Fern the Tiny Fairy
Fern the Tiny Fairy
by ReadRead · 4 min readThe dewdrops are dull and the Moon Party is tonight. A tiny fairy, a bag of fairy dust, and two friends who help when it runs out.
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Fern is a tiny fairy who lives in a glen of red toadstools. One grey morning the dewdrops are dull, and tonight is the Moon Party. Fern sprinkles fairy dust to make them shimmer, and she helps a sad snail and a lost moth too. Then her bag runs empty, and the friends she helped help her back.
The new words in this book
To drop tiny bits all over something. It comes up 8 times, and every time golden dust really falls from Fern’s hands.
To shine with a soft, twinkly light. It comes up 8 times: Fern’s wings, grey dewdrops turning bright, the snail’s shell, the moth’s wings, and the whole glen at night.
A refrain comes back on three spreads (“Sprinkle, sprinkle, shimmer and shine!”), so a child can say it along. Every other word is a common word, like drop, wings, moon, snail and help.
Questions to ask while you read
Pause after each spread and ask one question. There are no right answers; the point is to get your child talking.
- 1What can you see in the fairy glen?
- 2Why do the dewdrops look dull today?
- 3What happens when Fern sprinkles her fairy dust?
- 4How does Snail feel? How does Fern help?
- 5Why can’t Moth find its way?
- 6Oh no, the dust is gone! What could Fern do now?
- 7How do Moth and Snail help Fern?
- 8Can you say it with Fern: “Sprinkle, sprinkle, shimmer and shine!”
- 9Tap the dull drops: can you make them all shimmer?
- 10When did someone help you after you helped them?
How hard is this book?
About 300 words, longer sentences, more different words.
- Dialogue × 9“We can help you!” say Moth and Snail.
- Questions × 1Look! Some drops are still dull. Can you help?
- Not / no × 3They do not shine at all.
All 117 words, most used first
the 16 · and 14 · a 9 · sprinkle 8 · shimmer 7 · is 6 · moth 6 · shine 6 · snail 6 · all 4 · dull 4 · dust 4 · little 4 · moon 4 · up 4 · are 3 · bag 3 · can 3 · drops 3 · glen 3 · grey 3 · her 3 · in 3 · it 3 · my 3 · one 3 · says 3 · then 3 · to 3 · wings 3 · but 2 · by 2 · comes 2 · dewdrop 2 · dewdrops 2 · down 2 · falls 2 · help 2 · hooray 2 · its 2 · like 2 · look 2 · not 2 · now 2 · of 2 · over 2 · shell 2 · silver 2 · so 2 · starts 2 · still 2 · sun 2 · they 2 · tiny 2 · toadstools 2 · you 2 · at · big · bit · bright · called · cheer · cries · do · drop · each · every · find · flaps · flies · flutters · for · from · gives · going · gone · grass · has · high · i · light · lives · makes · many · morning · moth's · no · oh · on · only · opens · out · path · red · round · say · shakes · she · shimmers · sky · slides · slowly · soft · some · star · tap · three · toadstool · today · together · tonight · trail · two · way · we · with · work
Names don’t count: the picture shows who it is.
Tips for parents
- First time: use Read to me and let your child just listen and watch.
- Before page seven, stop and ask “The dust is gone. What can Fern do?” Let them think of a way.
- On the dewdrop page, let your child say “sprinkle!” before each tap, then “shimmer!” when the drop lights up.
- Try it for real: sprinkle a little glitter or sugar and look at how it shimmers in the light.