The Faeries of Spring Cottage by John Lawrence Jones, Terri Windling, Wendy Froud (2003, Hardcover, Illustrated)

While searching for shelter from a rainstorm, a little faery named Sneezle is pursued by a band of strange creatures with wooden swords. They're not faeries, they're not goblins...in fact, he doesn't know what they are. With their long sticklike limbs, gnarled faces, and mouths full of knife-sharp teeth, they aren't like anything the denizens of Old Oak Wood have ever seen. Sneezle barely escapes, but another band of the ugly little creatures chases him out of the safety of the woods. Fleeing for his life, the little faery is forced to find refuge in a place that is almost as frightening as the stick men themselves -- in an old stone cottage at the edge of the forest. It is here that Sneezle must confront his greatest adventure and biggest fear.

In The Faeries of Spring Cottage, fans of young Sneezle will be delighted to see that their reluctant hero is journeying out of Old Oak Wood (even if it is against his will) and encountering humans for the first time, as well as other enchanting, mysterious -- and sometimes scary -- new beings. This dazzling collaboration between renowned doll maker Wendy Froud and award-winning writer Terri Windling introduces a host of magical new characters, including a strange faery court beneath a kitchen sink, rat-faery warriors, and faery dolls that magically come to life. Art-directed by Brian Froud, creator of Good Faeries/Bad Faeries, this latest volume in the Sneezle series captures the diminutive hero on his latest adventure in vivid detail.

Following the success of Wendy Froud and Terri Windling's first two Sneezle stories, A Midsummer Night's Faery Tale and The Winter Child, this new volume opens the magical window of enchantment once more with an extraordinary combination of story and art. The Faeries of Spring Cottage is destined to charm and captivate lovers of fairy tales, fantasy literature, and all things Froudian.