About
Small stories, carefully made
Ferngleam is a small, independent picture-book project. We write short, warm stories for children aged about 4 to 8, each built around one brave little choice, and we give them away free.
Why “Ferngleam”?
A fern grows slowly, one small curl at a time, a bit like children do. A gleam is a small light you can see in the dark. We want each story to be a little of both: something that grows with a child, and a small light they can carry with them.
What goes into each book
- An original story. Our characters, places and plots are our own. We don't use known characters, real people or other people's stories.
- A picture on every spread. One page shows the illustration and the facing page tells the story, so it works as a read-aloud.
- A real problem and a real change. Characters make mistakes, feel the weight of them, and grow. The lesson comes out of the story instead of being tacked on.
- Lessons, questions and narration. A moral of the story, simple life lessons, reflection questions for families and classrooms, and a full MP3 narration.
- An Islamic values section. Most books include a short section linking the story's lesson to the Qur'an and hadith. Every reference is cited by surah and verse or by collection and number, and checked against reliable sources (such as Quran.com and Sunnah.com) before the book is released. The quotes are English translations of meaning, and the book page says whether a scholar has reviewed them.
How we use AI
We use AI tools to help draft the stories, to create the illustrations (with a character sheet so the characters look the same on every page) and to produce the narration voice. Each book is checked before it's released: the text against the pictures, the narration against the text, and the religious quotes against their sources. Every book page lists exactly which parts used AI.
Where to get the books
Right here, for free. Each book page has download buttons for the PDF, the EPUB and the full MP3 narration, plus a player so you can listen in your browser. There's nothing to pay and no account to make. You're welcome to print the books and share them with other families, schools and libraries, as long as they stay free and unchanged.