Ember & Oak Books
Fingertales · Touch-Along Bedtime Stories

A little someone is waiting for you.

Somewhere in Dreamland, a little someone has been waiting. Not for just anyone. For you.

Series one · Ages 2 to 7

The Fingertales books

Every book holds three stories: one rhyming story to look at together, then two Touch-Along stories for bedtime. You read aloud while one hand plays the story on your child: their face becomes Pillow Land, their back becomes the Night Zoo. Every story slows down page by page until your hand rests still.

Cover of Fingertales Book 1, On the Face: a sleeping curly-haired child and the tiny glowing Dream Keeper on a parent's fingertip
Book 1 · On the FaceOut now

Tonight, your fingertips tell the story.

A tiny Dream Keeper, born from your child's own fingerprint, walks through the Dream Door, down Slide Mountain and past the Sleeping Lakes. A story to look at together, then two Touch-Along stories: one for the night after a wild day, one for the night when a head is full.

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Cover of Fingertales Book 2, On the Back: a sleeping girl with a braid, the glowing Dream Keeper on her blanket, and an owl, an elephant, a snake, a bear and a giraffe under the moon
Book 2 · On the BackOut now

Roll over. The Night Zoo is opening.

Tiny ants tiptoe, an elephant tries very hard to tiptoe, and a long, long snake draws an S all the way down. A story to look at together, then two Touch-Along stories: a joyful parade for a full-of-beans evening, and a rainy-night story about friends who simply stay.

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How a Touch-Along works

Ten calm minutes, together

Fingertales is a read-aloud bedtime series for grown-ups and children aged 2 to 7. You read the story aloud while one hand gently plays it: a soft tap, a slow glide, a warm circle. Simple maps show where each touch goes, and every page is a little slower than the one before, so the story winds down together with your child.

  1. A mum and her child reading a Fingertales book together in a cozy bedroom

    1. Read it together

    Snuggle up and read the story aloud. Before the first story, your child presses a fingertip on the naming page to create and name their very own Dream Keeper.

  2. A grown-up fingertip gently playing the story on a sleeping child

    2. Your fingertip plays the story

    Follow the numbers on the little map. Every touch is soft, one-handed and never tickly, so the other hand can hold the book. Always ask "May I?" first.

  3. A child asleep in bed while the glowing Dream Keeper watches over him from the window

    3. Sleep comes softly

    The last pages slow down until your hand rests still. One Touch-Along is enough for tonight. If your child pulls away, simply read the story without touch.

Every Fingertales book holds

3 stories for 3 kinds of evenings

The Dream Keeper and Zip the firefly walking through Dream Land at dusk
Eyes open

A look-together story

Find the hidden friends of Dream Land together, in a gentle rhyming story.

The red-flag ant and the Dream Keeper crossing a little wooden bridge lit by fireflies
Touch-Along 1

For busy, bouncy nights

Your fingertip walks the story: tap, glide and rest, page by page.

The blue-flag ant and the Night Zoo friends sheltering together under a big leaf in the rain
Touch-Along 2

For full little heads

Slow, warm strokes and a story where everyone is safe and sound.

Start with the look-together story, eyes open, and meet the friends of Dream Land, like Wink the star, Zip the firefly, Peek the snail, Nell the owl and Bo the elephant. At the end, your child picks a flag: the red-flag ant leads to Touch-Along Story 1, and the blue-flag ant leads to Touch-Along Story 2. Book 1 plays its stories on the face. Book 2 plays them on the back, a good choice for children who prefer a back rub.

Meet the Dreamland Friends

In Fingertales, your child doesn’t just read the story. They become part of it.

Six friends live in Dreamland, and one of them is waiting just for your child. Join the list and we’ll let you know when they appear in a new story.

Dream Keeper: a softly glowing lavender creature with a golden swirl on its tummy and a curl on top

Dream Keeper

The One Who Waited for You

“I waited for you before I knew your name.”
Wink: a small smiling yellow star

Wink

The Thoughtful Star

“Even the smallest star has a little light to share.”
Zip: an excited little firefly zooming along with a glowing tail

Zip

The Little Firefly in a Hurry

“Wait for me! Oh, wait. I’m already here!”
Peek: a curious snail with a red-orange spiral shell

Peek

The Little Explorer

“There’s no need to hurry. We might miss something wonderful.”
Bo: a gentle grey elephant holding a tiny flower in his trunk

Bo

The Gentle Giant

“I put it somewhere safe. Now, where was that?”
Tizzy: a scruffy little raccoon with a striped tail and a cheeky grin

Tizzy

The Mischievous Inventor

“Wiggle left, wiggle right… FREEZE!”
Korinna Leányvári holding her baby son
“I made this up for my first son, who could not fall asleep. Thirty-three years later, all three of my sons still remember it.”
How Fingertales was born

It began with one little boy who could not fall asleep

More than thirty years ago, Korinna’s first son could not fall asleep. So she invented a new kind of bedtime story: she read it aloud while her fingertip gently played the story on his face. She raised all three sons with this ritual, and all three still remember it.

Fingertales is how she passes it on. Her Touch-Along Bedtime Stories are about calm, closeness and the bond between a parent and a child.

The newsletter

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