Children’s book ‘The Pillow Fairy’ helps parents solve problemStory gives kids incentive to sleep in their own bedsEmailPrintFacebookTweetComment (1)By Margie CarrOctober 15, 2012ADVERTISEMENTSubmitted photo“The Pillow Fairy” by Marcia Riley (self published at CreateSpace,

Move over Tooth Fairy, there’s a new kid in town!Local resident, educator and now published author Marcia Riley is sharing one of her parenting secrets in her new book, “The Pillow Fairy” (self published at CreateSpace, 2012), the story of how she got her two sons to go to sleep in their very own beds.“Justin (then 2) was having a meltdown, and I just pulled him into my lap and I thought that instead of getting upset, we’d do something fun,” says Riley.Little did she know that moment would give birth to a family tradition and become the inspiration for her book.“The Pillow Fairy was an epiphany,” she says. “It was just something that came to me in a creative moment.”Riley told her son that if he slept in his own bed, the Pillow Fairy would come and leave a surprise under his pillow — stickers, cars, plastic dinosaurs, “anything he might want,” she says.The Pillow Fairy worked like a charm — so well, in fact, that Riley thought other families could benefit from her creation. She wrote up the story and sent it to a publisher in New York.“That was about 20 years ago, and the children’s publishers were more interested in animal stories back then,” she says.Years went by, and a lot changed in the Riley household as well as in the publishing industry. Riley continued teaching at her rural elementary school in the Perry-Lecompton School District, Justin and Matt grew to adulthood and self-publishing became much more commonplace, which was the route to publication that Riley ultimately decided to pursue.But in order to have a successful children’s book, Riley knew she would need more than a sweet story, she would need captivating artwork.“You’ve done all this hard work,” she says, “it’s like a child and you want it to be right.”She sent her manuscript to one illustrator, who returned with images that were not at all what she envisioned — “They were really scary!” she says. More importantly, they did not resemble her two children: Justin, now 28, and Matt, who is 25.Riley then discovered that one of her former students had a daughter who was a gifted illustrator. And even though she had never had a high school or college course in art, 21-year-old Joni Patterson was just who Riley needed to help turn her turn her decades-long dream into reality.“I was a little intimidated because I wanted to make sure I got what she wanted,” says Patterson, “but she (Riley) convinced me that I was up to it.”Turns out, Riley was right, and she was delighted with the images Patterson returned to her.“The pictures are just magical!” Riley says.Both Riley and Patterson could not be more pleased with the positive feedback “The Pillow Fairy” is receiving.“I think it’s a story everyone can relate to,” says Riley, who says that most of her best memories involve her family.Riley adds that she didn’t write the book to be an author, “I wrote it to share a memory and maybe help some others who were struggling through this trying issue.”

“The Pillow Fairy will come if you go to sleep and wake up in your own bed all by yourself.” This is the mantra which is repeated throughout Marcia Gale Riley’s beautiful children’s picture book The Pillow Fairy. Parents who struggle with the challenging and complicated issue of having their child sleep alone in his/her own bed will have found not only a magical and memorable solution to their problem, but also a much-loved book begged to be read over-and-over again by their little one.

The story is based on Riley’s actual solution to her children’s sleep issues. Three-year old Matt doesn’t want to sleep alone, and suddenly the Pillow Fairy pays a visit and the painful and stressful situation is solved. Riley has the Pillow Fairy depicted as a shining light which enables all families worldwide to share in this magical experience. The parent can describe the Pillow Fairy in any color, shape, or form he/she wishes, and the child’s imagination can run wild. Small gifts, notes(the one in the book is an actual note left by the Pillow Fairy) are left by the Pillow Fairy, and the sleep issue is solved without the child even realizing it. Riley also masterfully creates a way for the fairy and child to transition away from each other in an easy and painless manner.

The Pillow Fairy is not only a fun story with a familiar problem, but it’s also a testament to creative parenting. Riley used the Pillow Fairy to help with other trying issues as well. When their beloved dog Gypsy died suddenly, everyone in the family was devastated. Young three-year old Matt seemed stoic compared to his older brother Justin. The next morning, Matt came to his parents in tears. He had put a book titled Puppies under his pillow for the Pillow Fairy to take to Gypsy in Heaven, and the Pillow Fairy hadn’t taken it to her. Matt had been sleeping in his own bed at that time, so there had been no recent visits from the fairy. Riley’s quick-thinking response was, “Matt, the book was too heavy for The Pillow Fairy to take to Gypsy. She has to get all of her Pillow Fairy buddies to help her take carry it to Heaven.” Matt was satisfied, and the book magically disappeared and was delivered to Gypsy the next morning.

In short, very rarely do you come across a children’s picture book which strikes you as one which is a classic-one to pass down to your children’s children. Marcia G. Riley’s The Pillow Fairy is just such a book. With its charming, magical story and the beautiful illustrations of Joni E. Patterson, this book is one which will be read for generations.

Both hard cover and soft cover copies are available. Books can be purchased online at www.thepillowfairy.net. Soft cover purchases can also be made on all Amazon channels worldwide. Actual testimonies and other information is also available on the website.