Born a little before midnight, Flory is a night fairy whose magic is strongest under the moon. When a terrifying encounter with a little brown bat leaves her wings in tatters, Flory decides to become a day fairy, when she’s sure the world must be a safer place. Although she’s a solitary creature like all fairies, Flory strikes up an acquaintance with a perpetually hungry squirrel, finding food and shelter with his help. Desperate to fly again, Flory offers to free a hummingbird caught in a spider’s web in exchange for its services as her personal winged steed. Insulted, the bird refuses even as she also asks Flory for help: her eggs are unprotected from the chill night air and the chicks won’t survive until morning. Selfish Flory must decide whether to help the hummingbird’s chicks or ignore their predicament, which makes her “feel queer, as if her heart were swollen and sore.” Rude and impatient, Flory defies the conventional fairy glitter and fluff. But in an environment full of both threats and wonders, even prickly Flory finds room for compassion. Gorgeous book design and full-page watercolor illustrations show Flory amid the small dramas of her lush backyard world. (Ages 7–10)