THE DAY THE FAIRIES WENT ON STRIKE Linda Briskin and Maureen Fitzgerald. Illustrated by Barbara Eidlitz. Vancouver, Press Gang Publishers, c1982. unpaged, paper, $4.95. ISBN 0-88974-024-0. Grades 1-3. Reviewed by Janet E. Goldack. Volume 11 Number 2. 1983 March. Hester, a seven-year-old girl with a love for cherries, wishes desperately for another cherry tree in her neighbourhood. Planting a cherry pit and hoping it will grow is futile until Hester decides to enlist the help of the Fairies. Unfortunately, the Fairies are experiencing labour problems, and Hester must wait forty-two years before her wish can be considered. After Hester listens to the dilemma the Fairies face with greedy Mefirsts, she suggests they go on strike just as Mother has done at her office. The strike is resolved in favour of the overworked Fairies, and Hester is granted her wish: to have the cherry pit sprout. This new concept, showing strikes and other aspects of contemporary society through children's literature, is well presented using fun and fantasy in combination with reality. The feminist movement association of both authors is evident in the portrayal of all characters in the story as female. The intricate, coloured illustrations add immeasurably to the down-to-earth humour of this picture book, which may be a useful tool in the hands of parents and teachers alike. Janet E. Goldack, Cecil Rhodes and Clifton E. S., Winnipeg, MB.