Stories for Activity Badges

All Sammy wanted to do was dance. Sammy danced at school, on the way home, and all evening until it was bedtime. At night, Sammy even dreamed of dancing among the stars.

The thing is, though, Sammy always danced in the same way. He heard the music and started to tap his toes and wiggle his hips. He would spread his arms out to the sides and a big grin would appear across his face.

One day, Sammy and Jo walked a different way home from school. Far off in the distance there were some sounds. It was music, but it wasn’t like anything Sammy had heard before. Normally when music started to play, Sammy couldn’t help but tap his toes and wiggle his hips and move his arms. But this music was different. Sammy didn’t know how to dance to this.

As they got closer, the music got louder and Sammy saw where it was coming from. He ran over to the window of a hall and peered in. There were lots of children all moving to the music with ribbons in their hands. The movements were big and quick and the ribbons made beautiful shapes in the air.

‘What are they doing?” Sammy asked.

Jo replied: “It looks like they’re dancing. Chinese New Year is coming up and sometimes there is a special type of dance people do to celebrate. It’s called Chinese ribbon dancing.”

“Can I try it?” Sammy was eager to know. Jo reminded Sammy that they had some ribbons at home and suggested they give it a go before tea.

It wasn’t long before Sammy was going along to all different kinds of dancing lessons, and learning to dance to music from all over the world. He still liked to tap his toes and wiggle his hips and move his arms, but her knew how to dance in other ways as well.

Now when Sammy walks home from school there is no type of music that can stop him. His love for dancing is unstoppable!

By Abiee Harris

‘Hello and welcome to the Woodland Summer Olympic Games!’ said the announcer in a loud voice. All the animals cheered. They were in the clearing, but it looked very different from usual.

A long running track ran around it, with lanes marked out using twigs.

In the middle was a square of grass, and a pit full of sand for the long jump event.

Around the outside, all the animals of the woodland were watching. Every last bird, bee and beetle was there! And when the crowd roared, the noise reached the very tops of the trees.

‘Today’s first event is the 100-metre final,’ said the announcer. ‘In lane one we have Sammy the squirrel. In lane two there’s Miguel the mouse. In lane three it’s Roddy the rat. On your marks, get set, go!’

The three racers scampered down the running track. The crowd were shouting for their favourite runner, urging them to go faster and win the Olympic gold medal. Come on!

Roddy started off the fastest, but he soon began to get tired. Sammy was coming up fast and now they were neck and neck. Miguel was half the size of the others, but he put on a final burst of speed and crossed the line a whisker ahead. He had won!

The hedgehog family handed Miguel a golden acorn and the crowd went wild!

In the middle of the track, Tamara the tawny owl and Barbara the barn owl had their final throws of the shotput.

Holding a heavy stone in her claw, Tamara span around and threw it as far as she could. Great throw! But not quite far enough to win. Barbara hugged Tamara and told her she had done really well to get the silver acorn.

At river, the otters lined up for the swimming race. Olivia was determined to beat her brother, Otto. Banji the badger blew the whistle and they both dived in from the bank.

The otters flashed through the water, turned when they got to the big rock, pushed off with their feet, and swam all the way back. They touched the riverbank at exactly the same second. It was a draw!

One of the rabbits in the crowd turned to her friend. ‘Those athletes must be very tired,’ she said. ‘I’m exhausted and all I’ve done today is watch!’

By Jess Connett

Priya was holding on tight to her older sister Kavya as they walked up the mountain. Amma and appa had parked the car at the bottom of the mountain and helped them all lace their boots up tight.

They could see the path snaking its way up into the grey clouds. The little blobs along it were people wearing brightly coloured coats.

The path was muddy sometimes and stony sometimes, but always it went up and up and up.

When it wasn’t too steep they could talk and sing songs as they went higher and higher. Sometimes they needed to stop and get their breath back.

“Amma, are we going to the top of the world?” Priya asked.

Her mother laughed. “No, just to the top of this mountain. There are mountains in other countries that are much bigger than this one. I hope the clouds will part so we can get a really good view.”

The family kept walking together. Now they were inside the grey cloud! Priya could see amma and appa just ahead, but the path behind had disappeared into whiteness.

“Priya, Kavya, can you see that pile of stones?” appa asked. Priya looked at where her father was pointing. “It’s called a cairn. It means we’ve reached the top of the mountain!”

Priya started to run the final part of the path to the cairn. She was really excited to have got to the top!

But before she reached it, she felt something strange. The air was suddenly blowing hard towards her. It was an invisible force, pushing her and making her hair whip around. It took her breath away.

She ran back to appa and hid behind him to escape from the roaring and rushing.

“What is that?” she shouted.

Amma guided the family over to the cairn. They crouched down behind the pile of stones where it was sheltered and quiet.

“It’s the wind, Priya,” amma said. “The wind is an important part of our weather on Earth. It helps blow seeds and birds to the places they want to call home.

“Sometimes you barely feel the wind but other times it can be very strong, especially up here on the top of the mountain where there is nothing to stop it.”

“Look!” said Kavya. A little bit of the green land and the blue sky had appeared. Now they could see how high up they were. The wind was blowing away the clouds.

By Jess Connett

Fox, Squirrel, and Badger lived near the big oak tree in the woods. They had lots of fun playing together and sharing tasty snacks.

One day they were playing hide and seek. Squirrel climbed to the very top of a tall tree and sat quietly in the branches. She was watching the river, which flowed through the middle of the woods, when she saw something moving on the other side. She realised it was another squirrel, just like her!

The game of hide and seek was forgotten. Squirrel ran down the tree, calling for Badger and Fox.

‘I saw another squirrel!’ she told them. ‘On the other side of the river. I hope we can be friends.’

‘Well, how do we ask them?’ said Badger.

‘I know!’ said Fox. ‘IS THERE ANYONE OVER THERE?’ he shouted. Squirrel and Badger laughed – his little voice sounded very different as it echoed around the forest. But no one replied.

‘We could paddle across…’ Badger began.

‘No!’ Squirrel interrupted. ‘We’re not allowed to go into the river without a grown-up. It’s not safe.’

‘Fine,’ said Fox. ‘We could send a letter?’ What a good idea! The three friends got some paper, wrote a friendly note, and drew lots of smiley faces.

‘Perfect!’ said Badger. ‘But how will we get it across the water?’

‘I know,’ said Squirrel. ‘Let’s turn it into a paper plane.’ She sat down and folded the paper into an impressive plane. Squirrel took a deep breath and launched her plane across the river. It glided through the air… until it started to fall. With a plop it landed in the water and began to float away.

‘Hmm,’ said Badger. ‘That floated quite well – what about a boat?’ The animals got some twigs and leaves and built a little boat. They popped the note inside and launched it. The boat was almost halfway across the river when it bumped into a big rock, tipped upside down, and began to sink.

‘This is hopeless!’ cried Fox. ‘None of our ideas are going to work!’  

‘What’s happening?’ asked Beaver, a friendly grown-up.

Squirrel, Fox, and Badger told Beaver all about the squirrel they’d seen on the other side of the river. One by one, they explained how they’d thought about shouting, paddling, sending a plane, and making a boat.

‘What about a bridge?’ suggested Beaver.

‘A bridge would be brilliant!’ said Squirrel. ‘But how would we make one of those?’

‘Be patient, and I’ll see what I can do,’ smiled Beaver.

The next morning they went back to the river. As they got nearer, they saw something in the water. Beaver and all her friends had built a bridge!

‘It’s a special kind of bridge, called a dam,’ Beaver said.

‘Thank you!’ Squirrel, Fox and Badger called. They ran over the dam to explore the other side of the forest and make new friends.

By Annabel Rose

Samson the swan woke up suddenly. There was cold water from the river pouring into his nest!

He jumped up just as the water washed everything away. The nest was gone.

Samson called out for his wife, Swanhilda. She swam around the corner and saw the river overflowing its banks.

Samson and Swanhilda began to cry for their lovely soft nest that was gone forever.

‘We must find out what has happened,’ Samson said.

They followed the river upstream. Water was everywhere, and birds were running from their flooded nests.

The shelducks joined Samson and Swanhilda, and the mallard ducks, and the little grebes.

Eventually, they saw the river was blocked up ahead, with a great jumble of tree branches. That was why it was flooding the land.

Samson and all the animals began to pull out the sticks.

They heard shouting from the river. ‘Hey! Stop!’ It was Bernice the beaver. ‘That’s my home, stop destroying it!’

Later that day, Samson called a meeting. The swans, the beavers, and all the river birds sat in a circle. They needed to find a way to all live peacefully on the river.

‘Bernice, when you dammed the river, you flooded our homes,’ said Samson. ‘We have lost everything, and Swanhilda has nowhere to lay her eggs.’

Bernice said she was very sorry. She was just building a home for her own family.

‘We know you didn’t do it on purpose,’ said Samson. ‘But we need to find somewhere new to live.’

They talked, and everyone agreed to build new nests upstream of Bernice’s dam. Here, the river never flooded. They could all find a space on the riverbank.

‘I promise my dam will make the river better for you all,’ said Bernice.

Over the next few days, the birds all rebuilt their nests, tucking feathers between the sticks to make them soft and warm. Swanhilda laid her first clutch of eggs.

Down in the flooded river, something amazing was happening. It was full of frogs and newts and fish. Green weeds grew tall and strong, and dragonflies zipped around.

When Samson and Swanhilda’s cygnets were strong enough to go for swims, they were amazed by the transformation.

Bernice was right: the river was healthier than it had ever been before, and a better place for everyone to live.

By Jess Connett

Henry and Humbert were large spikey hedgehogs, who lived at the bottom of a large acorn tree in the woods. Their favourite place to hide and stay safe was in their cosy nest, made up of dried leaves and sticks.

They were brown, which helped them to blend in on the floor of the woods.

They lived with their little albino hoglet, called Harvey. Henry and Humbert had found Harvey all alone in the woods. He was scared because his white fluffy face, white paws and shiny white spines meant he could not hide form Fang the fox.

The hedgehogs’ nest kept Henry, Humbert, and Harvey warm and safe together.

One night, a wild storm hit the woods. The wind shook the trees and the rain pounded on the ground. Thunder boomed and lightning shone bright, keeping the animals awake.

When the sun rose after the long night, the animals came out of their homes to find parts of the wood flooded with water, and sticks and leaves flung everywhere by the wind.

Worst of all was the hedgehog’s home.

The rain had washed away all the dried leaves, and the wind had shaken the sticks apart. The nest was gone: all that was left were the three hedgehogs curled in a ball together.

Henry and Humbert were very worried. Without their nest they could not keep little Harvey safe.

The other woodland animals saw the hedgehog family’s problem and wanted to help.

