Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Keeper of the Little Folks by Carbone & Véronique Barrau and Charline Forns is an exquisite graphic novel about the magic of fairies. It will appeal to fans of The Spiderwick Chronicles or Tinker Bell's fairy stories. The story revolves around a girl named Elina who discovers that her grandmother is the Keeper of Little Folks, which includes fairies, naiads, and all other sorts of magical creatures. Her grandmother passes the title on to her, and Elina is now responsible for making sure all of the creatures under her care are safe.

Overall, The Keeper of the Little Folks is a fantastical romp that reminded me of watching a Studio Ghibli movie. The colorful art was exceptionally well-done, and the characters are drawn in a cute and whimsical way. I felt like I was being transported into a new world - the magical world of a European forest. I wanted to stay there forever. I did feel that the page count was rather short (66 pages), which is about half the size of a typical graphic novel. However, I loved the story and I adored the graphic novel overall. If you're intrigued by the synopsis, or if you're a fan of fantasy graphic novels, you won't regret checking out this book, which is out in bookstores now!

Such a cute world and gorgeous illustrations! The story was perfect for the target audience. Simple enough that the kids can keep up and enjoy, but also filled with difficult and unfortunately relatable real-life situations. I'm excited for the next volume!

The Keeper of the Little Folk worked maybe somewhat poorly as e-book format, but I feel like if I had read it as a proper book it would have been better. Reading experience was still great! The story was interesting and I liked the characters. I am not really the targeted audience, so this didn't really open up to me. Illustrations were amazing and really detailed. Things happened in a good pace and I loved the scenes underwater.

The illustrations are absolutely beautiful! They are bright, colorful, and have so much detail. The story itself is fun and interesting. I don't think I have read a graphic novel about fairies before. I can't wait to continue with the series!

Thank you to Europe Comics and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The artwork was stunning, it's colorful and cute but I couldn't really pay much attention to the story. I just wish I was younger when I read this.

enjoyable and cute middle-grade fantasy. I feel like it could have done with more of an explanation as to why the keeper is needed and how the little folk live and make the world "safe" and "thrive"

It was alright. The art is… breathtakingly beautiful, but the rest is… meh.

The characters are dull, the story is dull and the originality of it all is… dull.

To be fair, it’s a really small book. Not much to work with character-wise or to have some big cool storyline.

But my expectations were higher.

Love it! The magical themed book really sparks interest in me, was really invested in the reading.

The illustrations, characters and storyline is a chef's kiss, totally love it!

I wish you could turn it into series, am well invested with it so far✨

A cute, short comic that basically describes what I dreamt of in my childhood: taking care and helping magical creatures. The art is nice.
Recommended for teens and older since the story is about a Drac who kidnaps a naked Naiad (non-sexually though) to marry her.

I thank Netgalley and Europe Comics for an arc to read and review.

I received an e-book copy of The Keeper of the Little Folks through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The copy I read in Netgalley Shelf app was a bit hazy but otherwise readable and understandable, so it didn’t influence my opinion much. I really liked it! The art was pretty and the characters were adorable (except perhaps for Elina’s mother). The vibe of the story reminded me a bit of Spiderwick Chronicles and I adored these books while growing up, so not a bad resemblance at all.
Overall a cute and fun little graphic novel! 😊

This was such a cute read! It was a short, light book with beautiful and colorful illustrations perfect for a summer read! We follow the story of Elina, a very bubbly and bright girl that becomes keeper of the Little Folk, following her grandmother´s footsteps. We also have a great sidekick, Llyam, that helps Elina on her journey in this newly found world. The environment of the story feels very magical and I think it´s perfect for younger audiences or adults that want that nostalgic feel of being an adventurous and curious child.

**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

The Keeper of the Little Folks by Carbone & Véronique Barrau art by Charline Forns was a quick and fantastical middle grade comic about a young girl who finds out her grandmother's secret of taking care of fairy creatures and decides to help out too. It was a nice, interesting story, but I felt the panels were much too small to appreciate the art and dialogue (could've just been because I was reading on my tablet though). All in all, a cute little story for middle schoolers.

This was really cute. It contains magic, fairies, families and shows how elderly people can be misunderstood to be crazy for no reason. The art is gorgeous and I’m intrigued to read more by these artists/authors.

Such a cute little comic. It sets the world and the scene in a longer series! Love the style and the colourful little folks depicted. It was short and I read it in a whim but definitely feels like a strong first book which leaves you wishing tor read more of Elina and her friends.

The keeper of the Little Folks – The Fairy Balm is the first entry in a series of modern fairy tales featuring a young girl named Elina helping a rag-tag group of mythical creatures solve problems for the fae folk and other creatures. She takes the mantle of “keeper of the little folk” from her grandmother who is stuck in the hospital, potentially on her way to the “old folks home” for believing in fairies as Elina’s mother sees her position as nothing more than the dark coils of dementia taking hold on her mother. While this book is somewhat light-hearted, it has a undercurrent of darkness that helps ground most fantasy stories like this in reality. I immediately thought of books like The Neverending Story, where the main character has one foot in a real world full of tragedy, and another in a fantastical world. I mean, its not as heavy as that, but losing your grandmother unjustly to a nursing home is pretty rough.

