The Sunbeam Path - An Interactive Children's iBook By Marion Rose McFadden

The Sunbeam Path - what an exciting name for a children's picture book. The very name speaks of faeries and intrigue.

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Irish Children's Faerie Picture Book

Just saying this title aloud makes me want to take a sunny journey to a land of make believe.

In today's post I'm excited to introduce you to Nora, a delightful little Irish girl who follows a wisp of light dancing on the edge of the forest. A world of faeries and demifay awaits. These enchanting characters were created by Irish artist and writer, Marion Rose McFadden. 

Maggie Green, a resource teacher currently living in County Donegal, graciously reviewed this book for Irish American Mom.

She works with children with additional learning needs and has a deep understanding of how to integrate technology into education.

Maggie shares her insights on her wonerful blog "A Geek and a Teacher".

But now let me hand you over to Maggie for her book review of "The Sunbeam Path"  ......

The Sunbeam Path - An Interactive Children's iBook

By Marion Rose McFadden

Book Review by Maggie Green

My children, like most children, love stories. Every night we have story time. They both cuddle up beside me and they each choose a book and we read and we talk about the stories.

They have their firm favorites and the books that they now know off by heart and they sometimes read along with me or finish my sentences. It is wonderful to see their blossoming relationship with books and reading, and I hope to see it continue long into the future.

Some books stay with you for a lifetime. Even as an adult when I start to read books I loved as a child to my own children I am transported back to the place I was when I first heard the story.

Cozy in the crook of my father’s arms as he read to me, his soft soothing voice taking me to another world as the characters and magic of the story took shape in my mind.

My children are growing up in a different era. They are very much children of the digital age and they have experienced media in many different forms even at the young ages of two and four.

My children know their way around an iPad and recently we read our very first iBook together and to say that my children were full of wonder as I read was an understatement.

The book we read was called The Sunbeam Path by a very talented author called Marion-Rose McFadden.

The book follows the journey of a wonderfully authentic little girl called Nora as she embarks on an adventure which introduces her to the Demifay. The story is steeped in rich and evocative language which pulls the reader further into the magic.

The iBook gives you the option to read the story or to have the story read to you and we have tried both options numerous times.

As I read the story to my children they were mesmerized by the interactive nature of the book and became very excited as they burst the bubbles that Nora blew and touched the little beams of light that danced across the page.

The illustration is magical and brought the book to life as the story progressed.

The Demifay in the story appealed to me greatly as a parent. Too often the manner in which faeries are depicted in stories are too adult in nature and I prefer characters that I can relate to.

I want my children to have real expectations in life and I want them to be exposed to characters in stories with whom they can find a common ground.

The Demifay in The Sunbeam Path are not dressed in overly sexualized costumes. They are not society’s portrayal of what is beautiful. They are real, they are different and they come to life all the more because of this.

This iBook has become a firm favorite for my children and it is regularly requested throughout the day and at bedtime.

My daughter can relate to Nora because she just looks like an ordinary little girl. The first time we read the story my daughter said ‘oh she does the same things as me – maybe I’ll see faeries too’.

My children have truly been touched by the magic of this iBook and I am sure that many more children will be filled with wonder as they enter the world of Nora and the Demifay.

 Digital Media Choices

"The Sunbeam Path" by Marion Rose McFadden in a cross-border collaboration with Digital Media Choices.

DMC, a non-profit group of social entrepreneurs, is a company based on the outskirts of Belfast, offering a wide range of expertise in developing digital media.

The Sunbeam Path beautifully illustrated Michael Murray utilises the latest iBook technologies to create a delightful, digital faerie-story experience.

Animation transforms the pages into a dynamic and fun experience, using interactive touch screen technologies, with a narration feature offering an engagin story-telling aspect.

Marion Rose McFadden

Marion Rose is an Irish artist who lives on the wild Atlantic coast in County Donegal. 

Here's how she describes her work on her website:

"Resonating with ancestral memory, the magic of light and half-light, these paintings celebrate the echoes of what once was, and is yet evidenced by land and by character."

Wishing Marion every success as a writer and artist.

More Information

Here's a short video introduction to this Irish children's picture book.

This book is also available in Irish. It's simply beautiful.

You can order the book on iTunes in an Irish language or English language version.

It is also available for the Kindle through Amazon.

A big thank you to Maggie Green and Marion Rose McFadden for this wonderful introduction to the world of the demifay.

P.S. Irish American Mom does not have a business relationship with Digital Media Choices. This is not a sponsored post. I fell in love with this little story and simply wished to help spread the word about this lovely interactive children's book through this blog post.

Here are some other ramblings about all things Irish and Irish American, which you might enjoy.

Image Credit

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