Dinosaur Kids

A fable about Choosing kind words

Terry’s Softest True Words

Starring Terry, the Tarbosaurus. Terry must tell Shawn that the new berry hat is falling apart, and searches for words honest enough to help and gentle enough to be heard.

  • Ages 3–6
  • Joining the shelf
  • Book in the works
No. 45
Terry the Tarbosaurus character art
Terry the Tarbosaurus character art

Meet

Terry

Tarbosaurus

Learns
Choosing kind words
Grown-up value
Tact
Fable
No. 45

How the story goes

One small trouble. Three turns.

A peek for grown-ups, so you know where the story is headed before you turn the first page.

  1. A small trouble

    Shawn’s berry-leaf parade hat leans left and drops berries whenever he nods. “How does it look?” he asks Terry.

  2. A brave choice

    Terry almost says “Terrible,” then almost says “Perfect.” Instead he praises the blue ribbon and offers to fix the loose side.

  3. A happy turn

    Together they shorten a leaf and retie the ribbon. At the parade, the berries stay put through every nod.

And the moral of the story

“Think how words will land before you say them.”

Say it together at the last page. It’s short on purpose.

For grown-ups · After the last page

Talk about it.

  1. 1What might have happened if Terry had said “Terrible”?
  2. 2What true thing did Terry say first?
  3. 3How can you tell a friend something in a kind way?

Up next · Fable No. 46 · Saying thank you

Torrey’s Thank-You Trail

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