Alice and the Living Lanterns

Alice is sure there must be magic somewhere in the Ash Grove. As evening settles over the forest, she sets out to find it.At first, the familiar woodland offers only ordinary wonders: a rabbit vanishing into the ferns, a Tawny Frogmouth blinking among the branches, moonlight touching the trees. Beautiful, perhaps-but not the magic Alice imagined.Then the last golden light fades. Beside a mossy log, Alice sees a tiny glow shining in the dark. It looks like a fallen star resting in the moss. Soon one light becomes many, until the bank is alive with hundreds of glow-worms-creatures transforming the forest into a world of living lanterns.Alice begins to understand that wonder does not need spells. It can be alive, fragile and close enough to touch. When she notices that the nearest glow-worms are exposed, she gently places a leaf above them like a little roof. Her search for magic becomes an act of care.On the walk home, the darkness feels different. Grandad asks whether Alice found what she was looking for. ’Better,’ she tells him. ’I found real magic.’ That night, she carries the memory into her dreams while the living lanterns continue to shine beneath the trees.Alice and the Living Lanterns is the third book in the Alice of the Ash Grove series, following Alice and the Singing Stream and Alice and the Butterfly. Each beautifully illustrated story explores one enduring value through a child’s experience of the natural world. Book Three celebrates wonder: the attentive curiosity that allows children to see the extraordinary within the real.Written for children aged four to eight, this gentle Australian picture book is ideal for shared reading at home, in classrooms and in libraries. Its luminous forest artwork, warm family relationships and environmental message invite conversation about glow-worms, nocturnal life, curiosity and caring for small creatures. A comforting bedtime story and a thoughtful gift, it encourages readers to look closely, ask questions and discover that the world is already filled with marvels worth protecting.