Lilac Peabody and Bella Bright — Annie Dalton

The second title in a sparkling new series for younger readers, from the creator and author of Angels Unlimited.

Lilac Peabody is a small and shimmery as a dragon-fly â€" an extraterrestrial busybody and friend to children who need her. Lilac Peabody empowers children to solve their own problems and then disappears once they have achieved their aims.

This is the second of four short novels which all follow the same group of children within a school environment. Each novel centres on one of the children but it is Lilac's continuing presence that is the all-important link between the four children. It is to Lilac, that the children reveal their true vulnerable selves.

Bella Bright comes from a family of travellers, a circus family. She helped Sam have a good birthday party in the first Lilac Peabody book, but she is very shy and gets bullied a lot, particularly by one of the bigger girls at school. Lilac helps Bella to stand up for herself and develop new confidence. By the end of this story she and Sam are firm friends.