Fable Designer
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The commission — a story to tell

“A dragon who lives in a lighthouse and is afraid of the dark”

for a reader of 6
Our casting recommendationthe child, starring
“There's no lesson to soften here, just a wonderfully whimsical adventure, so let your little one shine as the star of their very own lighthouse tale!”
The choice is always the parent’s — this book was cast one step away — Mira carries the story.
The storyline we picked (of three pitched)
A cozy tale for kids who still need a nightlight of their own. Mira loves her grandmother's lighthouse, but she can't stand watching the resident dragon, Ember, tremble every time the great lamp dims for its nightly cleaning — so she insists it stay blazing nonstop. When the overworked lamp burns out mid-storm and the tower goes utterly black, Mira must find a way to help without a giant flame at all. What she discovers is that the tiny secret flashlight she's always used to fall asleep is exactly the spark Ember needs to relight the lamp together. A gentle story about small comforts turning out to be exactly enough.
On the finished book
10 illustrated pages · Gouache Golden Hour · narrated by The Lullaby Voice · independently reviewed before publishing
Cover of “Ember's Littlest Light”
Ember's Littlest Light — a Fable Designer original, commissioned from the sentence above.

Experience the finished book.

Read & listen

The narrated web edition — every page read aloud by The Lullaby Voice, art and all, right in the browser.

Open the narrated book

Print at home

The same press-quality PDF a parent downloads — sized for US Letter, ready for tonight.

Download the PDF

A printed keepsake

A cloth-touch hardcover of this book, printed and shipped. We're choosing the bindery now.

Coming soon

how it opens

The first pages, exactly as printed.

Illustration for page 1 of “Ember's Littlest Light”
Mira's boots thudded up the spiral stairs, higher and higher, until—there he was. Ember! Curled around the great lamp, scales glowing like coals in a fire. 'You're real,' she whispered. Ember blinked his soft amber eyes... then a cloud slid over the moon, and his whole body went stiff with worry.Page 1 of 10
Illustration for page 2 of “Ember's Littlest Light”
Every night, Nana Lou turned the lamp down low to polish its glass. Every night, Ember curled his tail over his eyes, humming, 'Not dark, not dark.' Mira knew that feeling—she kept her own tiny flashlight under her pillow. She took his claw gently. 'Little light, shine so bright—every light helps light the night,' she whispered, and his humming softened.Page 2 of 10
Illustration for page 3 of “Ember's Littlest Light”
'I have an idea!' Mira said. 'The lamp should never, ever dim again!' Nana Lou raised an eyebrow, but Mira was already tugging the lever. 'Just watch!' The flame roared bigger and brighter. Ember uncurled, delighted. 'Little light, shine so bright—every light helps light the night,' Mira sang, certain she'd fixed everything for good.Page 3 of 10

The rest is waiting in the narrated edition — refrain, turning point, and the warm last page before sleep.

One sentence. That’s the whole brief.

Yours could be about the playground, the dark, or the little sister. Every step is quoted in Ink Drops before it begins.

Start your story