Living Animals

When a worldwide pandemic starts to change life for Bailey and his Daddy and Mommy, the happy family is forced to get used to living life a different way. When Bailey is not allowed to play with other dogs and people, and rather spends his days inside, Bailey struggles to understand why his life is changing. After he learns how to talk to Mommy and Daddy about how he is feeling, Bailey learns that there are always new adventures to be had.

The Mynah bird longs to be special like the other animals, but he is just a dull black bird. A snake suggests that he would be more popular if he tried to be like more the other animals, and so the Mynah bird tries doing impressions.... This is a story about both the empowerment of identity and the bankruptcy of people-pleasing.

The dog enjoys a carefree start to life but soon finds himself being trained about good and bad behaviour. When he is sold, he finds that his new master is very different to the trainer... This is a story about both the power of grace overcoming the power of law and of true identity discovered.

This is the seventh of The Animal Parables series. Each tale features an animal who finds that things turn out to be quite different from how it imagined, and profound life lessons are learned along the way. These seven, life-affirming tales will delight young minds and leave adults moved to reflection. In this collection, Martin Day has rediscovered the power of the parable to layer deeper meanings under the skin of a simple narrative.

The Caterpillar sees eating as her only joy and purpose in life, but it becomes an addiction robbing her of her joy. A dragonfly heaps shame on, but a butterfly sees something deeper in her. This is a story about both the roots of shame in addiction and transformation though suffering.

A wasp is drawn to a colony of bees and discovers a sting in the tail. This is a story about both the stronghold of incorrect belief and the power of identification within community.

The mackerel carries injuries and is angry and bitter. But these injuries never heal because blood-sucking lampreys are attracted to the wounds. When he is hooked by a fisherman he finds out how he can be free of the blood suckers.... This is a story about both the crippling nature of bitterness and the liberty in forgiving.

Turn old plants and food scraps into nutrient-rich soil for your garden! This engaging text introduces emergent listeners to composting. Pairs with the fiction title Composting Pie.

The crab has taken many knocks in his life and has developed protective armour. When he meets a transparent prawn, he sees a different way to live... This is a story about the self-protecting nature and false identity of the flesh.

In a small village in a far-off land lived a young girl named Sara and her younger brother, Justin. Today was a celebration: Sara turned 13, and as was the tradition in her village, she would travel into the nearby Magical Forest to receive a message from the Spirit of the Earth. The seeker usually braved the forest alone, but because Sara and Justin were so close, they convinced her parents and the village elders to let them go together.