What happens in the story
Kai and Ava plan a treasure hunt in the garden, complete with a hand-drawn map. Then rain begins. They put their jackets down, and an adult shows them two indoor ideas: a cushion path or a puzzle. They choose the cushion treasure game, lay out a safe path on the floor, and Ava follows the clues to find the yellow star. Finally, they draw a new clue together while the rain keeps falling.
This is a story about flexible thinking: an original plan, an unexpected change, comparing options and making a new plan work.
Who it's for
- Speech-language pathologists working on longer narrative retell, story grammar or the language of choices (instead, choose, change).
- Teachers talking about flexible thinking, "plan B" and rainy-day routines.
- Parents of children who find changes hard, including many autistic children, who want a gentle story to look at in calm moments.
- Children ready for more than six scenes, or older learners who still benefit from picture support.
Skills you can practise
- Retelling a longer story with a plan, a problem, a choice and a result.
- Flexible thinking: what can we do instead?
- Making choices: comparing two options, or choosing a break.
- Vocabulary: plan, rain, instead, choose, change, clue.
- Perspective: how might Kai and Ava each tell the story?
A 10-minute session
- Find the original plan in picture 1: the map and the garden.
- Start with the short version: pictures 1, 2, 5 and 7.
- Talk about the change. What happened outside? It's okay if a character feels disappointed.
- Add the choice pictures and compare the two indoor ideas. Someone could also choose a break.
- Retell the whole episode: plan, unexpected event, new choice, getting ready and result.
Make it easier or harder
- Easier: compare only the plan and the rain, then the happy ending.
- Harder: retell from each child's point of view, or suggest a third plan. Keep invented thoughts clearly as possibilities.
- Extend: make your own two-option "rainy day" choice board at home.
Try it at home
Talk about an ordinary plan change during a calm time: what was the plan, what changed, what did we do instead? Offer real choices, including stopping, and never arrange a disappointment to test a child's flexibility.
Pairs well with
- A Quieter Spot: a six-scene story about changing places when something is too much.
- The Windy Delivery: the other eight-scene retelling story.
- Our wordless picture books.