Olga the owl flew high to keep watch for Fang the fox.

Savannah and Stefan, the two squirrels who lived in the tree, climbed up high. They snapped strong sticks, ripped off fresh leaves, and knocked acorns off the branches so they all fell to the woodland floor.

Miguel, Manuel and Maximus, the three mice brothers who lived in a burrow under the tree, collected the leaves, sticks and acorns as they fell.

Slowly, with the help of all their friends, the new nest took shape.

Sticks and leaves were piled together to create walls with no holes. Acorns weighed down the roof so that it would not leak in the rain or blow away in the wind.

Fresh leaves were scattered inside to create a cosy dry floor, where the hedgehogs could cuddle together, sheltered and safe.

The hedgehogs were very happy that night. They all went to sleep in their new home, knowing they could continue to keep little Harvey safe.

By Chris Allerton

We get you when you’re grumpy, like when you lost your favourite sock.
We get you when you’re happy, like when you found it in a box.
We get you when you’re worried, like when you thought your maths was bad.
We get you when you’re proudest, when you made those numbers add.
We get you when you’re saddest, like when you feel alone.
We get you when you’re excited, when you’re talking on the phone.

So you needn’t ever worry that, for us, you aren’t enough –
In fact, we’d like to find out more: about you and all your stuff.

So let’s spend some time playing, running, doing, being free,
Creating, planning – let’s build a fort! A space for us to be.
We can dream, dance, and imagine, safe inside the blanket walls.
Perhaps we’ll see a tiger pounce with shadow puppet paws!
Protect our castle against attack: by giants, witches, trolls.
Eat cake, read books, dress up, and practice shooting winning goals.

So you needn’t ever worry that, for us, you aren’t enough –
In fact, we’d like to find out more: about you and all your stuff.

And at the end of evening, when the sun’s about to set,
We’ll take some time to sit and chat, to see just who we’ve met.
We’ll think of all we did and said, and all the fun we had.
Considering the good times and reflecting on the bad.
We get the whole of you, our friend: the tears, the fun, the fuss.
We just ask that you remember that you get the whole of us!

By Juliette Sexton

Almost everyone had arrived at cookery club. They were taking it in turns to show everyone their ingredients – this week they would be making a dessert with fruit.

Jack had lots of plump, juicy blueberries. ‘I’m making muffins,’ he explained. ‘The recipe is a secret ­– I got it from my dad, and he got it from his dad!’  

‘That’s very cool. I have bananas to make akwadu,’ said Maria. ‘Akwadu is a sweet baked dessert made with banana and coconut. It comes from Equatorial Guinea, in Africa.’

Kendra showed off her red and green apples. ‘I’m going to make my own pastry for an apple pie,’ she said.

Patrick and Kris had both brought big ripe mangos, but they were making different desserts. ‘I’m making mango lassi,’ said Patrick. ‘It’s like a yoghurt that you drink – it’s really tasty’.

‘That does sound good. I’m making mango sticky rice,’ said Kris. ‘It has coconut in and it’s my favourite.’

‘I’ve got peaches to make my favourite dessert,’ said Shanti. ‘I’m making chajá – it has lots of layers of cake and cream and sweet milk and the peaches go on top.’

As Shanti finished, Ffion rushed in. Her face was bright red, and she was breathing really fast.

‘It’s a disaster!’ she cried ‘I left my bag of ingredients on the bus, and it drove away. I had raspberries and eggs and everything else I needed to make my favourite meringues and now I have nothing!’

‘Oh no! But it’s OK Ffion,’ said Patrick. ‘You can have some of my mango if you like?’

‘And mine!’ said Kris. One by one, everyone offered to share their fruit with Ffion. But what could she make with blueberries and banana and apples and mango and peaches?

Suddenly, Ffion had an idea.

‘Are there still some skewers in the cupboard?’ she asked. ‘I could make rainbow fruit skewers.’

Everyone had a great time chopping and whisking and stirring and cooking and baking their desserts. Ffion was really proud of her rainbow kebabs.

‘I like them because they have all of the fruits,’ she said. ‘Some of them are crunchy, some of them are soft, some of them are juicy… but they’re all delicious.’

By Annabel Rose

It was a sunny afternoon in the woodland, and Magali the magpie was washing by the stream.

His beautiful long tail feathers were shining green. The back of his folded wings were a stunning purply-blue. His head was glossy black.

Robbi the robin flew down from her perch.

‘Magali, you are so beautiful,’ she sighed. ‘I wish I looked like you.’

Magali turned to Robbi. ‘But Robbi, I wish I looked like you!’ he said.

‘I wish I could blend into the forest like you do, and your red tummy always puts a smile on people’s faces. People see how bright I am and try to scare me away. It’s not very nice.’

Robbi couldn’t believe it. ‘I wish I could show you how wonderful you look,’ she said.

‘And I wish I could show you how wonderful you look!’ said Magali.

Suddenly, Robbi had an idea. ‘I know! We can paint each other’s picture!’

‘But where will we get the paint?’ asked Magali.

‘We’ll make it ourselves. I know just what we need.’ And with that, Robbi chirped and flew off to find the first ingredient.

She found it close by, in a fire pit where some people had been roasting marshmallows. Amongst the sticks was a piece of black charcoal. She picked it up in her beak and carried it back to the stream.

Robbi showed Magali how to crush the charcoal into a powder and mix it with water to make a paste. The paint was a deep, dark black.

Robbi found all the colours they needed: purple from beetroot, green from spirulina, yellow from mustard, and orange from turmeric.

She felt proud as she carried the turmeric back to the stream, knowing it was the perfect colour for her happy red tummy.

Magali had worked hard too, finding them two sheets of paper and some reeds to use as paint brushes.

When all the pastes were ready, they picked up the reeds in their beaks and began to paint.

‘This was a brilliant idea, Robbi,’ said Magali as he finished the final dab of paint. ‘I’m going to put this picture in a frame and take it back to my nest!’

By Jess Connett

It was the day of her weekly bubble bath, and Princess Bubble Pop was behaving very, very badly.

Her face was red and squashed up into a horrible expression. Her friend Billie was holding a bottle of bubble bath.

‘I want it bubblier!’ Princess Bubble Pop shouted. ‘It must be a bubblier bubble bath than my last bubbly bath or I’ll scream!’

‘But the world’s bubbliest bubble bath is impossible!’ said Billie

Princess Bubble Pop opened her mouth and screamed until the glass window broke.

That evening, King Bubble Pop paced up and down. ‘What am I going to do?’ he said. ‘She’s broken all the windows in the castle with her screaming. And I’ve bought every bubble bath in the land. This can’t go on.’

In the kitchen, Billie was scrubbing a pot. Her mind began to bubble with a brilliant idea. But how would she make it work?

On the day of her next bath, Princess Bubble Pop awoke to someone knocking on her bedroom door. ‘Who is it?’ she called.

‘It’s Billie. There’s someone here to see you. They’ve got something special for you.’

Princess Bubble Pop got up and opened the door. There stood a person wearing a long cloak that covered their head.

‘I know the secrets of the world’s bubbliest bubble bath,’ whispered the stranger.

‘That’s exactly what I want!’ said Princess Bubble Pop, clapping her hands excitedly. ‘Billie is going to run my bath now, and you must make it the world’s bubbliest bubble bath. And then I’ll be happy forever and I promise never to scream again!’

The stranger went into the bathroom and took off their cloak. It was Billie! She had a big green squeezy bottle. As she ran the water into the bath, she squeezed.

When Princess Bubble Pop came in, she couldn’t see the bath because the whole room was filled with bubbles!

‘This really is the world’s bubbliest bubble bath!’ she said. ‘It’s the best bath ever!’

She plopped into the water and scrubbed her skin until she shone like a saucepan.

Through the thick bubbles, Billie snuck out with the green squeezy bottle. She ran along the corridor, back to the kitchen.

Cook was looking annoyed. ‘Where can my washing up liquid be?’ she said.

‘Here it is!’ said Billie, out of breath. ‘I just needed to borrow some.’

By Jess Connett

Umar was feeling nervous. Everyone had made their favourite recipe and brought the food along to share with their friends. Umar wasn’t worried about his cupcakes – he knew they tasted good. He was worried about talking in front of everyone.

Umar didn’t like being the centre of attention. When he tried to talk in front of lots of people, it made him feel a bit funny. His face would get really warm. He’d be able to hear his heart beating faster than usual. And it would feel like his tummy was jumping up and down all over the place.

‘What’s wrong, Umar?’ asked his friend Zayna.

‘I don’t want to tell everyone about my cakes,’ Umar replied.

‘Why?’ asked Zayna. ‘Have you forgotten what you put in them? Is it because there’s a secret ingredient? Do they taste bad? Did you steal the recipe from someone scary?’

‘No!’ said Umar, giggling. Zayna was funny, and she always made him feel a bit better. ‘I don’t like it when everyone looks at me! I always forget what I want to say.’

Zayna thought for a minute. She loved talking to people (and making them laugh), and she couldn’t wait to tell everyone about the recipe she’d made. Then she had an idea.

‘What if I help you?’ she said. ‘We can stand up together, and I can do the talking.’

‘OK!’ said Umar. ‘Thanks, Zayna.’ 

And then it was time to begin. Umar and Zayna heard about people’s desserts, breads, curries, and stews. Someone had even made their own ice cream! Zayna loved telling people all about her family’s banana bread recipe.

Soon, it was Umar’s turn. He still felt a little bit nervous, but it was much better with Zayna by his side.

‘These are Umar’s cupcakes,’ Zayna began. ‘He made them with his… dad?’ Umar nodded. ‘I think they look really delicious and also like he spent ages making them look nice. And I think they’re probably coffee flavoured because they’re brown with... ketchup on top?’

Umar laughed again. Zayna was so silly. But she wasn’t quite right.

‘They’re actually chocolate! With raspberry sauce!’ Umar said, surprising himself. ‘I made them with my dad – we got the raspberries from his friend’s garden, but everything else came from the shops. It was my idea to do a chocolate cake with the raspberries because they’re my favourite flavours. It made my arm really tired because we had to keep stirring for ages – and it was really hard not to eat the raspberries while we were baking, too.’

Umar looked around. Had he really just said all of that, in front of everyone? He had. Everyone clapped, and Zayna was smiling too. It was always easier to do scary things with a friend by your side.

By Annabel Rose

Mama and baba told Wei they were going to take him to the beach at the weekend, and he could choose three friends to bring along.

‘When you invite your friends,’ said mama, ‘tell them they should bring everything they need for the whole day, because we’re going on the train, and we’ll be home late.’

The next day, Wei saw his friend Bo playing in the sandpit.

