world 5 of 8

Elements

“Wind, earth, fire, water, space. You hold them all.”

With Toto, Dragon Delight, Phoenix Power, Harry Hedgehog, The Wind People and Watching Squirrel

Book art: Toto at the crackling campfire with the dragon, the phoenix, the hedgehog and the swooshing Wind People
The story

How the world was found

Where the slate earth meets the sky, Toto found a crackling campfire and some unusual company. A dragon who loves water. A phoenix made of fire. A hedgehog roasting marshmallows. The Wind People swooshing past in the air, and a squirrel quietly watching everything.

They showed Toto that there are five elements, not four: air, fire, water, earth and space. And then they showed him something better. Every one of those elements is inside him. His breath is air. His warmth is fire. His bones are earth. The quiet between his thoughts is space.

And his tears? Tears are water. Every feeling is an element with a purpose, and none of them needs to be feared.

A word from the author

“This was the one I most wanted to get right. Children are so often told to stop crying, to calm down, to be good. I wanted them to see that a feeling is not a mistake, it is an element doing its job. Fire needs to be warm. Water needs to flow. You do not put out a fire by being ashamed of it.”

Jaany

Draft for Jaany to replace in her own words: how this world came about, and what she hoped it would give a child.

Lines to keep

The words that do the work

“Tears are water.”

Three words that let a child cry. Water flows, water cleans, water is needed. So are tears.

“You hold them all.”

Wind, earth, fire, water, space. Every feeling has a home inside the child, and every one of them belongs.

“There is no difference between your body and the elements.”

The child is not separate from the storm or the campfire. Big feelings are nature moving through them, and nature always settles.

What this story helps with

What it gives your child

  • Welcoming every emotion, and fearing none of them
  • Words and pictures for anger, sadness, excitement and calm
  • Permission to cry: tears are water, and water is needed
  • Choosing what to do with a feeling, once it has a name
  • Noticing: the squirrel’s quiet gift of simply watching first
Who you will meet

The characters of Elements

Dragon Delight in a scene from the book

Dragon Delight

water, flowing

A dragon who delights in water. He shows that feelings can pour, splash and settle, and that being soft is not being weak.

Phoenix Power in a scene from the book

Phoenix Power

fire, rising

Born of flame, the phoenix burns bright and rises again. She is courage and warmth, and proof that after the fiercest feeling you are still here.

Harry Hedgehog in a scene from the book

Harry Hedgehog

earth, steady

Roasting marshmallows by the fire, Harry is the calm, grounded friend. Earth holds still so everything else has somewhere to land.

The Wind People in a scene from the book

The Wind People

air, free

Swooshing, laughing, impossible to catch. The Wind People are breath and freedom, the feeling of running with your arms out.

Watching Squirrel in a scene from the book

Watching Squirrel

space, noticing

He says little and sees everything. Watching Squirrel is the quiet space between feelings, where you pause and look before you act.