Felicity Wishes is a British children's book series created and privately owned by Emma Thomson. It was first published on greeting cards for adults produced by Danilo, Nightwear for adults by La Senza and Ragdolls for children & adults by Golden Bear. The brand then went on to become a globally published children's book series totalling 101 books in 22 languages which includes activity books, picture books, first read fiction and annuals. The popularity of the books and merchandise led to the launch of a Felicity Wishes magazine and hundreds of other products. There are 56 parts of the Felicity Wishes magazine, in which every issue highlights a different aspirational fairy-role including Carpenter, Film Maker, Shop Keeper, Eco-worker, Gardener, Chef, Architect & Journalist. Some of the stories were co-authored by Helen Bailey.
The series is about a fairy called Felicity and her friends Holly, Polly, Daisy and Winnie. Felicity lives in a fictional town called Little Blossoming, which is set in Fairy World, and is the same as the human world with several key exceptions: there is no age, birth or death (fairies live forever), no men, no meat-eating, no money, no evil and no crime. Most of the books are set pre-graduation where Felicity goes to the School of Nine Wishes to learn and she eats cake and drinks tea with her friends at Sparkles Cafe. She has also travelled all over Fairy World. In these books Felicity and her friends both have a single pair of wings, because they still go to school; fairies who have graduated get double wings. Felicity has a constant companion, a little blue bird called Bertie Dishes, the only male character in the whole book series.
In 2007, writing in the UK newspaper The Independent, Katy Guest raised concerns about the message conveyed to young girls by the line of products associated with the Felicity character: "A current advert for a new magazine from the fairy princess Felicity Wishes encourages little girls to dream about their future lives. "Every issue I try out a new job, from cake-maker to nurse, to popstar!" Felicity squeals. "Part 1 comes with a cute Felicity Wishes doll and with every issue, there's a sparkly new outfit to dress her in!" Felicity does not come with an astronaut's costume or a train driver's hat and seems to want little girls to grow up to be homemakers and pop tarts and use too many exclamation marks".
The blog The Alpha Parent iterated similar concerns in a 2012 post analyzing the magazine's series of "dream jobs": "The magazine is an example of how girls are socialised to be *prepared* to accept their place in the sexual division of labour. That is, to aspire to jobs which are less-skilled, lower-paid, and often part-time".