‘Would you like to come to the beach, Bo?’ asked Wei. ‘You’ll have to bring everything you need for the whole day.’

‘Yes, I’d really like to come,’ said Bo. ‘Thanks for inviting me! The last time I went to the beach it was very windy. I’m going to bring my kite and wear a thick coat. That way I won’t feel how cold the wind is.’

Wei left the sandpit and went to the art area, where Whinnie was making a sculpture.

‘Would you like to come to the beach, Whinnie?’ asked Wei. ‘You’ll have to bring everything you need for the whole day.’

‘Oh, yes please!’ said Whinnie. ‘That sounds like a lot of fun. Thank you for inviting me. The last time I went to the beach it was very cold. It even snowed! I’m going to bring a hat and gloves so I can play in the snow.’

Wei went looking for Dillip. He found him on the field, practising handstands.

‘Would you like to come to the beach, Dillip?’ asked Wei. ‘You’ll have to bring everything you need for the whole day.’

‘Definitely!’ said Dillip. ‘Thank you for inviting me. The beach is very hot. I’m going to bring my swimming shorts and a towel so I can cool down in the sea.’

When Wei woke up on Saturday morning, it was pouring with rain. ‘Never mind,’ said baba. ‘We’ll take umbrellas and waterproof coats so we don’t get wet.’

When they arrived at the train station, Dillip was shivering.

‘You’re only wearing shorts and a T-shirt!’ said mama. ‘Luckily, we have a spare coat.’

Whinnie was much too hot in her woolly hat. ‘I thought it was going to be cold!’ she said.

Bo was disappointed. ‘I can’t fly my kite when it’s raining. There’s no wind at all today.’

Baba showed them the weather forecast. It told them how the weather would be today and tomorrow.

‘The rain will stop in an hour,’ baba said. ‘The sun will come out and it’ll get hot. Then we might wish we had all worn shorts like Dillip!’

By Jess Connett

Sammy was a squirrel, but he wasn’t an ordinary squirrel.

Sammy was a squirrel who dreamed of going on a big adventure. He did like the safe little garden that he lived in, with the brick wall, white fence, beautiful flowers and green grass, but he couldn’t help but think that there was more out there for him to discover.

One ordinary Tuesday, Sammy was sitting in the shade of a leafy plant by the fence when another squirrel scuttled past. Sammy was used to seeing other squirrels, and sometimes even dogs on leads, walking past his garden – but this squirrel was different. You see, this squirrel was holding a map and carrying a bag. Where could the squirrel be off to?

Sammy waited all day for the squirrel to scuttle back past him. Eventually, he heard the rustling of the map and the pitter-patter of feet. Sammy jumped down from his shady spot in the big oak tree and stuck his nose through the gate.

‘Hey!’ he called. ‘Excuse me!’

‘Hello,’ replied the other squirrel. ‘Can I help you?’

‘Yes,’ Sammy said. ‘I couldn’t help but notice you hurrying past this morning with your map and your bag, and I wondered where you were going. You see, I love this garden, but I want an adventure. And you seem like a squirrel who knows how to have one.’

‘I most certainly am!’ the squirrel replied proudly. ‘I’m Shay, the great squirrel explorer. I’ve been exploring the park today, but tomorrow I’m going down to the woods by the lake.’ She pointed at the green shape on her map.

‘Oh, that sounds like fun! Please take me with you, Shay. I’ve only ever been in this garden, and I would love to find some new things,’ Sammy pleaded.

‘Sure. Be at the gate tomorrow morning and we’ll have the biggest adventure together.’

That night, Sammy couldn’t sleep. He was so excited. Finally, the sun started to rise, and the moon began to disappear. Sammy ran to the gate and waited for Shay. She appeared in no time with her map and bag.

Sammy cautiously opened the gate and stepped outside. As he took a deep breath of fresh air, Shay handed him something. It had a handle and a round piece of glass on the end. What could it be?

‘This,’ said Shay, ‘will mean you don’t miss a thing. It’s time to explore!’

Now it’s time for us to join Shay and Sammy on their adventure. We can use our own magnifying glasses to see things more clearly, our ears to hear the sounds of the outdoors, our noses to sniff and smell the world around us, and our fingers to feel smooth and spiky things in nature.

By Kathryn Thurston

Quinn’s days were always full of adventures. Walking to school in the rain was being the captain of a pirate ship in a stormy sea. The bushes in the park were full of lions and elephants that needed protecting from hunters. The swimming pool was secretly a portal to a new world.

But when Quinn got home, and her dad asked what she had done that day, she would always say the same thing: “Umm… I can’t remember.”

Whenever Jakob came round for tea, Quinn’s dad would ask him what he had done that day, and he would tell them lots of funny stories. Quinn told her dad she felt sad that she couldn’t remember adventures the way Jakob did.

One day when they were drawing costumes so they could be famous TV stars, Quinn’s dad gave her and Jakob a little book each.

“These are your adventure scrapbooks,” Dad explained. “You can draw pictures in them, or write things, or stick something in and it will remind you of all the adventures you’ve had together.”

“Let’s start our scrapbooks by sticking in our drawings!” Jakob said. Dad helped with the glue. Now the first page of the scrapbook helped Quinn remember that afternoon’s adventures, pretending to be on TV.

Over the summer, Quinn and Jakob’s scrapbooks became full and fat.

Between the pages were tickets from the museum, brass rubbings from a walk, pictures of birds, a leaf from the time they visited the jungle, a special sweet wrapper, and a photograph of them all that Quinn’s dad got printed out.

Soon, every single page was full up.

“Phew!” said Quinn. “We have so many adventures, it’s much easier to remember them all when you have a scrapbook.”

Quinn’s dad called her and Jakob into the kitchen to have tea.

“What have you been doing all summer?” he said. Quinn opened her scrapbook at the very first page and started to tell him all about it.

By Jess Connett

Sometimes my days are very busy,
And it makes me feel a lot:
Happy, sad, cross and calm,
It’s like my brain won’t stop!

This morning when I brushed my teeth
I felt so excited.
I was ready for the day ahead,
Couldn’t wait to get it started.

We took a trip to the park,
It made me a little nervous.
I’d not tried the monkey bars before –
My tummy felt like a circus!

The pride I felt when I made it across,
Was big, and bold, and strong.
I was beaming from ear to ear!
I felt nothing could go wrong.

The morning was nearly over,
And it was time to go home.
This made me feel a little sad,
And I let out a bit of a groan.

I ran down the busy pavement,
And bumped into a man and his pram.
I was very sorry and felt guilty, because
I should have stayed with mum.

From around the corner a dog jumped out!
It took me by surprise.
My palms went sweaty, I stopped in my tracks
And I felt my heartbeat rise.

I realised it was all okay, though,
He was just coming to say “hi!”
I gave him a great big cuddle,
Although I did have a little cry.

Then the darkness started to come,
The night sky turned to black.
The lights went off and I felt scared,
I saw a shape – what was that?

I was feeling very tired now,
I felt angry, grumpy and sad.
Mum said: “It must be time for bed,
Tomorrow, adventures are planned.”

I didn’t know there were so many feelings,
That sometimes all come at once.
But it’s okay to have a busy mind,
When lots is going on for us.

By Abiee Harris

A special guest was joining the Squirrels for their meeting. The Squirrels – Calm, Nervous, Cautious, Curious, Afraid and Excitement – were really very curious to see who it would be. (Curious was feeling even more curious than usual!)

When the guest arrived, Sandy the Squirrel Leader introduced them to the Squirrels.

‘This is Fire!’ said Sandy. Fire took a space in the middle of the group and proudly showed off flickering flames to the Squirrels.

Everyone in the room began to say ‘ooh!’ and ‘aah!’ – except for Nervous and Afraid who made some tiny ‘oh!’ noises.

Excitement couldn’t contain, well, their excitement, and ran quickly towards Fire, who burned even more brightly. As Excitement dashed around, sparks from the flickering flames began to fly. All of a sudden, a spark leapt onto Sandy’s chair and began to burn. Uh oh!

Afraid made another tiny ‘oh!’ noise and ran to the back of the room.

Nervous began to wriggle on the ground where they sat and shed a little tear before running to join Afraid at the back of the hut.

Cautious brushed the tear towards the chair and it put the spark out. “Oh, well done!” said Sandy. “It’s always good to have a little ‘caution’ when it comes to Fire.”

After all that commotion, Curious found Fire even more interesting and began to creep closer. Curious moved slowly, getting closer and closer to Fire. All of a sudden, Curious gave a shout. ‘Oh! My nose is burning!’ 

Without any fuss at all, Calm gently pulled Curious back to where they’d been seated. ‘If you sit here, you can see Fire but you won’t get your nose burned,’ said Calm.

All the Squirrels sat and watched Fire from their places in the circle. As they sat, Fire began to glow softly and everyone began to feel cosy. Nervous and Afraid, seeing how happy and content all the Squirrels were, came and joined them in the circle too.

At the end of the meeting, everyone agreed it had been a very good (and calm) night.

By Juliette Sexton

Henry and Humbert were large spikey hedgehogs, who lived at the bottom of a large acorn tree in the woods. Their favourite place to hide and stay safe was in their cosy nest, made up of dried leaves and sticks.

They were brown, which helped them to blend in on the floor of the woods.

They lived with their little albino hoglet, called Harvey. Henry and Humbert had found Harvey all alone in the woods. He was scared because his white fluffy face, white paws and shiny white spines meant he could not hide form Fang the fox.

The hedgehogs’ nest kept Henry, Humbert, and Harvey warm and safe together.

One night, a wild storm hit the woods. The wind shook the trees and the rain pounded on the ground. Thunder boomed and lightning shone bright, keeping the animals awake.

When the sun rose after the long night, the animals came out of their homes to find parts of the wood flooded with water, and sticks and leaves flung everywhere by the wind.

Worst of all was the hedgehog’s home.

The rain had washed away all the dried leaves, and the wind had shaken the sticks apart. The nest was gone: all that was left were the three hedgehogs curled in a ball together.

Henry and Humbert were very worried. Without their nest they could not keep little Harvey safe.

The other woodland animals saw the hedgehog family’s problem and wanted to help.

Olga the owl flew high to keep watch for Fang the fox.

Savannah and Stefan, the two squirrels who lived in the tree, climbed up high. They snapped strong sticks, ripped off fresh leaves, and knocked acorns off the branches so they all fell to the woodland floor.

Miguel, Manuel and Maximus, the three mice brothers who lived in a burrow under the tree, collected the leaves, sticks and acorns as they fell.

Slowly, with the help of all their friends, the new nest took shape.

Sticks and leaves were piled together to create walls with no holes. Acorns weighed down the roof so that it would not leak in the rain or blow away in the wind.