“While visiting her in the hospital, Élina discovers that her grandmother is the Keeper of the Little Folk, protecting fairies, nymphs, naiads, and other fantastical creatures! And now, her grandmother is ready to pass her responsibilities on to Élina. It’s not a moment too soon—Llyam and Nelvyna, creatures of the Little Folk, have sent up a distress signal, because a naiad has gone missing from Bird Lake. Will Élina be able to figure out how to see the fairy creatures in time to help them in their search?”


This was a solid, self-contained entry in what I assume is going to be an ongoing series. It’s a short read, but it doesn’t feel rushed or too short. I enjoyed the art style, and the depiction of the fantastical creatures featured in this book. I also enjoyed seeing a glossary/appendix of sorts at the end that discussed some of the terms such as the Drac, a creature that acted as the books chief antagonist. It will be interesting to see where the story goes moving forward. Can Elina juggle duties as the new “keeper of the little folk” and will her mother boot her grandmother into a nursing home? There is just enough left unsaid to keep the reader excited for another chapter.

The Keeper of the Little Folk by Carbone and Veronique Barrau, with art by Charline Forns is a fantastically charming graphic novel. I'd like to thank NetGalley and Europe Comics for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

For a start, the art style within this graphic novel is quite possibly one of my favourite styles in a graphic novel to date. It sits right up alongside Tea Dragon Society, any of the Ghibli or FernGully films for me; beautiful clean work with bright colours and charming character (and creature) designs. The graphic novel needs a few rereads, with each reread you pick up on a new detail that you missed in the previous read, which I love!

The story is incredibly fun, if a bit fast paced at times (sometimes a little too fast paced in sections). I love the fact that it takes place during a time that could easily be now, and that the urban fantasy nature of the story is gripping enough to teach about folklore that isn't obviously teaching.

For the target audience, I think that some of the language choices may be a bit much. Also the relationship between Elína and her mother could probably have done with a bit more exploring, especially since the relationship between Elina and her grandmother is far more fleshed out.

It is the first within a series, so the story and characters have a lot more room to grow, which is incredibly exciting as a reader!

Sorry, this book was not for at all. I love tales about mythological creatures and I thought this book would be for me, I enjoyed the art style but could not get on with the writing style. Due to this, I have not posted any reviews online. If you would still like me to post a review, please let me know.

4 stars

The art style is what drew me into requesting this graphic novel from Netgalley. Very beautiful, and colourful artwork and the cat reminded me of studio ghibli.

This has got to be the cutest heartwarming graphic novel ever. The little animals, fairies and mythical tiny creatures are absolutely adorable. This is the type of adventure I would love to fall into, befriending these little guys.

I deducted a star for how fast paced it was, this would be great for middlegrade kids, something quick and beautiful with a fun story, villian and main character.

The Keeper of the Little Folk: The Fairy Balm was written by Carbone and Véronique Barrau. The art was done by Charline Forns. The publisher is Europe Comics.

This graphic novel starts off with a young girl named Élina and her mother visiting her grandmother, Adelaide, in the hospital. There, Élina gifts her grandmother flowers from her backyard. Upon seeing the flowers, Adelaide starts to freak out and tells Élina that she needs to help Llyam and the other fairy folk. Élina’s mother thinks the grandmother has gone mad, but Élina believes her and heeds her advice to look up in the attic of Adelaide’s house.

In the attic, Élina discovers a magical guidebook which describes a way to make Fairy Balm. Applying this concoction to her eyelids, Élina can suddenly see the Little Folk. Her grandmother apparently is the Keeper of the Little Folk. Élina must help the fairies since her grandmother cannot.

The story that follows is a fantastic one, full of different mythological devices, beautiful art, and lighthearted fun. While there is some minor conflict, it is easily solvable by Élina and her new fairy friends.

Barrau, who seems to mainly write of mythology and nature spirits according to her author page on Amazon, does an excellent job of introducing the reader to common (and uncommon) tales of fairies. There are many types of Little Folk in this narrative. This story focuses primarily on European myths and legends, especially French, Greek, and Irish fairy tales. For example, there is the common naiad, or water nymphs, which protects a lake. Some of the fairies such as the naiad will be familiar to fantasy readers in the USA, so the book should do well here. There are also less common little folk like the Drac. The grandmother calls the drac a demon, and he is depicted as such in the artwork. However, according to Wiktionary, a drac is a “mythological creature associated with the dangers of water” in French lore.

I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel. The art style is extremely appealing and well drawn. The colour scheme is soothing but catches your attention, and the backgrounds are not neglected or skipped over. The character designs can be a bit flat in the face, but that is improved with the detail of the clothing and environment.

For a less than 60 page graphic novel, the story is well done, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. However, I am extremely interested in finding out more about the world of the fairy folk, their culture, schools, etc. I hope that the authors (and artist) continue writing stories that take place within this world. I highly recommend this book for children, elementary school teachers, children’s librarians, and the young at heart that believe in fairies.

This was so cute, it gave me Spiderwick vibes. Obviously, I'm not the target audience for this, but I still enjoyed it as an adult. It was a super short book but it felt complete and not lacking because of it. The art style was super cute and I really loved all of the character's designs. I'm interested in seeing how this series continues.