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Ledge chapter opener illustration

Ledge

THE GOAL YOU BUILD TOWARD

Ledge the Little Wren at the Top

Ledge is a tiny, cheerful wren - a little round brown bird with a bright eye and a happy chirp. And Ledge lives way, way up HIGH, on a little brick perch at the very top.

Ledge is the place everyone is building a way TO. When you stack bricks and lay planks to make a path, you are building it up toward Ledge, up at the top. She is the goal. She is the there in “let’s get there!”

And Ledge is the very best cheerleader. All day she looks down at Brick the badger, far below, and she calls out, warm and bright:

“Come on UP! Build a gentle way and climb it - you can do it! I’m right here at the top, waiting for you!”

She never rushes anyone. If the path is not finished yet, Ledge just waits, and chirps kindly: “Keep building! A step here, a bridge there - you’re getting closer!” And every time a new brick goes down, Ledge cheers a little louder, because the top is nearer.

And then - at last - the path is done. Brick climbs the gentle steps, crosses the little bridge, one step at a time, up and up… and reaches Ledge at the top! And Ledge flutters her wings and sings the happiest song. “You made it! You built a way all the way up to me!”

A grown-up can play too! Be Ledge together. One of you is “at the top” - stand up high on a step or hold your hand up high. The other builds a path and comes toward you, slow and steady. And the “Ledge” cheers the whole way: “come on up - you can do it - almost there - you MADE it!” Then a big happy hug at the top.

When Brick reaches her perch, Ledge feels a warm burst of joy, like sunshine - the gladness of welcoming a friend who kept building until he arrived.

Way up high, cheering you on. Build a way to the top. That’s Ledge.

Reading together with a grown-up? A card for the grown-up

For the grown-up: ask one question, then wait. When they answer, add one word to what they said. Tap the button when they have said something — that is one turn each, a circle. Nothing is recorded or kept.

Let them finish it

Say “Ledge says: I'm way up here at the top - build a gentle way, …” and stop. Let them finish it.

Then say the whole line together: “Ledge says: I'm way up here at the top - build a gentle way, and come on up! You can do it!”.

Now wait. Count slowly to five in your head. Their answer is worth the quiet.

Circles together: 0

The BrickTots ensemble

Ledge is one of the friends in BrickTots. Each friend shows you one idea by how they act; meet them all and you have the whole subject.