Fresh leaves were scattered inside to create a cosy dry floor, where the hedgehogs could cuddle together, sheltered and safe.

The hedgehogs were very happy that night. They all went to sleep in their new home, knowing they could continue to keep little Harvey safe.

By Chris Allerton

We get you when you’re grumpy, like when you lost your favourite sock.
We get you when you’re happy, like when you found it in a box.
We get you when you’re worried, like when you thought your maths was bad.
We get you when you’re proudest, when you made those numbers add.
We get you when you’re saddest, like when you feel alone.
We get you when you’re excited, when you’re talking on the phone.

So you needn’t ever worry that, for us, you aren’t enough –
In fact, we’d like to find out more: about you and all your stuff.

So let’s spend some time playing, running, doing, being free,
Creating, planning – let’s build a fort! A space for us to be.
We can dream, dance, and imagine, safe inside the blanket walls.
Perhaps we’ll see a tiger pounce with shadow puppet paws!
Protect our castle against attack: by giants, witches, trolls.
Eat cake, read books, dress up, and practice shooting winning goals.

So you needn’t ever worry that, for us, you aren’t enough –
In fact, we’d like to find out more: about you and all your stuff.

And at the end of evening, when the sun’s about to set,
We’ll take some time to sit and chat, to see just who we’ve met.
We’ll think of all we did and said, and all the fun we had.
Considering the good times and reflecting on the bad.
We get the whole of you, our friend: the tears, the fun, the fuss.
We just ask that you remember that you get the whole of us!

By Juliette Sexton

Bampy was sitting in his chair, knitting very fast. He loved to knit. Sometimes the long roll of wool went bouncing off his knees and onto the floor.

His granddaughter Zennor would pick it up, and then help count the rows of stitches to make sure everything stayed nice and neat.

‘Would you like to meet my friends from my knitting group, Zennor?’ Bampy asked one day.

‘Yes please!’ said Zennor. She liked getting out of the house and meeting new people.

They packed Bampy’s knitting into a bag, and then got the bus into town.

The knitting group met in a café on the main road. Through the window, some friendly people waved at Bampy and Zennor.

‘Hello, Zennor! Nice to see you today,’ said a lady. She showed them some space on the squashy sofa where they could sit down.

‘My name is Nirm. Your grandad has told me all about you!’

‘Hello, Nirm,’ said Zennor. ‘Hello, everyone who likes knitting!’

Each person in the group had a pair of long grey knitting needles like Bampy’s, and each person had a ball of wool.

But the strange thing was that no two people were knitting the same thing.

Bampy was working on a jumper for Zennor. It was going to be her birthday present. It was red – her favourite colour.

Nirm was making a scarf. It was stripey. ‘It’s my favourite football team,’ she told Zennor. ‘I’m going to wear it when I watch a game.’

Tony was knitting tiny hats for babies in hospital. The hats would keep them nice and warm.

Tallulah was making fluffy pom-poms to brighten up their bedroom.

Bertha was making squares in clever patterns, to turn into a special blanket.

‘I didn’t know you could do so many things with a ball of wool and two little sticks!’ said Zennor.

Bampy said she was right. ‘And that’s why I like knitting,’ he said. ‘Everyone can start with the same materials, but what we make at the end is our choice.

‘It doesn’t matter what you make, or how it looks compared to someone else’s, as long as you have a go.’

By Jess Connett

One very exciting day, the Big Cat Band were getting ready for their first party of the summer. They loved playing music at celebrations to make sure everyone had fun.

There were lots of things to remember for the long journey – they needed their smart outfits, their music books, and plenty of snacks. Once they arrived at the party, they started to get ready.

‘I’m so excited!’ said Tilly the tiger. ‘We’ve been practising all winter and now we can finally share our songs.’

‘I know,’ replied Casper the cheetah. ‘We just need to grab our instruments.’

The animals went to their van and Winne the wildcat opened the doors. But the van was empty.

‘Has someone stolen our instruments?’ Panda the panther asked. ‘Who packed the van?’

The big cats all looked at each other, but no one said anything. They’d all forgotten to bring their instruments! What were they going to do now? Not even Casper the speedy cheetah could rush back to get their instruments in time.

‘I’ll just have to find something else to use as a drum kit,’ said Winnie. ‘I’m sure the chef will be able to help me.’ And she headed towards the kitchen.

Soon she came back carrying a pile of pots and pans and waving a wooden spoon. She started to balance the pots and pans on chairs and tables, and soon she’d made herself a new drum kit.

‘If Winnie can make it work, I’ll ask if I can look in the recycling box for a new trumpet,’ said Panda. He went to find whoever was in charge.

When Panda came back, he was carrying lots of empty bottles, a jug of water, and a tissue box.

‘A friendly elephant helped me wash all of these bottles,’ he explained. ‘If I fill them with water, I’ll be able to make lots of different noises. The tissue box reminded me of your guitar, Casper – if you can find something stretchy, you could make some new strings!’.

Thanks to everyone’s quick thinking, the Big Cat Band soon had three new instruments.

‘What am I going to do?’ asked Tilly. ‘I don’t have my microphone, and my voice isn’t loud enough on its own.’

‘I’ve got an idea!’ said Casper. ‘Why don’t you teach the audience the songs so they can join in too?’ Tilly thought about it, then nodded. They band had a plan.

The guests soon arrived, and the Big Cat Band had lots of fun teaching everyone their songs. They even learned some songs from the audience too!

‘I’m so glad we didn’t give up,’ said Winnie sleepily on the way home. ‘What a great performance.’

By Annabel Rose

Once upon a time there was a magical troll called Tristan, who lived at the edge of the woods near a town. He lived in a big cave with a wooden door, cosy armchairs, and a large dining table to eat at.

But none of the townspeople would be his friend. They were scared of Tristan’s magical powers.

One day, a potter called Poe had to pass Tristan’s cave on the way home from the market. Usually, Poe would try to pass as quickly as she could. But this time she stopped. She could hear someone crying.

Looking through the keyhole, Poe could see Tristan sitting at the big table, surrounded by empty chairs. Tristan was crying. He was very lonely.

Poe felt sad. But seeing Tristan had given her an idea, so she hurried home.

Poe worked all day and all night, banging and clanging, and pinging and chipping, and smashing and clapping. Finally, Poe was finished.

Standing in front of her was troll, crafted from natural materials. Poe hoped the troll could be a friend for Tristan, to stop him feeling so lonely.

Later that night, Poe dragged the crafted troll to the cave door for Tristan to find. She climbed up into in a tree and waited for Tristan to come out of his cave.

When he did, he jumped back in surprise! He had not expected to find anyone on his doorstep, especially not another troll!

But Tristan was confused. The troll was not moving or making a sound. Tristan could see this new troll was different. It was shiny and cold. It was not alive.

Tristan quickly turned around and scurried into his cave. Poe thought Tristan did not like his new friend, so she started to climb down the tree to collect the crafted troll. Suddenly, Tristan came back out with something in his hand. Poe froze.

She watched as Tristan drew a circle around the crafted troll using bright green goo. Tristan stood in front of the troll, blew some magic dust over it, and boomed: “Whingo, Whango, Bingo, Bango! Make this troll alive to fandango!”

Dust blew up around Tristan and the troll, and from the branches of the tree Poe could not see what was happening. But when the dust cleared, she was amazed. The crafted troll had come alive!

Tristan and the new troll were hugging on the doorstep. And when they parted, Tristan took the new troll’s hand and guided him into his home. Tristan had someone to play, dance and live with now.

Seeing how happy the trolls were, Poe decided to craft a new troll every year, and deliver it to the cave door.

So, with a little kindness, and a little magic, the troll family would grow and Tristan would not be lonely any more.

By Chris Allerton

Ali and Sara were in the garden, painting pictures on big pieces of paper.

Ali loved drawing. He could colour in really neatly. In his bedroom, his parents had pinned up his favourite drawings: a big red fox with beady black eyes, and a fish that was all the colours of the rainbow.

Sara didn’t have any paints at home. She liked to build things with bricks. She and her brothers would try to build the tallest towers, or create a bridge that was strong enough to walk over.

Ali was already filling his paper with squiggles and swirls. ‘I’m doing an octopus,’ he said. ‘She’s going to be wearing a jumper that has eight arms!’

Sara’s page was still empty. She just didn’t know what to draw.

‘This is hard,’ she said. ‘I haven’t got any ideas.’

‘What about drawing your family?’ said Ali. ‘Or your dream house. Or an aeroplane and all the people going on holiday!’ Ali had so many ideas that it was hard to focus on just one.

Sara’s brain felt empty. She felt sad that she couldn’t think of something like Ali could.

She stood up and accidentally knocked over the paint tray. SPLAT! Now there was a spotty line of blue paint right down the page.

‘Oh no!’ said Sara. ‘I’ve ruined it! I’ll have to crumple it up.’

‘No, don’t!’ said Ali. ‘You can make it into something. If you turn the page around it looks like the windows on a tall building.’

Sara turned the page. Oh yes, she could see that! She picked up the paintbrush and made the windows round. Now it was a spaceship, and in the windows were the astronauts, waving to Earth.

Now her lines were going higher, and the drawing turned into the tallest tower in the world – it was bursting out of the sky and into space, until it bumped against the moon. Sara added supports to stop it falling over.

‘That’s a really good design,’ she said. ‘I’ll remember it when I next play with bricks. Thanks, Ali. I’m glad I didn’t crumple up my page, or I might never have built a tower to the moon.’

By Jess Connett

In Europe I met a nice cat,

Who slept every night on my mat.

He was well dressed

And I was impressed

When I first saw him wearing a hat!

In Antarctica there was a seal

Who liked to eat fish every meal.

I offered him chips,

He said: “Yuck, what’s this?

“But I’ll take mushy peas with my eel!”

In Asia I saw a great ape,

Wearing a Superman cape!

The orangutan,

Was such a big fan,

She’d made it herself from some drapes.

The green South American frogs

Do all of their singing on logs.

They warble in crowds,

Which upsets the clouds,

And then it will rain cats and dogs!

In Africa lived a fierce croc

Who had lost one of his socks.

From deep in a bog,

He pulled out a clog,

And now when he walks one foot knocks!

One animal in North America

Was a black bear, name of Erica.

She swam in a pond,

Which turned her hair blonde,

And laughed until she was hysterical!

In Australia I met a snake

Whose favourite dinner was steak.

I took him to dine,

And he ate all of mine,

And even devoured my cake!

By Jess Connett

Anouk was a brilliant swimmer.

‘I think you’re part-dolphin!’ her foster mum would joke every time they went to the pool.

