Charlotte and Daddy’s Short Stories

​Five-year-old Charlotte, with her bouncy ponytail and fringe of bangs , was known in her neighborhood as the greatest animal rescuer in the world. Her backyard, even though it wasn't gigantic, felt like the whole planet to the friends she kept there. ​Her current guests were her biggest and best: ​ Cindy , the beautiful giraffe, had a gentle smile and eyelashes longer than Charlotte's whole arm. ​ Luki , the speedy kangaroo, was a master jumper who loved to bounce high. ​ Dora , the happy hippo, had a wrinkly nose and the sweetest little giggle. ​Mealtime was an adventure! ​For Cindy , Charlotte would rush up to the very top floor, lean out the upper window , and hold out fresh, leafy branches. Cindy would crane her long neck, poke her head over the roof, and daintily take the snacks with her purple tongue. ​For Luki , Charlotte would open the second-story window . Luki, with a powerful thump-thump-thump , would leap high off the ground, standing on his ...

​ Walter the beaver lived a very happy life on Petrie Island . He loved the smell of fresh-cut willow, the feel of cool river water on his paws, and the satisfying crunch of a perfectly felled tree. His best friend was Charlotte , a curious and adventurous little girl who was about five years old . Charlotte had been visiting him on the island since she was a toddler. ​Every once in a while, Charlotte would arrive with her family to visit Walter's lodge. One sunny morning, Charlotte came to see Walter. ​"Walter," she whispered, her eyes wide with excitement, "my daddy told me about the big city downtown! He says they have huge buildings and a famous canal!" She showed him a picture in a little book. "Look at the big wood they used!" ​Walter twitched his whiskers excitedly. Famous wood , you say? He had an immediate, professional interest. "I must inspect this wood for myself!" he decided. ​The next sunny morning, the wate...

​Trevor the Water Elephant ​Trevor was a magical elephant who lived with his family—his Mummy, Daddy, and two sisters—in Africa. Their home was a large grove of trees near a vast pond and a winding river. ​Trevor loved the water. More than anything, he enjoyed standing in the cool pond and dousing himself all over with muddy water. He'd watch the flamingos—their feathers a vibrant pink—and other birds as they skimmed the surface and soared into the clear blue sky. The water was also his best defense against the endless swarm of biting bugs; he’d spray them away with jets of cool, refreshing water to keep from itching. ​His sisters would often tease him, "Trevor, why spend all that time in the water? You can just roll around in the fine, dry dust outside—that gets rid of the bugs, too!" ​But Trevor would just shake his head. "No, I like the water best. It keeps me cool, and it's so hot here in Africa!" ​Even Mummy and Daddy tried to coax him onto ...

​Denny the Quiet Giraffe​Once upon a time, there lived a sweet little giraffe named Denny. Denny was a friendly fellow with a sunny smile and the tallest neck in the whole savanna.​Denny loved to play with all the other animals, but there was one small problem: Denny couldn't make a sound.​When the playful monkeys would screech, "OOO-OOO-AAA!" and the happy hippos would snort, "Hoo-Hoo!", Denny would try his very best to join in.​He’d stretch his long neck and take a huge breath:"Mee-moo-m..."But all that came out was a quiet little 'of'. It was a simple sound, not at all like the booming noises his friends made.​"How does a giraffe make sounds?"  Denny wondered. He thought and thought, but nothing popped into his mind.​One day, he tried to talk to his friends, the zebra and the elephant. He tried to tell them about a bright red berry he'd found, but it only came out as a silent wiggle of his ears. It didn...

​Everything that happens in this story takes place inside the wonderful, wild imagination of a little girl named Charlotte. ​Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Charlotte. She had a happy ponytail that bounced when she ran, which was all the time! Charlotte loved to run in her backyard, and it was there, in her special place, that she had created her own amazing world. ​One sunny afternoon, a big, shaggy, friendly Lion that Charlotte had made up decided to take a little nap right in her grass. But the moment the Lion started to snooze, another creature from Charlotte's mind appeared! Swish, swish, swish! Walking along the very top of the tall fence, like a secret agent, was a beautiful, spotty Leopard! ​Right after the Leopard arrived, a tiny, strange Bird flew past. This little bird, which Charlotte had imagined to be silent, had special feathers and a small, fluttering thing on the edge of its wing that made a quiet flop, flop, flop sound as it...

​ Charlotte , a bubbly five-year-old with a bouncy ponytail and a giggle like wind chimes, had a very special friend named Pan-Pan . Pan-Pan wasn't a fuzzy toy you could hug; he was a soft, glowing panda night light that sat squarely on the corner of her dresser , casting a warm, comforting glow across her room every night. ​What Charlotte didn't know was that when her own little eyelids finally fluttered shut, and her breathing settled into the gentle rhythm of sleep, Pan-Pan sprang to life. His cheerful, painted eyes would become sharp and alert, his gentle glow intensifying just slightly. Pan-Pan was a guardian, a silent sentinel against the terrors of the night... specifically, mosquitos and bad smells . ​His first priority: Mosquitos . Those tiny, whiny, itchy terrors! As soon as Charlotte was fast asleep, Pan-Pan simply floated right off the dresser with a silent whir. He didn't have legs—he was powered by pure, tiny-panda magic and a highly sophisti...