Wren and the Steady Glow — a Fable Designer sample book

The commission — a lesson to teach

“A child squeals at her brother when he pesters her, which only encourages him to keep provoking her — she'd be better off using calm words, ignoring him, or quietly stepping away.”
for a reader of 3

Our casting recommendationone step away: “We gave this one to a lovable firefly who flares right back at a pesky friend — so a child can giggle her way into discovering calmer words on her own, without ever feeling called out.”
The storyline we picked (of three pitched): A twilight meadow twinkles with an idea a child will feel in her chest: Wren the firefly flares bright and wild whenever she's upset, and to the other fireflies that wild flash looks like the start of the best light-show in the meadow — so her little friend Bram keeps bumping her wings just to set it off. This story turns a tantrum-bright reaction into its own quiet solution, as Wren learns that a small, steady glow says more than a blazing one ever could, and watches the crowd disappear the moment there's no show to gather for.
On the finished book: 12 illustrated pages · Gouache Golden Hour · narrated by The Fireside Voice · independently reviewed before publishing

Wren and the Steady Glow — 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 Fireside 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 “Wren and the Steady Glow” — Twilight settled over the meadow, turning the sky purple-blue. One by one, fireflies blinked awake in the tall grass. Wren stretched her wings and hummed her little {sound}hmm-hmm{/sound}, glowing soft and slow, happy just to watch the dark come down around her.Page 1 of 12

Illustration for page 2 of “Wren and the Steady Glow” — Bram zoomed past on his springy legs, thrilled to spot his best friend. He circled Wren twice, grinning, already cooking up mischief. Then, quick as a wink, he gave her wing a tiny nudge. {dialogue}"Watch this!"{/dialogue} he laughed, bouncing back to see what would happen.Page 2 of 12

Illustration for page 3 of “Wren and the Steady Glow” — Startled, Wren's whole body flashed — {sound}BRIGHT!{/sound} — a wild burst of gold light shot clear across the meadow. Fireflies swooped in from every stalk and leaf, cheering, "Do it again! Do it again!" Bram beamed, delighted, already planning his very next poke.Page 3 of 12

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