Anouk would take a deep breath and dive down to the very bottom to pick up a toy, kicking her strong legs like a frog.

She loved it under the water. With her eyes open wide behind her goggles, she would pretend she was a fish in a warm shallow sea, breathing through her gills.

One day at the pool, Kathy threw the toy and Anouk dived.

But instead of seeing the smooth white pool tiles, Anouk saw the water dropping away, deeper and darker. There was the toy, falling down through the blueness of an endless ocean. She kicked hard and followed it.

Down Anouk swam, out of the pool and under the leisure centre car park, and all the way out of town. She swam under the whole of England and out into the Atlantic Ocean, half-way to America.

The first animal she met was an Atlantic cod. He was brown and spotty, with lots of fins along his back that wobbled in the water as he swam.

‘Good afternoon, little girl,’ said the cod. ‘Have you met the rest of my shoal?’ He waved his fin and Anouk looked back.

Behind them were hundreds of cod, slowly swimming along with their mouths open. They were eating the little shrimps floating in the water.

‘Hello, Anouk,’ said one of the shrimps. She was grey, with big black eyes and two long whiskers. She wiggled her ten legs and swam away.

From below came a squeaking noise, and then a dolphin appeared! The dolphin swam underneath her. Anouk stopped. The dolphin stopped. The dolphin was playing a game!

‘Hi! What’s your name?’ said Anouk.

“Dolan,” said the dolphin.

They swam together for a while, and then Dolan began swimming fast to the surface of the water. He leapt into the air and span around before falling back in with a splash.

‘That was amazing, Dolan!’ said Anouk. ‘I want to stay in the ocean forever and learn how to do that.’

Dolan squeaked and whistled and clacked with excitement.

‘We’re going to be best friends, Anouk!’ Dolan said. ‘And there are so many more animals in the sea who want to meet you.’

By Jess Connett

Bartosz was a beautiful swallowtail butterfly. He had black and yellow wings with delicate red and blue spots on his back.

It was a sunny morning, and Bartosz flew happily over the fields and the meadows. He flew over the stream and the bridge. He flew over the factories and the houses.

Wait! That’s not right!

Bartosz was confused: he must have taken a wrong turning. He was flying over gardens with trampolines and sheds.

Bartosz began to feel very tired. It was a long time since he’d had breakfast in the meadow. He flew lower and lower. He could see some children playing in a garden. They looked friendly. He landed on a big green plant to rest.

‘Wow! Look at this butterfly!’ said Nora. Everyone came to look. Bartosz flapped his wings but he was too tired to fly away.

‘It looks like it needs some food,’ said Annie.

Annie, Nora and Lance ran into the house to find out what butterflies eat. Annie came out with a bag of sugar. Nora carried a banana. Lance took off his sweaty socks and carried them at arm’s length.

‘Phew!’ everyone said, holding their noses.

Annie mixed some sugar into her glass of water. The sugar water would be a bit like the nectar that butterflies drink from flowers. Annie poured a little into the spoon and put it on the table.

Nora peeled the banana and put it next to the spoon. It had gone black in the fruit bowl and nobody wanted to eat it. Overripe fruit is sugary and can give butterflies an energy boost.

Lance put his socks on the table. He knew that butterflies need salts as well as sugars. A diet only made up of one thing isn’t as good as a diet made of lots of different things.

The three friends crept back the house and watched Bartosz.

He fluttered off the plant and onto the table. What a feast!

He sucked up some sugar water with his proboscis, which was like a straw. Instantly he felt energised.

He landed on the banana and tasted it through special pads in his feet. He nibbled at some of the squishy bits. Mmm!

But all this sweetness was getting a bit sickly. What about the salt?

Bartosz spotted the socks. Sweating leaves salts behind on our skin, and Lance’s sweat had rubbed onto the socks. To a butterfly it tasted delicious!

‘The butterfly likes all the food we put out for him,’ said Nora. ‘But his favourite is definitely Lance’s smelly socks!’

By Jess Connett

The woods were sunny but Cai the caterpillar had found a nice shady spot to sleep, under a big green leaf. It was tucked around him like a blanket.

“What a beautiful morning!” Cai said as he woke up. He felt his tummy rumble. He was late for breakfast!

Cai wiggled out from under the leaf. His body was covered with black hairs that stuck up in all directions, like toothbrush bristles. He was hairy all over, except for his face, and he had an orange stripe that ran down his back.

The leaf that had been his blanket was gently unfolding in the sunshine. Cai took a big bite out of it. CHOMP! He gobbled it all down until there was nothing left but the stalk.

It took Cai a long time to get down the tree trunk because he moved so slowly, and he kept finding delicious things to snack on.

It was nearly lunchtime when he saw his brother, Clem. Clem had already turned from a caterpillar into a beautiful moth. Clem had long white wings spotted with black, and soft white fur on his head.

“Hello, Cai,” said Clem. “How are you today?”

“Hello, Clem,” said Cai. “I’m hungry.”

And he took a nibble out of the hard brown bark of the tree. CHOMP! Mmm, it was delicious. He swallowed it all down until there was a hole in the tree big enough for a caterpillar to fall through…

“Oof!” said Cai as he fell into the tree. He rattled and bounced and yelled as he dropped down through the tree trunk. He landed at the bottom in a soft pile in wood shavings. He popped one into his mouth. Mmm, it was scrumptious!

A little hole in the tree was letting in some daylight. Cai popped his head out and smelled something wonderful. It was sweet and fruity. There, on the ground, was an apple!

Cai climbed on top of the apple. The skin was warm from the sun. He bit into it. CHOMP! Juice poured down his chin. Oh! He was in heaven! It was the best thing he had ever tasted.

Cai munched and pecked and gnawed and chewed as the sun dropped below the trees and night began to fall.

He ate his way into the core of the apple. He tried one of the black pips but it was hard and bitter and he spat it out.

“Oh! I know what to do with this,” Cai said. He put the pip under his head like a pillow, and soon he was fast asleep, dreaming of all the things he would eat tomorrow.

By Jess Connett

Maxine was lying on her bed, chewing a pencil. Spread out in front of her was the latest comic that she had started to draw.

Spud and Nach, her favourite characters, were standing on the edge of a cliff, wearing the wings they had made. Would they be brave enough to try to fly?

The next panel of the comic was empty. Maxine wasn’t sure what to draw next. She was feeling very tired. Slowly, her eyes began to close.

Through the window, a magic wind blew the pages of the comic closed, and then open again. When they opened, Spud and Nach were no longer stuck in the little boxes of the comic. They were standing on the paper, looking amazed.

“We’re real!” said Nach, looking down at her awesome superhero outfit. She flapped her arms and the homemade wings lifted her a little way off the page. One of the feathers flapped close to Maxine and tickled her nose as she slept.

Maxine’s nose twitched. She shuddered. She was still. And then – “ACHOOO!”

Her sneeze was so huge that it woke her up, and it blew Nach and Spud right off the bed and down onto the floor, far, far below.

The comic book characters jumped out of the way as Maxine’s giant foot came stomping down on the floor. A voice was calling her from downstairs. They hid in the folds of the blanket as she left her bedroom.

“Quick! We have to get back into the comic book before Maxine finds out we’re gone!” Nach said. “Come on Spud, you can do it.”

Spud cautiously flapped his wings. “I can’t do it, Nach,” he said. “I’m too little.”

“Of course you can! You’re a superhero,” said Nach. “You’ve just got to believe in yourself. Let’s try together.”

They held onto each other as they both flapped their wings and started to rise. Another magic wind swept them back onto the bed and into the pages of the comic.

It was just in time. Maxine came back in, flopping down onto her bed.

She opened her comic. There were her characters, standing on the edge of the cliff, ready to fly. Maxine looked a bit closer at her drawing. Hang on – had they always been holding hands?

By Jess Connett

It was almost winter in the woodland. Though the days were very cold, the animals were outside every day, busy looking for food to put in secret hiding places.

Before they went into their nests to sleep for the coldest months, they were going to have one final feast.

“Where shall I put these blackberries?” Miguel said to his brothers, Manuel and Maximus. They were three mice who lived in a burrow under the acorn tree.

“In the hole in the tree with the others,” Maximus said. He had just brought in a big lot of juicy plums, and his mouth and paws were stained with juice.

Nearby, the squirrels Savannah and Stefan were burying acorns and sweet chestnuts under the soil.

“OK, remember we’ve put three near that fallen branch with the moss on it,” said Stefan.

“And three more near this pointy stone,” said Savannah. “Let’s put five in each place and then find somewhere else.”

The hedgehog family of Henry, Humbert and Harvey arrived at the acorn tree with lots of juicy sloes and some walnuts.

“I think it’s time for our feast!” Henry said. The evening was starting to get very cold so the mice brothers showed everyone into their cosy nest. Everyone placed some of the food they had gathered during the day onto the old log that acted as a table.

“I’ve never tried a sloe,” said Manuel. “Please may I have one?” Humbert nodded and passed one over. It was round and bright purple. It tasted very sharp and bitter compared to the sweet blackberries.

“Yuck!” shouted Manuel, and they all laughed.

“Have a chestnut, Harvey,” said Savannah, offering him one. He took it between his paws and nibbled off the hard outer shell. Inside, the nut was soft and sweet.

“Mmm! Thank you!” said Harvey. “Please have a walnut.” Savannah and Stefan were excited – walnuts were their favourites!

They were brown inside and a bit chewy – very tasty indeed.

“It’s lovely to share some food with you all,” said Humbert. “Even if you don’t like everything, I’m glad we got to try it all together.”

By Jess Connett

The plan for tea was a yummy pasta. It was M’s favourite. When the spaghetti was slippery and slurpy – that was when M thought it was the best.

“Oh no!” Jo said from the kitchen. M knew it couldn’t be good.

“We’ve got no spaghetti left,” said Jo. “We’ll have to have fusilli.”

“But it’s not the same.” M was feeling very disappointed.

Jo suggested that instead of going to the park that afternoon, they went to the shops instead. M didn’t use usually go to the shops. It was something the grown-ups did while M was at school.

M was so relieved that there was a plan to get some spaghetti! But before they went anywhere, Jo said they needed to make a list.

“It’s no good going to the shops without a list – we won’t know what we need,” Jo said. “What needs to be first on the list?”

“Spaghetti!” M shouted.

Jo added a few more things and before long the list was filling up a whole piece of paper. M was looking forward to the trip to the shop.

When they got to the shop, M saw some little trollies. They were great fun! While Jo was reading out the shopping list, M could help by picking things up to buy too. It was even more of an adventure.

After choosing some vegetables, they turned into the aisle with all the dry food. There was so much pasta, in all different shapes and sizes!

