Showing results by author "Norma MacDonald" in All Categories

Peppy Penguin has lots and lots of waterproof feathers and a nice chubby layer of fat around her middle to help keep her warm. When she grows up she will be about the size of a six-year-old. But she's much littler now. The Emperor penguins have a special way of keeping warm called huddling. Peppy Penguin was in that huddle right now, and she noticed two naughty penguins cut in line. What would you do?

Wild Wallaby and Kind Koala decided it might be a good thing to have this crocodile along for the journey after all, even if she was a little cranky. They approached her and asked if she'd like to stick together for a while. She gave a full-toothed smirk. "It might not be a bad idea to always have a couple of plump snacks nearby." Wild Wallaby laughed and hopped off. "You'd have to catch me first." The Cranky Crocodile snapped her jaws at him. "Don't tempt me." Kind Koala couldn't tell whether or not she was joking.

Every year, different animals from all over the huge Sahara desert gather at the lakes of Ounianga for a very exciting event! The Sahara is the world's largest desert and is one of the hardest places to live on the planet. Some of the animals travel across the dry, hot desert for days and days to get to the oasis. By the time the animals who will take part in the competition arrive at the lakes of Ounianga, they are very tired and hungry. Some will dance, some will sing, and others will run a race. The question is who will win? And what lessons do they learn along the way?

Alexei, Grigori, Felix, Irina, Oksana, and Polina are Siberian tigers who have spent their entire lives working in the circus. Their parents were circus tigers, and it is the only thing they have ever known. The life of a circus tiger is not always easy. From the time they are very small, they go through a lot of hard training. Alexei is the oldest tiger in the group. He can also be the grumpiest. The other tigers complain to each other that he often makes them feel sad and discouraged. But do they dare to tell Alexei how they feel?  

Listen to this positive collection of short stories for children featuring animals in the Artic with lessons on respect, diversity, patience, kindness, honesty, forgiveness, and teamwork. 

We once knew a beautiful Labrador Retriever named Karma. Yes, Karma is a retriever. Whatever we threw out, Karma was happy to bring it back. It didn't matter what it was; she always brought it back. It's the same in life. We reap what we sow. Whatever we send out is what we will get back. Our Karma for Kids Books hope to instill this simple lesson into the lives of young children everywhere. Life can be amazing!  

Humble Heron flapped his big, blue wings as fast as he could. He knew he shouldn't have flown so far away from Fala Forest on Gathering Day. Especially not the day before the festival. But he really, really wanted to see the sparkly white beach his good friend, Jolly Blue Jay, told him about. The sand sparkled like diamonds and the waves crashed to the shore with loads of bubbly bubbles. But now he needed to hurry home. He didn't want his family to worry. His wings began to tire out. But he didn't want to be late. So he beat them faster, again, and again, and again.

Way up in the highest, most private part of the forest, a small family of giant pandas made their home. This panda family loved to tell stories to each other. Sometimes the stories were true. Sometimes they weren't. That was part of the fun - guessing which stories were true and which weren't.

Ethan the Eagle flew high over his emerald green island home. His long wings barely moved as he soared high over the hills. The sky above was as blue as the crystal clear waters that surrounded the white and orange sand beaches. Smoke blew out of the top of Marapi, the island's most active volcano. But something was wrong. Fire and smoke also seemed to be moving quickly into the forest. Wildfire!

The school year was coming to an end and all of the students in Mr. Ostrich's class were extremely excited for summer vacation to start. Shawna Sheep had plans to go to the pool every day. Kimmie Koala had plans to go away to summer camp. Zach Zebra had plans to play with his friends whenever he could. Then Mr. Ostrich announced that there would be a big end of the year test. Who would do what it takes to pass?

Billy Brown Bear was a bully. He was the biggest animal in the whole class and he picked on all the smaller animals. When Penny Puppy brought her tennis ball collection for show and tell, Billy Brown Bear threw them all over the fence. When Carl Crow taught the class how to build bird nests, Billy Brown Bear crushed them all with his big bear paws. Can his classmates teach him a lesson? Can Billy Brown Bear change his ways?

Peter Penguin sometimes felt jealous that his friends seemed to have cooler toys and games than him. Edgar Elephant just got a new skateboard, Francine Flamingo always had the newest sneakers, and Henry Hamster had a trampoline! Peter Penguin had an old skateboard, he had the same pair of shoes from the year before, and his backyard wasn't even big enough to fit a trampoline.

Mathlo the Meerkat had very good eyes. His friends called him Matt for short. Matt could spot danger from far away. Some said he was the best guard in the whole clan. Therefore, he was given a lot of guard duties. He never fell asleep on duty. He never left his post. He was an excellent guard. Matt knew he wasn't supposed to leave his guard duty that day. But his replacement never showed and as the sun began to dip down, his impatience got the better of him.

Have you ever had a loose tooth? Lucy Llama woke up one morning and her tooth was loose! She ran to the mirror and wiggled it. She ran to her mother and wiggled it. She ran to her father and wiggled it. Then she ran all the way to school to wiggle it for her friends. Knowing that she would lose her first tooth soon was exciting. Would Lucy Llama's tooth fall out on its own, or would it have help?