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Nippy chapter opener illustration

Nippy

FAST ADDS TO THE PUSH

Nippy the Hare and the Zippy Cart

Nippy is a quick, bright-eyed hare with long ears, a happy grin, and legs made for zooming. And Nippy pushes the littlest cart in the whole Bump Lab.

Now, Nippy’s cart is small. Teeny. Much smaller than big Hefty’s heavy cart. So you might think, “A little cart? That can’t have much push!”

But Nippy just grins and zips. Because Nippy is FAST. She pushes her tiny cart so quick it’s almost a blur - zooooom! - down the track. And here is the secret Nippy knows:

“Being FAST adds to the push. Even though I’m little, I push HARD - because I go so fast!”

When Nippy’s small speedy cart bumps into a bigger cart, pop - it gives a real push! Even though her cart is tiny. All that speed, that zip, adds up into a strong little push. Small does not mean weak, not when you are as fast as Nippy.

Chug the marmot loves to show this too. “Watch,” he says. “Nippy’s cart is SO little… but she goes SO fast… and - pop! - a real push!” Because the push is how big times how fast, and Nippy is very, very fast.

That is Nippy’s whole zippy idea.

Being small but fast adds to the push - so a little quick thing pushes hard, because speed counts too.

A grown-up can play too! Take a small light thing that rolls - a marble, a bottle cap - and roll it SLOWLY at a bigger thing. Not much push. Now roll the SAME little thing FAST. Whoa - much more push! It didn’t get bigger. It got faster. That is speed adding to the push, just like Nippy.

When Nippy’s tiny, speedy cart gives a bigger cart a surprising pop and everyone says “ooh!”, Nippy does a happy little hop and feels a bright, bouncy gladness - the zing of a small one who proves that fast counts too. “Little but quick,” she laughs. “Fast adds to the push. You don’t have to be big to push hard!”

And she zips off down the track, ears streaming behind her, grinning all the way.

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 “Nippy says: I'm little, but I zip SO fast that I push …” and stop. Let them finish it.

Then say the whole line together: “Nippy says: I'm little, but I zip SO fast that I push hard too - fast adds to the push!”.

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

Circles together: 0

The CrashPals ensemble

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