“Here’s the spaghetti!” M said, taking a packet off the shelf. Together they crossed it off the shopping list. It was first thing on the list, and the most important.

By Abiee Harris

Delilah was a deer and had a young fawn called Finley. Delilah and Finley went everywhere together: to the park, to the doctors, and to the shops. But today, they were going to the food market.

The market was full of sights, sounds, smells – and lots of people. Finley had never been to the market before and was very excited to explore.

Delilah and Finley moved to the first stall, belonging to Pei Pei the panda. There were lots of foods that Finley had never seen before – all different shapes and colours. Pei Pei offered Finley a crispy golden parcel.

‘Would you like to try a spring roll? They are from my home in China.’

Finley took a long look at the spring roll. He slowly shook his head and said: ‘I don’t think I will like that. I don’t have them at home.’

Finley turned away and moved to the next stall, which was covered in tiny biscuits. This stall was owned by Kai the kangaroo. Kai bounced over, and Finley asked what the biscuits were.

‘These are Anzac wafers,’ Kai explained. ‘They are sweet crunchy biscuits that I learned to make from my mother in Australia. Would you like to try one?’

Finley carefully looked at the Anzac wafers and slowly shook his head again. ‘I don’t think I will like them as I don’t have them at home,’ he said.

Finley moved again to another stall, owned by a fluffy white poodle called Pascal. Before Finley could see what Pascal was selling, he had waggled over.

‘Bonjour, my little friend!’ Pascal barked. ‘Are you hungry? Please try my ratatouille, made from fresh vegetables! I learned to make this at my home in France.’

Finley was a little surprised and quickly said, before hurrying back to Delilah: ‘I don’t think I will like that as I don’t have it at home.’

Finley found Delilah with bags full of food. Finley was very sad. He had gone to the food market and eaten nothing. He wanted to go home.

In the evening, Delilah called Finley down for his dinner. When Finley came to the table he found all the people he had met at the market ready to eat dinner with him. Delilah had invited them so Finley could try all the new food at home.

Finley slowly took a bite out of Pei Pei’s spring roll. Then he nibbled one of Kai’s Anzac wafers. Then he slurped a spoonful of Pascal’s ratatouille. Finley paused, before looking up and smiling.

‘I really liked that,’ he said. ‘Is there any more?’

By Chris Allerton

Joshua had gone to Darius’ house after school. They were having fun playing football in the front garden when it suddenly began to rain. They ran inside to stay dry.

The water was pitter-pattering on the windows. They watched it for a while, but it showed no sign of stopping. Joshua was feeling bored.

“Darius, have you got something we can play?” he asked.

Darius thought for a moment. “Well, we can’t play football because we left the ball outside and now it’s really wet.

“And we can’t play tennis in case we break something. My mum will be really mad at us.

“But we’ve got some board games. Let’s look.”

They opened up the cabinet and saw the games stacked up in their boxes.

Joshua read the name of the first game slowly: “Dacii si Romanii. I’ve never heard of this one, how do you play?”

“These are my mother’s games,” Darius explained. “She is from Romania. We play them as a family together. They are really fun! In that game you are soldiers, either the Roman army or the Dacians. You have to cross the river Danube to capture the enemy’s fort.”

Darius pulled out another box, called Tintar. “This game is my favourite,” he said. “The Romans brought this to Romania 2,000 years ago. Shall I teach you how to play?”

Joshua nodded and they went to the table to set up the square board. Joshua had the blue tokens and Darius had the yellow tokens. Darius showed Joshua how the aim was to get three tokens in a row.

Soon Joshua got the hang of it and they were having great fun.

Darius’ mum came in to see what they were doing. “You were so quiet I was worried!” she said.

“We’re just playing Tintar, mum,” Darius said. “I taught Joshua how to play it.” Darius put down another counter.

“Everyone used to play it at school when I was a girl. It was a very popular game,” said Darius’ mum. “I used to be very good.”

Darius put down his final counter. “Yes! I’ve won!” he said. “Good game, Joshua. You did well for your first time. But I am the champion!”

“Now you have to play the champion of champions,” said Joshua.

He got up from his seat and let Darius’ mum sit down to play. “And after that, can you teach me another game?”

By Jess Connett

Katie was excited. Today was an important day – she was going to her friend Elijah’s house to celebrate Hanukkah with him and his family.

Lots of Elijah’s family were visiting for Hanukkah. When everyone had arrived, they all gathered around a candleholder.

‘That’s the menorah,’ explained Elijah. ‘We use the tallest candle in the middle to light the others.’

Elijah’s mum told Katie all about the Hanukkah miracle. A long time ago, in ancient times, the people who were in charge said that Jewish people weren’t allowed to pray to their God or read their holy book. They even destroyed the Jewish people’s temples.

A brave Jewish family stood up for what they believed in – and they won. They wanted to light their menorah, which used oil instead of candles, but they only had enough oil to keep the menorah burning for one day.

Then a miracle happened: the little bit of oil they had kept the menorah burning for eight whole days.

‘That’s why we light our menorah and eat lots of food cooked with oil at Hanukkah,’ Elijah said. Katie looked at all of the food on the table – there were tasty looking doughnuts and crisp potato cakes called latkes.

‘Why are there chocolate coins?’ asked Katie.

‘Find a spot to sit,’ said Elijah’s auntie, ‘and we’ll play the dreidel* game.’ She shared the chocolate coins out, and everyone took it in turns to spin a wooden spinning top called a dreidel.

The Hebrew letters on the dreidel told people whether they’d won or lost some of their chocolate coins. Katie didn’t win the game, but the winner was kind and shared their coins with everyone.

I’m so glad you could come and celebrate Hanukkah with me,’ said Elijah. ‘Hanukkah sameach**!’

*Dreidel is pronounced drey-del. 

**Hanukkah sameach means ‘happy Hanukkah’ in Hebrew. Sameach is pronounced su-mey-ah.

By Annabel Rose

Carmen had been looking forward to Carnival all month and the day had finally arrived.

At school they had been making costumes to wear on their float. They would parade along the streets in the truck with lots of other children from the area, wearing their brightest clothes.

Behind them would be a long, colourful parade of musicians and dancers. On the sides of the road, all the way along, would be huge crowds waving to Carmen and her friends. It was so exciting!

Other children in Carmen’s class had made colourful crowns with feathers and jewels on them. They had big pompoms and streamers to wave around.

Carmen wanted to look extra special. She made a pair of wings that attached to her wrists with ribbons. They were purple and green and glittery, and they sparkled in the sun.

On the morning of Carnival, Carmen got dressed with Mommy. Mommy had put silver beads in both their braids so they would match. Mommy’s outfit was also silver, and she had a huge headdress with long feathers sticking from the top – yellow, red, pink and blue.

Khadija and her dad, who lived next door, were getting ready in their costumes too. They all walked together down the hill towards the square.

They could hear music already. A calypso band were practising on their shiny steel drums. A different band were playing trumpets. Outside Sean’s house, his grandad was plugging in a huge speaker. Out burst the music – it was so loud it made Carmen’s wings shake!

Mommy and Carmen danced down the hill, stomping their feet to the rhythm until a new rhythm from someone else’s speaker found them.

Carmen and Khadija got onto their float. It was a truck with an open back, wrapped up in ribbons and colourful paper. They held on tightly to the side as the procession began, and the truck slowly drove into the square.

Mommy and her friends were right in front of the float, dancing in time with their feathers all swaying to the music.

When they turned the corner, Carmen could see the crowd waiting in the square. Everyone was cheering! They were dancing to the music as each band passed them, dressed in their most colourful clothes.

Carmen smiled until her cheeks hurt, and danced until her feet hurt. Then she smiled and danced some more. Carnival was the best day of the year.

By Jess Connett

Basil was a small brown bear who lived with his daddy, Barnaby, and his mummy, Bisma. Both were brown bears too, but they were much bigger and much older than Basil. They all lived in a house built into the branches of a tall oak tree.

Bisma was a nurse and went out to work every day. Barnaby would stay home and look after Basil. They would play games, go for walks and attend lessons.

Today, Basil wanted to play dress up. He had watched his favourite TV show about a white tiger called Tianna, who was a super-strong superhero that could fly.

She wore a blue cloak and a blue mask. She kept the people of the mountains safe from avalanches and evil villains.

Basil ran into his playroom and began to search for his Tianna the White Tiger costume.

‘Why don’t you dress as a different hero today?’ Basil’s dad asked.

Basil stopped and looked at his other costumes. He couldn’t see another superhero outfit.

‘But Dad, I don’t have another superhero outfit.’

Barnaby looked through the costumes and picked one up. ‘What about a nurse, like Mummy?’

‘But Daddy, nurses aren’t heroes,’ Basil whined

Barnaby raised an eyebrow. ‘Oh really? Who makes you feel better when you are sick? Who looks after you when you graze your knee? I think that makes them heroes, don’t you?’

Basil thought about this. He nodded in agreement and reached for the costume. But Barnaby picked up another costume.

‘What about a police officer, like Turner the Turtle?’

‘But Daddy, police officers aren’t heroes!’ Basil whined.

Barnaby raised his eyebrow again. ‘Oh really? Who arrests villains and keeps you safe? Who helps Mrs Fig cross the road? I think that makes them heroes, don’t you?’

Basil thought about this. He again nodded in agreement and reached for the costume, but Barnaby had picked up another.

‘What about a Supermarket worker, like Eamon the Elephant?’

Basil shook his head firmly. ‘But Dad, they can’t possibly be a hero!’

Barnaby smiled. ‘Oh really! Who brought our food when we couldn’t go out? Who makes sure food is on the shelves? I think that makes them heroes, don’t you?’

Basil smiled and nodded in agreement. But he didn’t reach for the costume. This time he ran back upstairs. ‘Wait there, I know which hero I want to be!’ he yelled.

Barnaby was confused as Basil hadn’t taken a costume.

Suddenly, Basil burst into the room. He was wearing a red shirt of Barnaby’s, a pair of Barnaby’s shoes that were much too big for Basil, and Barnaby’s favourite green tie hung around his neck.

Barnaby chuckled. ‘Why are you wearing my clothes? I thought you wanted to dress as a hero?’

Basil smiled. ‘You help me when I’m ill, you help me cross roads safely, and make sure I always have food when I’m hungry. And you give me the biggest cuddles and make me feel loved. I think that makes you a hero, don’t you?’

By Chris Allerton

Superheroes! Assemble!

Queen of everything green: here comes Eartha. She wants everyone to protect the natural world while there’s still time.

She swoops her cape made of recycled rubbish and cleans up the whole area. SWISH!

In her backpack she carries clean water to help thirsty animals.

Her superpower is: recycling any material, including bad guys!

