In the heart of the Enchanted Forest lived Storma, a playful young unicorn with a magical gift — teleportation! Full of energy and kindness, Storma spent her days helping others and making new friends. When she noticed a forest meadow in need of rain, she called on her gentle best friend, Mira, whose soothing songs can summoned showers from the sky.
But when Storma rushed off to meet Nara, a new unicorn with the power to summon sunshine, Mira began to feel left out. As storm clouds — both real and emotional — began to gather, Storma must find a way to bring her friends together. Can they learn to share friendship, combine their powers, and create something truly magical?
A heartwarming picture book about empathy, teamwork, and the beauty of differences, The Magic of Friendship shows young readers that the greatest magic happens when we shine together.
Part of the Tales of Storma series — a collection of magical, standalone adventures that can be enjoyed in any order.
In the heart of the Enchanted Forest lived Storma, a playful young unicorn with a magical gift — teleportation! Full of energy and kindness, Storma spent her days helping others and making new friends. When she noticed a forest meadow in need of rain, she called on her gentle best friend, Mira, whose soothing songs can summoned showers from the sky.
But when Storma rushed off to meet Nara, a new unicorn with the power to summon sunshine, Mira began to feel left out. As storm clouds — both real and emotional — began to gather, Storma must find a way to bring her friends together. Can they learn to share friendship, combine their powers, and create something truly magical?
A heartwarming picture book about empathy, teamwork, and the beauty of differences, The Magic of Friendship shows young readers that the greatest magic happens when we shine together.
Part of the Tales of Storma series — a collection of magical, standalone adventures that can be enjoyed in any order.
Favorite quote from the book: “When we work as a team,” Storma said, “the real magic happens!”
Storma is a magical unicorn with the power of teleportation. She loves contributing to the thriving forest where she lives and forging new friendships.
One day, a new unicorn named Nara arrives in the forest. She has the power of sunshine. While befriending Nara, Storma hurts her best friend Mira’s feelings by accident. Mira has the power of calling rain and feels left out of the friend group.
Storma brings her friends together after realizing her mistake. When the power of the sun and rain mingle, a wonderful surprise shows up in the sky.
The Tales of Storma: The Magic of Friendship tells a heartwarming story emphasizing the importance of friendship and being inclusive. The protagonist, Storma, possesses many positive characteristics, including empathy and compassion. She serves as a wonderful role model for young children.
The story is advanced by the simple, colorful illustrations. Children are sure to love the rainbow at the end.
The book includes a page at the end filled with facts about rainbows that enhances the reading experience.
One small suggestion for improvement: The story could be improved by properly centering the text in the bubbles.
I review books through an educational lens. Things I consider: Would I read this to my Pre-K/Kindergarten class? Is there value in the story that will teach my kiddos something new or reinforce a concept or skill?
I analyze the story by focusing on some of the key elements I taught my students during a read aloud: characters, plot, language, setting and illustrations. Other characteristics I look for are text quality and theme.
Characters:
When analyzing a story with students, the characters should be genuine, relatable and elicit emotion. The story centers on a Storma and how she juggles making new friends while including those she already has.
Young learners will readily connect with Storma’s experiences and the relatable, age-appropriate emotional responses of all the characters.
Storma teaches children self-reflection, empathy for others’ sadness, and accountability for their role in it. When she sees that she unintentionally hurt Mira, her selflessness shines through as she immediately invites Mira to the play date with Nara.
Plot:
In a Pre-K/Kindergarten classroom, we describe the plot as the Beginning-Middle-End. Some stories present better examples of this concept, but many offer rich opportunities to explore various story elements.
The story begins with Storma spending time with her best friend Mira. In the middle, Storma interacts with Nara and realizes Mira is upset. The story concludes with Storma and Mira resolving their conflict and the trio becoming fast friends.
Storma’s conflict with Mira presents a relatable problem for her to solve.
Setting:
The primary setting is the magical forest where Storma and the other unicorns live.
Language:
Vocabulary is key in children’s books. It’s one of the critical elements I taught my kiddos before each reading. My approach would be to select five keywords and help my students gain a deeper understanding through a read aloud and doing related activities.
Appropriately, this story’s focus on emotional language reflects the emotional aspects of friendship.
Example: Nara came over with a smile. She looked a little nervous.
“Hi, Mira… I was a bit scared to make new friends.”
Mira blinked in surprise.
Text:
The word choices and grammar suit the story; however, the text’s centering is inconsistent.
Theme:
The main topic is friendship through inclusion.
In short, a sweet story with a positive message.