Help! We Need a Story
James Harris and Mariajo Ilustrajo
Little Tiger

The jungle animals are, so they say, bored, very bored; much too bored to take much notice of what Artie the macaque is drawing with his crayons

until eventually after hearing so many complaints, he starts creating anew, giving full rein to his imagination.

With his work almost complete, he writes two final words and then announces to his friends, “Guess what? You’re in a book.” The initial reactions to the title are less than enthusiastic; but then June Baboon starts reading; reading about dragons, a magic bear and much more – robot sharks and zombie hens even and guess who is fighting all these baddies. It’s none other than Captain Artie and his mighty mates. By the time the story is concluded, the other animals are enraptured and truly thankful. From Artie they receive a knowing smile and an anticipation that next morning more magical tales will start to unfold and all because the listeners will start to look at their world in a totally different way.

A splendid story told in rhyme wherein words and pictures show the power and vital importance of the imagination and creativity. It’s one I strongly recommend foundation stage and KS1 teachers share with their classes as well as a book parents and children read and talk about together. Make sure there are pens, crayons and paper to hand for children to use for their own story making.