Here’s The Home Defender. He wants to live in a fairer society, where everyone has a safe home of their own.

He wears shoes made from blocks of flats, and creates homes with each step.

Around his neck is a key that can open the door to anyone’s new home.

His superpower is: super listening. Homelessness is often complicated. The Home Defender always listens, even to the longest stories.

Here’s Professor Peace! She believes all children deserve to grow up feeling safe, wherever they are from and wherever they live.

Professor Peace speaks every language in the known universe.

Her coat turns into a blanket fort, and everyone who goes inside instantly feels safe.

Her superpower is: x-ray friendship vision. When Professor Peace introduces you to someone new: congratulations, you just became best friends.

Lucy Lucid is the archenemy of The Mind-Boggler. She wants you to know what mental health is and how to look after it.

When The Mind-Boggler plays tricks like Confusion, Worry, or Feeling Bad, Lucy zaps his power by talking about it with a friend. TAKE THAT!

She catches stress in her lunchbox, locks the lid and throws away the key.

Her superpower is: instant mindfulness. Lucy can turn bad thoughts into nice ones in 0.0001 seconds – an unbeaten record.

Meg-Ability believes in a more considerate world for people living with disabilities.

Meg uses her mega mobility aids to defeat anyone who says she can’t do something.

She can make a room autism-friendly with just one look.

Her superpower is: speaking out. Meg always talks about important things, and never stops fighting for change.

Finally, here’s Captain Kindness to transform society.

No action is too small for Captain Kindness. Every new haircut gets complimented; every borrowed item gets returned.

Captain Kindness has so many kind thoughts that he is warm to the touch.

His superpower is: help waterfall. Anyone who meets Captain Kindness gets so filled up with kindness that it overflows like a waterfall, filling up everyone else.

By Jess Connett

When Matt’s self-esteem was low, he didn’t feel like he was clever.

He stopped trying in maths lessons, because he thought he’d never be any good at maths.

He also worried about the way he looked. He stopped wearing clothes he liked, because he thought no-one would be interested in him.

Aneesa used to have little confidence in herself. Her mum and her friends all said she had a gift for writing but she felt embarrassed by it. She used to hide her stories and hope her English teacher wouldn’t read her work out loud.

Is there anything you’ve found difficult, or worried you’re not good enough at?

Matt found a couple of new friends who dressed how he liked to. When he told them he was struggling with maths, they offered to help him with any problems he was stuck on.

To build up her confidence, Aneesa stuck messages and pictures on her walls to remind her that she is good at lots of things.

She keeps a list of nice comments people make about her writing, so she can read them when she feels unsure of herself.

What has helped you regain your confidence, or feel better about yourself?

Now Matt dresses how he wants, and feels good about it. He also finds it easier to keep trying in maths lessons, even when he’s finding things difficult.

Although Aneesa still doesn’t want to read her stories out loud in class, she feels confident enough to submit a story to a national competition. She’s really proud of how much her confidence has grown.

By Jess Connett

Meet the Trummies. They’re just like me and you, but very different too.
Purple likes cats, and Pinky likes hats. 
Custard like trains, and Bluey likes planes. 
Minty likes towers, and Rusty likes flowers.

What things do you like?

Most of the day, these friends love to play. 
But Purple doesn’t chat, and Pinky fidgets when sat. 
Custard doesn’t like lights, and Bluey easily frights. 
Minty cries at new toys, and Rusty doesn’t like noise.
But none of them mind, because they know to be kind.

Are there any things you don’t like?

The Trummies want everyone to be able to have fun, so they created some rhymes, which they use all the time:

1. Give everyone longer to question and ponder.
2. Don’t think it’s strange if someone’s worried by change.
3. Remember: lights, noise and touch can be really too much.
4. Know people can struggle with new places and faces.
5. If someone is having a really hard time, give them a smile and make them feel fine.

How can we be kinder to each other and help people who might be having a hard time?

The Trummies wait for each other to calm down and recover,
So the day always ends with everyone friends.

From the National Autistic Society

Mahadiya and her friends used to go to school regularly. But during the Covis-19 pandemic, all the schools in her small village in Ethiopia closed.

Around 26 million children in Ethiopia haven’t been able to go to school because of the pandemic.

Mahadiya was worried that she would forget what she had learned. She worried she would have to start working, and would not be able to return to school when it opened again.

What do you enjoy the most about nursery or school?

Mahadiya lives in the Somali region of Ethiopia, which has lots of hot deserts. How hot do you think deserts get?

In lots of villages, packages aren’t sent by car, train or aeroplane – they’re delivered by camels! Do you know what camels look and sound like?

When schools in the area closed, wooden boxes filled with books were strapped to camels and sent across the region. People call this the camel library.

21 camels, each carrying almost 200 books, have visited over 22,000 children in 33 villages.

Hassen travels with the camel and the books, helping the children they visit to learn by reading.

Mahadiya is still sad that she is missing out on school, but she loves that she can continue to read. She is still following her dreams of becoming an engineer, thanks to the camel library.

From Save the Children

Yew is from Malaysia, and trained as a master shoemaker with his friend Jimmy. Yew’s father and grandfather were both master shoemakers too, and he is the last in the line.

When Jimmy set up a shoe shop in London, he asked Yew to move to the UK to work with him. Together they made the most stupendous shoes you’ve ever seen!

They made shoes for princesses and pop stars all over the world. Can you imagine what colours and shapes they were?

After ten years working together, Jimmy sold his shop and Yew opened his own shoe store.

Yew’s designs featured in newspapers, and he had lots of famous clients. They called him The Shoe King!

But the world began to suffer from a financial crisis. People lost their jobs and their homes. They no longer had money to buy Yen’s fabulous footwear with its expensive price tags.

Yew closed his shoe shop. He couldn’t sell his shoes so he put them in a storage unit.

Yen had a lot of bills to pay and not much money. He couldn’t pay for his house so he left and began to sleep in the storage unit. There was no heating so it was very cold.

Sleeping at the storage unit wasn’t allowed, so he had to hide. He couldn’t use the power at night in case someone saw.

A few years passed like this, until the landlord of the storage unit found out Yew was sleeping in there. That’s when he had to start sleeping outside, on the streets.

Yew needed help. He went to a charity called Crisis. They helped him to improve his English so he could be more confident speaking to people.

They helped him learn new skills too – how to make hats so he could sell them, and how to do yoga and tai chi.

The charity gave him a bed at a shelter, and eventually a place at a hostel, so he no longer had to sleep outside.

Since then, the charity has helped Yen pay off his debts and get some money to start making shoes again. Yew is the last master shoemaker in his family, and he is getting ready to reopen his shop.

From Crisis

Abi still remembers the moment she fell in love with fashion. It was when she came across a pair of beautifully embroidered denim shorts.

So began Abi’s passion for all things fashion. She loved wearing very high heels, dying her hair purple, and using a bright pink mobility aid. What is your favourite thing to wear?

However, Abi discovered that fashion wasn’t easy for everyone to enjoy. It was hard for people from Black, Asian or other ethnic backgrounds. It was also hard for people with disabilities.

Abi has a visual impairment. This means she can’t see as well as other people.

When Abi first got interested in fashion, she had to rely on other people to explain what clothes looked like when she went shopping

Fashion was Abi’s way to express herself. She felt that by making it hard for her to enjoy fashion, designers and shops were saying that fashion wasn’t for her. Have you ever felt left out? What could have been done to make you feel more included?

In November 2019, Abi began making a film called Diversity in Fashion – Time for Change.

For the film, she spoke to different people who have jobs in the fashion industry. They design, make or sell the fashionable clothes we like.

Abi explained how important it is to show that anyone can enjoy fashion and feel fashionable.

The more we see people who look like us enjoying things, the more we feel included, confident and comfortable to express who we are. When do you feel most confident or comfortable?

Sometimes, it can be hard to speak out when we see someone being excluded, or to stand up for things that we care about.

Abi knows how important it is to do this. We shouldn’t be scared of people’s differences. We need to be open to them and adapt what we do and how we do it to make sure everyone can be involved.

‘There’s so much value in difference,’ says Abi. ‘There's so much value in our stories, what we've got to say, our perspective. We can't just have a carbon copy of opinion and depictions.

‘We need everyone. That's why I feel the value is in everybody. We’re in the world together, all our voices matter, our value needs to be recognised, and that value comes from our diverse perspectives.’

From the British Red Cross

Artemis, Bernadette and Carlotta were the best of friends. They were the first three volumes of an encyclopaedia that sat on some tall shelves in the study.

An encyclopaedia is a set of big books that tell you about the world. There were 26 volumes in their encyclopaedia – one for each letter of the alphabet.

One day, a man came into the study. He picked out the biggest and oldest books and put them into a box. The books hadn’t moved for a long time. Soon the room was swirling with dust.

‘Achoo!’ Carlotta gave a huge sneeze and fell off the shelf. She fell into the box of books! The man didn’t notice. He picked up the box and left.

‘Don’t worry, Carlotta!’ shouted Artemis and Bernadette. ‘We’ll save you!’

The volumes launched themselves off the shelf and landed with a thud. They opened the door and ran through the house.

The man was leaving in his car. Artemis and Bernadette jumped into the backpack of a cyclist. ‘Follow that car!’ they shouted.

The man drove into the city. On the seat next to him was Carlotta, all her pages crumpled. ‘Help me, Artemis and Bernadette,’ she softly cried.

The car could go much faster than the bicycle, but soon it was stuck in traffic and they could catch up.

Artemis saw the car turn off the main road. She and Bernadette jumped out of the backpack and raced down a quiet street.

‘There he is!’ shouted Bernadette. The man was unlocking the door of one of the buildings.

Artemis and Bernadette peered through the dusty window.

‘I can see her!’ said Artemis, but then she realised her mistake. The book she had seen wasn’t Carlotta. There were books everywhere: on the tables, on the shelves, and piled on the floor.

Then Carlotta waved to them. She had hiding. The volumes ran inside and hugged their friend.

A shadow fell over them. It was the man who collected books!

‘Encyclopaedia volumes A, B and C,’ he said. ‘Well, you’re no good without all the others. I must have picked you up by mistake.

‘I’ll get back in the car and take you around to the house. No doubt they’ll be missing you.’

In the car on their way home, Carlotta said: ‘Thank you for saving me. But how did you know what to do?’

‘It was all Artemis,’ said Bernadette. ‘She showed me her page: A for Adventure.’

By Jess Connett

Once upon a time, our favourite story might begin,

There lived a prince, or queen, or frog, who we support to win.

We go with them, side-by-side, through struggles and through stress,

And in the end we celebrate when they sort out the mess.

