The Amazing Fairy Glasses is the first book published by author Katy Tainton, of Neath, South Wales. Katy felt the need to write a book aimed at helping young children who wear glasses when her eldest daughter Belle was diagnosed with long-sightedness at the age of two, following many appointments with an optometrist for intermittent esotropia.
Belle was given glasses and told to wear them all the time. Katy found it a struggle to convince Belle to wear her glasses, because, being so little, Belle couldn’t understand what they were for and would frequently protest and pull them off. Katy looked for books she could read to Belle to show her how her glasses could help her. However, Katy was surprised to find very few children’s books on the topic. The issue was compounded when Belle’s younger brother Leo received the same diagnosis three years later and, again, he would not wear his glasses.
It was then that Katy had the idea to write a book that would keep children engaged and show them how their glasses can help them. Katy worked with illustrator Tharushi Nanayakkara, whose brief was to create colourful, detailed illustrations to keep children interested in the story. The author’s intention was that the story could be read to younger children by a parent or guardian, yet have vocabulary suitable for an older child.
The book was written by Katy Tainton and illustrated by Tharushi Nanayakkara.
The characters of the story are based on Katy’s three children. The story focuses on a tiny fairy called Belle, who has trouble flying through the forest because she keeps bumping into things. She visits her wise Granny, who, using magic, gives Belle her first pair of glasses. After putting on her glasses, Belle is surprised and delighted to find that she can now fly faster than before because she no longer bumps into things, and she can see the beauty and magic in the world around her that she previously was unable to.
Feedback from opticians who have purchased the book for their young patients has been positive. Ray Sultana, owner and manager at Chelmer Village Opticians in Chelmsford, Essex, said “We are always on the lookout for items to add to our waiting area. We love when our patients choose a book to read or be read to them while waiting to be seen by our friendly team.”
“We have had the book in our opticians since November 2021 and have had nothing but praise. The book certainly helps a nervous child visiting for the first time. The book puts a smile on children’s faces, and we are delighted to have it in our waiting area.”
The Amazing Fairy Glasses is available to purchase worldwide on Amazon: mybook.to/AmazingFairyGlasses
Katy is working on her next book that will feature a dinosaur who finds out he needs glasses. The Special Dinosaur Glasses will show Harry the dinosaur visiting the opticians and having a sight test and will be published later this year.
