| STORY | METAPHOR(S) | JOURNEY | RESOLUTION |
Tembe’s Boots
(page 118) | • Little red boots • ‘Friends together’ | • A description (with much repetition) of the daily adventures of a pair of boots | • Boots taken off feet and put carefully together at rest-time, not thrown in a messy pile |
The Grandmother and the Donkey
(page 123) | • Nature’s child • Grandmother • Donkey • Seeds/flowers • Litter in streets • Loss of connection to nature | • Moving from the country to the town • Moving from beauty to ugliness and back to beauty | • Children helping to clean up the litter and plant gardens |
Little Straw Broom
(page 220) | • Little people (used as puppets) • Coloured hats • Repetition and rhyme | • Three little men take turns using the broom • One couldn’t be bothered, one is too fast and wild, one is careful and committed to the task | • Gold hat shows how to sweep crumbs into a pile • Broom satisfied it has done a good job |
Restless Red Pony
(page 199) | • Wild pony • Farmer • Grooming brush • Song | • Pony slowly learns to stop kicking wildly all the time and enjoys keeping still to be touched and groomed | • Friends sharing together • A positive experience of being still and being cared for • Careful touching as opposed to hitting and kicking |
Whingeing (Whining) Whale
(page 100) | • Whale pod • Whinge song • Whale song • Reef • Shallow water | • Young whale so busywhingeing loses his way and gets caught in shallow lagoon; he is rescued by his use of whale song | • Whingeing replaced by more constructive uses of voice • Feeling of belonging • Joy of singing |
Impatient Zebra
(page 146) | • Brown stripes • vBlack stripes • Shade/sun • Reflection | • Young zebra moping around – wants to have black stripes like the older zebras – tries different ways to turn his brown stripes into black ones | • It takes time to grow • Sometimes waiting is important • You can’t hurry development • Eating and playing help growth |
| STORY | METAPHOR(S) | JOURNEY | RESOLUTION |
Baby Bear Koala
(page 249) | • Tree (world) • Hungry growing baby • Tired mother • Juicy leaves • Higher branches | • Mother and baby in tree, mother falls asleep, hungry baby climbs by himself to reach juicy leaves | • Young koala becomes strong enough and brave enough to leave mother and venture into the world by himself |
Cranky Crab
(page 159) | • Nippers • Unhappy beach friends • Wise tortoise • Knitted mittens | • Crab unpopular as he is always hurting others with his nippers – tortoise knits crab some mittens to keep his nippers warm and cosy and out of the way | • Learning to use nippers/hands in non-hurting ways • Inclusive solution for dealing with hurting behaviour |
The Pocket Knife and the Castle
(page 119) | • ‘Singing’ pocket knife • Castle • Dream • Silver moonlight | • Repetition of destructive ‘cutting’ and its consequences, followed by a dream and the carving of a wooden castle | • Boy experiences the joy of creating something beautiful • Motivation to use hands and tools to construct rather than destroy or damage |
Born to be King
(page 230) | • Prince • Broken bones • Castle walls • Wise woman • Grandma’s mirror • Sunlight • Dark room • Crown as prop | • Accident and slow healing process • Light to dark to light • Outside to inside to outside | • Prince needs to walk out into the sunlight by himself • Building of self-confidence and inner strength |
Cloud Boy Story
(page 22) | • Boy who lived in the clouds • Doll as a prop | • ‘Cloud Boy’ makes his way down to live in the world | • Child bonds with and cares for new doll • Influence of peer group and commercial doll transformed |
The Towel Story
(page 192) | • Grandfather towel • New little towel • Song | • Learning how to be a towel and learning the towel song | • New towel is happy because it has had a chance to be a ‘towel’ • Child has positive experience of standing still and being dried |