detective agency. Huge fun.
There's mystery, magic, humour and adventure in this quirky new series set in a fairy detective agency. Perfect for young fans of all things magical who want a more challenging story.
You don't have to be a child to enjoy a children's book. Thank goodness, because there are some really brilliant ones out there at the moment and ... Operation Bunny is no exception. ...Thought provoking and lots of fun.
For mystery solving with a magical twist, you'll love Wings & Co ... Quirky, fun and totally charming, this is a magical mystery series.
...I love it! It's cute, funny and bizarrely believable. I found myself loving every character, even the baddies! The illustrations really add to the effect of this story. Each page bursts with adventure, following the intrepid Emily as she becomes an awesome detective.
This story has a wonderfully contemporary feel to it. The language is modern and the pace of the story is fast and exciting. Yet there is also a very Dahl-esque darkness o the tale ... Operation Bunny has all the magic ingredients for a perfect children's novel ... I really enjoyed this kooky story. It was fun and endearing. The illustrations were brilliantly entertaining ... Operation Bunny is a quirky tale full of imagination. I highly recommend it. I'm sure it will become a favourite amoung newly fluent readers.
I normally don't read stories involving magic but this one I couldn't put down! I would recommend this book to children who like adventure and powerful magic stories. My book rating is an epic 10/10!
...an absolute cracker. Gardner writes with a delirious wit, sketching out intriguing characters and doling out jokes and pathos in exactly the right measure.
Magic and mystery with a generous sprinkling of humour make this a great read for 7+. David Roberts' quirky drawings are just right!
This fun, magical story will delight young readers ... Highly recommended
Young readers will be thrilled when they enter Emily Vole's magical world
...a fantastic story that had me laughing out loud in places. The characters are wonderful and diverse ... I didn't want the story to end. Gardner has vividly brought to life a magical world of talking cats and colourful bunnies. I can't wait to read the next installment!
This is a marvellously inventive, comic tale which subverts our expectations of fairys and fairy tales. There is plenty of play on words and the wry humour is compounded by the dark, sly edge of the wonderful illustrations of David Roberts ... great fun.
A delightfully quirky and amusing story
...a story that will make you laugh, give you some wonderful twists and when blended with the fantastical takes you into a world of its own ... a book that I really can't recommend enough ... Great stuff.
...this story will carry you away from reality into a world of enchantment and adventure ... a quirky and entertaining read. Emily Vole is an adorable and likable heroine and this is a story spiced with secrets and magic which will appeal hugely to younger readers.
...plenty of excitement, laughter, and yes, sparkling magic throughout, this first book in a new detective series for yuong readers is a delight
Wonderful stuff
Sally Gardner is on sparkling form
...a delight
This quirky story from Sally Gardner is packed with magic, humour and imagination, as well as a touch of Roald Dahl-esque darkness. Young readers will be charmed by resourceful heroine Emily and her sidekick Fidget ... David Roberts's entertaining illustrations are the perfect match for Gardner's pleasingly eccentric text. This first instalment of the Wings & Co series is great fun and is sure to delight newly independent readers.
Operation Bunny has Sally Gardner's usual humour, charm, pace and overall feeling of whimsy which will spellbind young readers. Operation Bunny is a beautifully written, original story complemented perfectly by David Roberts's quirky illustrations.
I love this book so much ... It is an enchanting book ... If you like mind-boggling adventures filled with brilliant illustrations and strange talking animals, then do not hesitate to pick up this brilliant book.
a must for any junior school library
this is classic young fiction at its best
Sally Gardner brings to [the book] a great plot and her trademark quirky humour ... a rollercoaster - we're very much looking forward to the second.
David Roberts's spooky illustrations have a Goreyesque detail that is perfect. The poignancy of Emily's plight is offset by a buoyancy that counters the acid wit with which her world is described ... this brims with quirky charm reminiscent of Eva Ibbotson, Joan Aiken and early JK Rowling.
A fine story to read aloud
...such a charming story; with tons of quirky details, plenty of whimsy but also some looming darkness in both the real and magical world, Gardner offers us a story of exquisite quality ... Roberts is such a talented, unusual artist.
One of our featured books last issue but so due another mention as a wackily surreal magical story with stunning illustrations ... Bonkers but brilliant, we love it!
Punctuated by David Roberts's chaotic, enjoyable illustrations, Sally Gardner's Operation Bunny... is fun, quirky and imaginative ... With shades of Roald Dahl's Matilda, this is a marvellous, wild ride for eight- to 10-year-olds.
Operation Bunny has got what it takes to become a classic
I love Sally's original take on life and language, both of which shine through here. The illustrations by David Roberts are marvellous and make this book doubly desirable.
I enjoyed it because it was funny and imaginative. The pictures were fantastically detailed and the story itself was very engaging. I would recommend this book to girls aged 7-10 for reading on their own and 5-7 for it to be read by parents.
exciting story that is filled with wacky characters. It's ideal for pre-teens who want to start reading long, chapter books, with or without a little help from mum and dad at bedtime.
A delightful heroine and a cast of quirky characters, a good dollop of magic, lots of humour and a fast-moving plot, you have the perfect recipe for a hugely entertaining family story session
Fun, quirky and imaginative
Brimming with humour, mystery and magic
Perfectly pitched ... spiked with the kind of wit and social comment that will have parents chuckling over their children's shoulders. Something completely out of the ordinary
A must for any junior school library ... with a wicked sense of humour
A funny, quirky, modern fairy story
A rib-tickling twist on the perennial theme of the ill-used orphan
A delightful, funny tale from the great Sally Gardner ... The sense of an unjust adult world is reminiscent of Roald Dahl's work and equally as intelligently witty
Intriguing and inventive ... Gardner's writing has in impressive lightness of touch and lots of subtle humour
Quirky, fun and totally charming ... a wackily surreal magical story with stunning illustrations
I love this book so much
An absolute cracker. Gardner writes with a delirious wit, sketching out intriguing characters and doling out jokes and pathos in exactly the right measure.
Brims with quirky carm
