← The Lantern Makes a Giant

The Lantern Walk · The five-night book · ages 3-5

Read it aloud. The bold words are for your child to say.

The Lantern Makes a Giant

The hammer rang once. A spark jumped off the anvil and did not go out. It waited. They followed.

Bà Tư lit the lantern. "Walk slowly, little one," said Bà Tư.

One lantern. One light.
Who walks with Tí tonight?

"I do," said Stretch. "Watch."
On the wall: a GIANT!
Tí held the lantern tight.
He lifted it close. The giant grew BIGGER.
"Closer is bigger," said Stretch.
Stretch took one step back. Then two.
The giant got small. Smaller. Small as … Stretch.

Step back, the giant shrinks.

One lantern. One light.
Who walks with Tí tonight?

"I do," said Block.
On the path: a patch, so dark!
"I stop the light. That dark is me," said Block.

Step back, the giant shrinks.
I stop the light. Dark!

One lantern. One light.
Who walks with Tí tonight?

"I do," said Glimmer, with her jar.
On the gate: a pale, pale ghost.
"Light goes through me. My shadow is faint," said Glimmer.

Step back, the giant shrinks.
I stop the light. Dark!
Light goes through me. Faint.

One lantern. One light.
Three friends walk Tí home tonight.

Tí let go of the lantern, just a little, to wave.

The spark dimmed to a warm dot and settled back on the anvil. The Green was just the Green again.

Back on the Green

At bedtime Tí held his toy near the lamp. Big! He moved it away. Small.

Cut out tonight's lantern panel. Tell the story back. Who walked first?

Who you met

  • Bà Tư The grandmother who hands over the lantern from VầnTots
  • Tí a child of the Green Notices small things; says "again"
  • Stretch Closer to the light makes a bigger shadow from ShadowTots
  • Block Solid things stop the light and make a dark shadow from ShadowTots
  • Glimmer See-through things let some light through, so their shadow is faint from ShadowTots

Every recurring character has a short tune, so you can tell who is on stage before a word is said. The tunes play only when you tap, and the Reading Access sound switch turns them off.

The Honest Page

Which parts of this story are true, stretched, and made up?

True

  • The closer something is to a light, the bigger its shadow.
  • Solid things stop light, so their shadows are dark. Source
  • See-through things let some light pass, so their shadows are faint. Source

Stretched

  • A real shadow on a wall is never a perfect copy of you. What we simplified: Shadows blur at the edges and stretch with the angle of the light; the story keeps them sharp.

Made up

  • Stretch, Block and Glimmer are made up. Shadows do not talk.