← The Green

The Hollow · ages 3-5

Under the Leaf

The idea: a secret is kept until it is found; the smallest can stop the biggest.

Tí lifts the last big leaf and finds a glowing moonstone, with Puck the mouse and Flitter the moth beside him.

Read it

The five-night book 238 words

Five nights, one book

Little children love the same story again. Read this one five nights running, with a different job each night.

  1. listen.
  2. say the last words.
  3. join in the refrains.
  4. stop and ask what comes next.
  5. tell it to a toy.

Who is in this book

Every recurring character has a short tune, so you can tell who is on stage before a word is said. The tunes play only when you tap, and the Reading Access sound switch turns them off.

The Honest Page

Which parts of this story are true, stretched or made up?

True

  • In many old hidden-piece board games the smallest piece has one special power: it can take the biggest piece. Stratego's spy can beat the marshal, if the spy attacks first. Source
  • There are three leaves, and Tí lifts each one once, one a turn: by the third turn the Moonstone must be found.

Stretched

  • Ursa goes home laughing. What we simplified: In the game, a piece that is sent home just goes back to its start; nobody laughs, but nobody is hurt either.

Made up

  • The Hollow, its leaves and the Moonstone are made up. Flitter, Ursa and Puck come from HollowTots.

Tell it back

Tell the story to a toy, or to a grown-up. When you have, the grown-up taps the button, and a paper leaf you can lift, with a Moonstone drawn underneath goes on your belt.

Ring the hammer for someone

Pick this book for someone younger. The link carries only the book, and it will wait for them on the Green.

Across the Table → For the grown-up: the story in three lines, one question to ask, and one thing to do together.