Willow and the garden folk
'Willow' is a story about kindness, acceptance and the importance of friendship. Willow shows what it is like to be autistic in a neurotypical world. Just as the setting challenges stereotypical perceptions of fairies and mythical garden dwellers, this is a story to reshape perceptions of difference.
This is the first story in a series of four, each exploring difference and what it can feel like to a young person to grow up feeling ‘different’.
Step inside Willow's world to find out how tough it can be when you're different. But what if we just stop for a moment to look closely, deep inside? Might we begin to ask...
are we really that different after all?
'At the bottom of a garden,
among the bugs and shrubs
lives a tiny little fairy,
named Willow Merrygrubs.
Willow has a wonky wing
messy hair and muddy knees
and you can often find her
hiding, high up, in the trees.
She's not like the other fairies,
in lots of different ways,
from the way the walks
to the way that she talks,
to the things she does and says.
She tries to make friends at fairy school
but her words seem to come out all wrong,
and as hard as she tries to be like the rest
she often feels like she doesn't belong.
©beckynancarrow2024
