I  got a chance to tell an original story of mine at the Bridge Meadows’ storytime.  I usually read books to the children, but once in while I like to pull out the stops and do an original one.  The story I told today is about Iris and Aurora, a girl and her seeing eye dragon.  I created it for an art and disability show, so it has a nice fabric sculpture of the characters, complete with embroidered Braille signage.  There aren’t a lot of stories that have a hero who is blind, so this was a fun one to write and tell.  And for a dragon story that doesn’t have a lot of battles, the kids were remarkably absorbed.  A young blind girl’s wit in befriending dragons can hold their interest as well as a big battle — at least for 20 minutes.  Children and grown-ups both really seem to enjoy the story’s message that change is scary but not always bad.  There are good things that happen when we learn to cooperate and value everyone’s strength and beauty.  The last line of the story is “A dragon’s not such a scary thing once you see it clearly.”

This story encourages learning by touching

After a good story the kids head straight for the books

Juanita is no longer afraid of dragons

Touching the embroidered braille

Me and my dragon girl.