Feelings

Sometimes it is hard for a child to say what they feel, but easy to recognise it in a story’s hero. A clockmaker’s apprentice is ashamed of his mistake and longs to erase it, and then finds the courage to own up. The questions at the end of each story help you talk gently about fear, shame, sadness or joy.

Timko and the Letter to Saint Nicholas
Before his winter sleep, Timko the hedgehog draws a letter to Saint Nicholas and asks for a gift not for himself but for his little sister Lily.
Ages 2–54 min readWinter
The Little Fir Tree
A little fir tree is in such a hurry to grow up and wait for something better that she misses her own happiness until it is gone.
Ages 6–810 min readWinter
Little Muck
A boy who teased Little Muck hears his story: magic slippers, a jealous court, a false accusation, donkey ears, and learns that mockery is not funny.
Ages 9–1212 min readMagic
The New Girl
Hoopoe Dana arrives from the far south as the new girl at the forest school, but autumn will call her away. Will her friendship with Timko wait for spring?
Ages 9–1214 min readBig moments
Timko and the Littlest One
Timko’s baby sister Lily is born, and he wishes Mom were only his. Then it turns out that Lily already knows her big brother.
Ages 2–53 min readBig moments
Timko and the Friends Who Fell Out
Rusty visits Timko, and the friends compete over who is his best friend, until Timko says words to Splash that he can never take back.
Ages 6–87 min readBig moments
Timko and the Big Potty
Timko the hedgehog can use his small potty, but the big one, like Mom’s and Dad’s, scares him, until Dad takes out a piece of string.
Ages 2–54 min readBig moments
Timko Goes to Kindergarten
Little hedgehog Timko goes to Acorn Kindergarten for the first time: he is sad in the morning, but Mom promises to come after lunch and nap.
Ages 2–54 min readBig moments
Timko Moves House
Timko’s family moves to a new house in Ash Tree Glade: there are goodbyes to say to Rusty, Pip and the old house, and a new friend to find.
Ages 6–88 min readBig moments
Timko at the Doctor’s
Timko the hedgehog scares his little sister Lily with spooky tales about the doctor, then goes for a check-up and a vaccine with Doctor Beaver himself.
Ages 2–54 min readBig moments
Grandma’s Button
In Grandma’s box Mirko finds an old blue button with a chip in it, and with it the stories of his great-grandfather, his mum and one old secret.
Ages 2–53 min readFamily
King Thrushbeard
A proud princess mocks every suitor, then spends a month with a wandering fiddler and learns for herself how much someone else’s laughter stings.
Ages 6–87 min readFeelings
The Emperor’s New Clothes
Two swindlers weave the emperor cloth that fools cannot see. Everyone pretends to see it, until a little girl speaks up at the parade.
Ages 6–87 min readCourage
Rexik and the Bully Pachycephalosaurus
A newcomer pachycephalosaurus shoves everyone in the valley, but Rexik notices that the bully is always alone, and trust can’t be shoved into place with a head.
Ages 9–1212 min readDinosaurs
The Little Mermaid
The youngest sea princess gives up her voice for legs to be near the prince, and on her last night she makes the hardest and bravest choice of all.
Ages 9–1216 min readMagic
Happy Hans
For seven years of work Hans earns a lump of gold, then on the way home he swaps his goods for worse and worse ones, and each time he is delighted.
Ages 6–87 min readFables
The Steadfast Tin Soldier
A one-legged tin soldier falls in love with a paper dancer, sails in a paper boat, ends up inside a fish, and stays true to the very end.
Ages 6–87 min readCourage
The Ugly Duckling
A gray duckling chased out of the farmyard survives autumn and a harsh winter, and in spring sees in the water that he has become a swan.
Ages 6–88 min readFeelings
The Nightingale
An emperor trades a living nightingale for a glittering mechanical bird, but when Death comes, only a real song can save him.
Ages 9–1214 min readNature
The Happy Prince
The golden statue of the Prince asks a little Swallow to give his jewels to the poor, and the Swallow stays with him all winter long.
Ages 9–1214 min readKindness
The Keeper of the Faded Stars
Myroslava is afraid of the dark, but she walks the night rooftops with a tired old keeper to light the stars above the old town again.
Ages 9–1213 min readCourage
The Umbrella Who Was Afraid of the Rain
A new yellow umbrella hides from the rain in a cupboard, until a lost little girl called Solomiyka is caught in a downpour outside.
Ages 6–87 min readCourage
The Snowman
A snowman asks an old dog about the world and dreams of a warm stove; with the thaw he melts, and only then is it clear why he longed for it.
Ages 6–87 min readWinter
Why Possum’s Tail Is Bare
Possum bragged so much about his fluffy tail that Rabbit and Cricket taught him a lesson, and that’s why possums still have bare tails.
Ages 6–86 min readAnimal stories
The Clockmaker of Shadow Street
A clockmaker’s apprentice finds a magic clock that brings back lost minutes and must choose: undo his mistake, or bravely own up to it.
Ages 9–1213 min readCourage