Important Information
For what situations is it suitable?
It’s suitable for children who have left school after a disaster or catastrophe and subsequently started a new school. The park metaphorizes the school. It facilitates recovery by easing adjustment to the new school and providing hope for the future.
Which age group should it be read to?
Suitable for children aged 4 and over
How should it be read?
You can read the stories to children individually or together. For individual reading, it’s recommended to read them before bedtime. You can read them for 2-3 nights. You can read them more often as the child requests it. For group readings in institutions like schools, you can ask children to draw a picture related to the story after reading it. If you’re reading to a child who has been severely affected by a disaster in therapy, we recommend reading them for three consecutive weeks before starting sessions.
What could be changed in the story?
If the child stayed in this new school, positive sentences can be added to the last paragraph regarding this school, and if the child returned to his/her old school, positive sentences can be added to the last paragraph regarding him/her.
Squirrel Park
Once upon a time, there was a forest with colorful trees. Many animals lived there. The most playful animals of this forest were the squirrels. From morning to evening, they played with the walnuts they collected.
One day, a big storm hit this forest. Branches shook, some bird nests fell to the ground, and some trees were broken. Everyone was very scared and sad.
One of those who were sad was the squirrels. The squirrel park was damaged because of the storm. You may have never heard of a squirrel park. It’s similar to a children’s park. Squirrels slide down the slides and roll their walnuts down the slide. They play ball with their walnuts and shoot baskets. They have a tree climbing race.
After the storm, the slides in this park had toppled over, and the chains of the swings had broken. The squirrels were left without a park.
The big squirrels quickly found a solution, of course. They took the little squirrels with them and rode on the storks, hopped into the kangaroos’ pouches, and went to the other forest. There was no storm there, and there were huge parks.
One of these squirrels, the little squirrel, was confused. He missed his own park and was sad to leave the forest. At the same time, he was curious about the new park and forest.
Finally, they arrived in the new forest. They had a nice meal, and then they went to the squirrel park in this forest. What did our little squirrel see? There were many squirrels he didn’t know in this forest. And the park was huge. He was a little scared and confused, of course.
The wise owl at the entrance of the park helped this little squirrel. He smiled and said:
“I know there was a storm in your forest. Your park is not quite suitable for playing anymore. Don’t worry, you will soon get to know the squirrels here. You will be friends. You will play games, and when your park is rebuilt, you will return there. Right now, you are a guest here, and we love guests very much.”
Right then, the other squirrels came and introduced themselves to the little squirrel. Then they invited him to play. Another squirrel gave him a big walnut as a gift. The little squirrel was very happy.
Indeed, what the owl said came true. They became friends, and taught each other their favorite games.
The weather warmed up, and the storm passed. New parks were built, and the broken ones were repaired. All the playful squirrels returned to their own park. But they always remembered their new friends.
You can watch the animated video of the story or listen to it via audio file.