A story can transport you to a very different place,

Like being in a rocket ship that blasts you into space,

From inside a book, new things will happen to surprise,

You’ll see the world in other ways, through someone else’s eyes.

A story is a friendly place, just like a family,

You imagine living there, as happy as can be.

When a story isn’t good it can give you a fright,

But soon you’ll find the perfect one – something feels just right.

You might be sad when your book ends,

But you can just tell all your friends

To read this book that you’ll be lending –

It even has a happy ending.

By Jess Connett

Mollie and Dollie were packing a picnic to take to the park.

‘Picnics are boring. I wish for an exciting picnic,’ said Mollie.

‘I wish for the most exciting picnic that has ever happened!’ said Dollie.

They carried the heavy picnic basket between them. Inside was a blanket to sit on, cups and plates, and all the food they could eat.

‘Stop wiggling the picnic basket,’ said Mollie.

‘You stop wiggling the picnic basket,’ said Dollie.

They got to the park and set the basket down on the grass. Before they could open it, the top burst open and a stack of cups jumped out.

‘We’re free!’ they shouted, and rolled away towards the lake.

Out popped one corner of the picnic blanket. It began to heave itself out. It was so heavy it tipped the whole basket over!

A bottle of lemonade slid out onto the blanket and danced away. A family of gingerbread men ran on their little gingerbread legs. An enormous pork pie fell out head-first and left a trail of crumbs.

‘Watch out! Be careful!’ said the blanket. Once it was out of the basket it rolled into a sausage and began to slither like a snake towards Mollie and Dollie. They screamed and jumped over it.

‘Why are you all running away?’ said Mollie.

‘Because you’ll eat us!’ said the loaf of bread.

‘Because you’ll pick us off, one by one!’ said the bunch of grapes.

‘Because you’ll sit on my head!’ said the blanket.

‘What if we promise not to sit on you?’ said Mollie and Dollie. ‘Or to pick you off and eat you. We could just have a nice day out at the park. I bet you don’t get out of the house much.’

‘That’s true,’ said a cheese. She had a French accent. ‘I spend all my time in the fridge. It’s lovely and warm out here.’

Slowly, Mollie and Dollie coaxed all the picnic items to stop running away – except one cup that was doing backstroke in the lake. They played games and had a wonderful time.

At the end of the day the picnic items jumped back into the basket so they could all go home.

‘That was definitely the most exciting picnic that has ever happened,’ said Dollie. ‘But next time, I’m going to wish for a normal picnic.’

By Jess Connett

The plan for tea was a yummy pasta. It was M’s favourite. When the spaghetti was slippery and slurpy – that was when M thought it was the best.

“Oh no!” Jo said from the kitchen. M knew it couldn’t be good.

“We’ve got no spaghetti left,” said Jo. “We’ll have to have fusilli.”

“But it’s not the same.” M was feeling very disappointed.

Jo suggested that instead of going to the park that afternoon, they went to the shops instead. M didn’t use usually go to the shops. It was something the grown-ups did while M was at school.

M was so relieved that there was a plan to get some spaghetti! But before they went anywhere, Jo said they needed to make a list.

“It’s no good going to the shops without a list – we won’t know what we need,” Jo said. “What needs to be first on the list?”

“Spaghetti!” M shouted.

Jo added a few more things and before long the list was filling up a whole piece of paper. M was looking forward to the trip to the shop.

When they got to the shop, M saw some little trollies. They were great fun! While Jo was reading out the shopping list, M could help by picking things up to buy too. It was even more of an adventure.

After choosing some vegetables, they turned into the aisle with all the dry food. There was so much pasta, in all different shapes and sizes!

“Here’s the spaghetti!” M said, taking a packet off the shelf. Together they crossed it off the shopping list. It was first thing on the list, and the most important.

By Abiee Harris

Pritti lived in a block of flats with her mummy and her mama. They didn’t have a garden. One Saturday morning, Pritti’s mama had some very exciting news.

‘Our new neighbour is called Rosie and she has an allotment,’ Mama explained. ‘Allotments are like gardens that people can rent. They use the space to grow fruit and vegetables, and Rosie said we could help her harvest some.’ 

When they arrived at the allotment, Rosie was waiting for them. She led them past lots of people digging holes and watering plants and picking weeds.

‘Here’s everything I’ve been growing,’ Rosie said. ‘I think we can harvest carrots and cauliflowers and cucumbers today.’

Rosie pointed to a row of plants with tall, green leaves that looked a bit like feathers.

‘These are the carrots,’ she explained.

‘Where?’ asked Pritti. She wasn’t a gardening expert, but even she knew that carrots were orange. 

Pritti’s mummy showed her how to push the tickly green leaves to the side. It looked like someone had poked a carrot into the mud! Pritti learned to carefully pull the long orange carrots out of the ground. They were all different sizes, and some of them were funny shapes too.

‘This one looks like a pair of legs!’ Pritti giggled.

Meanwhile, Mama was helping Rosie harvest the cauliflowers. It was a bit easier to spot the wrinkly white cauliflowers poking out among the big green leaves. Pritti watched as Rosie cut the cauliflower off the plant.

Soon they moved to the cucumbers. The cucumber plant was the tallest plant of the three. Bendy cucumbers grew among the leaves and yellow flowers. Pritti’s job was to find the cucumbers; then she stepped back while Rosie used one of her tools to snip them off the plant. 

‘Some plants grow on bushes, too,’ Rosie explained. ‘Let’s go and see if the blackberries are ripe.’

Rosie led Pritti, Mama and Mummy to the back of the allotments where there were big bushes all along the fence. Rosie showed her how to carefully pull the plumpest, juiciest blackberries off the plant – and she soon learned to be careful of the prickly thorns. 

‘When did you plant the blackberries?’ Pritti asked.

‘We don’t know where they came from,’ explained Rosie. ‘These plants are wild – they probably planted themselves! Everyone at the allotments shares the blackberries, and we leave some behind for the wildlife too.’

They walked back to their flat with their arms full of berries and vegetables. When they got home, they washed the food and Pritti sat down to have a snack.

‘I wonder what we’ll harvest next weekend?’ she said. ‘Maybe we’ll pick some eggs or dig up some milk.’

Mummy and Mama laughed. Do you know why they were laughing? Where do eggs and milk really come from?

By Annabel Rose

Almost everyone had arrived at cookery club. They were taking it in turns to show everyone their ingredients – this week they would be making a dessert with fruit.

Jack had lots of plump, juicy blueberries. ‘I’m making muffins,’ he explained. ‘The recipe is a secret ­– I got it from my dad, and he got it from his dad!’  

‘That’s very cool. I have bananas to make akwadu,’ said Maria. ‘Akwadu is a sweet baked dessert made with banana and coconut. It comes from Equatorial Guinea, in Africa.’

Kendra showed off her red and green apples. ‘I’m going to make my own pastry for an apple pie,’ she said.

Patrick and Kris had both brought big ripe mangos, but they were making different desserts. ‘I’m making mango lassi,’ said Patrick. ‘It’s like a yoghurt that you drink – it’s really tasty’.

‘That does sound good. I’m making mango sticky rice,’ said Kris. ‘It has coconut in and it’s my favourite.’

‘I’ve got peaches to make my favourite dessert,’ said Shanti. ‘I’m making chajá – it has lots of layers of cake and cream and sweet milk and the peaches go on top.’

As Shanti finished, Ffion rushed in. Her face was bright red, and she was breathing really fast.

‘It’s a disaster!’ she cried ‘I left my bag of ingredients on the bus, and it drove away. I had raspberries and eggs and everything else I needed to make my favourite meringues and now I have nothing!’

‘Oh no! But it’s OK Ffion,’ said Patrick. ‘You can have some of my mango if you like?’

‘And mine!’ said Kris. One by one, everyone offered to share their fruit with Ffion. But what could she make with blueberries and banana and apples and mango and peaches?

Suddenly, Ffion had an idea.

‘Are there still some skewers in the cupboard?’ she asked. ‘I could make rainbow fruit skewers.’

Everyone had a great time chopping and whisking and stirring and cooking and baking their desserts. Ffion was really proud of her rainbow kebabs.

‘I like them because they have all of the fruits,’ she said. ‘Some of them are crunchy, some of them are soft, some of them are juicy… but they’re all delicious.’

By Annabel Rose

It was a Monday morning and Nevaeh was bored. She wasn’t at nursery today, so she was at her auntie’s house. Neveah’s auntie was bored of hearing that Neveah was bored.

‘Why don’t we do some baking?’ Nevaeh’s auntie suggested. ‘We could make something to share with your cousins when they get home from school.’

‘OK!’ said Nevaeh. ‘What should we make?’

‘I know,’ her auntie replied. ‘Let’s make Grandma’s magic biscuits.’

Nevaeh had never heard of Grandma’s magic biscuits before, but she thought they sounded pretty exciting.

‘How are they magic?’ she asked.

‘You’ll just have to wait and see,’ her auntie replied, winking.

Neveah and her auntie started to make the biscuit dough. They stirred some squishy butter, added grainy sugar, and cracked a large brown egg (and a big bit of eggshell that Nevaeh fished out with a spoon).

After they mixed in the flour, Nevaeh and her auntie closed their eyes, wiggled their fingers, and clapped five times. Now the soft golden dough was full of magic, it was time to turn it into biscuits and bake them in the oven.

Nevaeh made some stars, some circles, and some unicorn-shaped biscuits. They put them into the oven for nine minutes, then left them to cool on the side.

Soon it was time to pick Nevaeh’s cousins up from school. She told them all about Grandma’s magic biscuit recipe as they walked home. Then it was time to tuck in.

Her oldest cousin was first. They took a bite, and Nevaeh watched them carefully. What was going to happen? Suddenly, they started bouncing!

‘Woah!’ they said, jumping up and down. ‘The biscuits have given me a magic power! I can jump really high without getting tired. Watch!’

Then it was Nevaeh’s middle cousin’s turn. She started to eat her biscuit, waited a moment, and started singing beautifully.

‘Wow!’ Nevaeh said. ‘The magic biscuits taught you a new song!’

Finally, it was time for Nevaeh’s youngest cousin to try a magic biscuit. He nibbled the edge and closed his eyes.

‘What’s orange and sounds like a parrot?’ he said. Everyone looked puzzled. ‘A carrot!’ Nevaeh burst out laughing. His magic power was telling jokes!

Nevaeh was looking forward to finding out what her own magic power would be. She licked her lips, took a deep breath, and crunch, crunch, crunched the biscuit until it was all gone. Everyone waited to see what would happen.

‘I think my magic power is eating biscuits,’ Nevaeh declared. ‘Can I have another one, just to test it out?’

By Annabel Rose