Category: Storydoor

Nuts on Tour

  • Packed and ready to go

Plymouth, England

In Spring of 2022 Nuts went on holiday to England. The headteacher of a primary school in Plymouth, Devon had read about Nuts and invited her to meet her pupils to tell them all about the StoryDoors.

A (not so) Common Red Squirrel

It is very unusual to see a red squirrel in Great Britain and they are considered to be endangered. The bigger grey squirrel was introduced into the UK from North America in the 1800s and since then the smaller native squirrel has diminished in number. There are still a few places where they still live (e.g. Scotland) and these areas are part of a red squirrel conservation project .

You can imagine how thrilled the school children were to hear of the visit of our little red squirrel, Nuts.

For Nuts her trip to England was also very exciting because she had never been abroad, never mind on her own!. A big adventure! There were lots of things to organise before she could travel. Together we made a list of all the things Nuts should take with her.

Nuts’ rucksack

  • Passport
  • Wordbook
  • Map of Devon and Cornwall
  • Map of Europe
  • Family portrait
  • Favourite books

“Ich packe meinen Koffer und nehme mit……“

Passport:

Before Brexit it was so easy to go to England because you only needed your German ID (Personalausweis). When you travel from Europe into the United Kingdom now you must have a valid passport (Reisepass). Fortunately we were able to get one for Nuts relatively quickly.

Wordbook:

Nuts can speak English well but she decided it would be good to have a vocabulary book with her just in case she need to check some words. She also thought that it would be fun to teach the kids some German.

Maps:

A map of Devon and Cornwall was essential. Nuts planned to explore whilst staying in Plymouth which is full of nautical history. Dartmoor national park with its wild ponies is not so faraway. The counties of Devon and Cornwall are famous for their wonderful beaches – perfect for building sandcastles.

To show the English children where Nuts lives, she included a map of Europe. Maybe one day the boys and girls would like to visit Witten!

Nuts’ Favourite Things:

Nuts packed a photo of her twins Fluffy and Flustered to look at when she felt a little homesick, and, if she got bored, she could always read her favourite books.

With love from Witten

Doors for Nuts’ new homes and her cache of acorns.

Finally everything was packed into Nuts’ “StoryDoor” suitcase and off she flew to Plymouth.

Nuts is back again, having had a wonderful time. The teacher said;

The children absolutely loved (Nuts’) story.

Their reaction was so cute… they loved the idea that (Nuts) lives in a different county…

Drake Primary Academy

Nuts and I are planning a visit to England this year – maybe we’ll get a chance to drop in on her new friends.

High Spirits in the Woods

Whilst I was coming up with the story behind my StoryDoors, I did some illustrations of local trees which I imagined could be tree spirits.

Could this fairy be flitting around in the dark woods? Who knows? Perhaps we should go for a night walk (die Nachtwanderung – this sounds so much better) .

1 . Nuts, My Busy Little Squirrel

Door 1

Let the Games Begin!

Once I had decided to hide my StoryDoors in trees, I had to solve the mystery of who it put them there! That’s when Nuts, the Busy Squirrel came alive.

This is a story of a little red squirrel that scuttles around the winter woods looking for her store of food. Her cache and her favourite bedtime story are hidden behind a little door. I, the storyteller, am amazed how fat my little friend, the busy squirrel, becomes by the end of the book.

You too can get the inside story by visiting www.storydoor.info

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