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Article by JD Hoopes

Fanny’s Dream, written by Caralyn Buehner, is a magical, realistic fairy tale that spins off of the popular Cinderella story. Mark Buehner paints a beautiful picture for us on each page with his detailed and loving illustrations to the reader. This bedtime story is perfect for children ages 4 and up and a must read for all parents, if only to acquaint them with this memorable alternative to Cinderella. Once the story is read, it becomes apparent why it was nominated for the Young Readers Medal.

In this heartfelt retelling, Fanny is a not your typical Cinderella. She is a farmer’s daughter living off the crops in Wyoming. She’s slightly plump and slightly plain and can’t quite afford the beautiful dresses that most of the city girls can. Nonetheless, Fanny has her own dreams that keep her mind occupied, while her hands are busy helping on the farm. She wants to marry a Prince.

One evening she calls for her Fairy Godmother to take her to the ball. It’s a ball thrown at the richest mansion across the fields from her farm. She just knows that if she could make a wish with her Fairy Godmother that she could go to the ball and meet her Prince. However, Fanny’s Fairy Godmother never shows up. Instead, after hours of waiting on a tree stump, Heber Jensen shows up with a handful of flowers to offer Fanny. He’s slightly awkward, but extremely kind and honorable. After a short chit chat about why Fanny is sitting on a stump and how the Fairy Godmother never showed up, Heber proposes to Fanny. He says that he’s not a Prince but he has a large plot of land, a little dog, a little log home and he’d be glad to share his life with her “through thick and thin, sweat and joy.” Fanny, seeing that her Fairy Godmother is in fact, not coming, and after a long time thinking about it, accepts his proposal.

They were married and plowed fields together and worked their own farm together. They grew closer as years passed and became great companions with a great love for one another. Twins were eventually born and from their birth came a lot of hard work, lessons in patience, and of course, more love. When the twins were five years old, the little log home burned down. Everyone got out fine, but the home was gone. Fanny and Heber worked hard together to build their home back up.

One night, when Fanny was picking some fruit from the garden, she noticed a ball was going on in the mansion across the field. She could hear the music slightly and see the lights. Then, suddenly, her Fairy Godmother showed up apologizing for being so late. The Fairy Godmother said she was so sorry and she could fix everything and help her go to the ball and meet her Prince. Fanny looks on towards the mansion and the ball across the field. Then, she looks back towards her little log home and family. The Fairy Godmother asks one more time, “Do you want to go to the ball or not?” Fanny replies politely, “Not,” and turns back toward her home to join her family.

The meaning implied so subtly by Fanny’s Dream gets to the core of any loving family. Sometimes our hopes and dreams do come true, just not the way we expected. There are so many ups and downs and hard work that goes into building a truly meaningful life. One that you would never trade. Caralyn Buehner so creatively teaches children this big lesson in a quiet and magical manner. Fanny’s Dream is a wonderful bedtime story that can be cherished by children and their parents alike.

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