Jessica’s Box

Jessica’s Box written and illustrated by Peter Carnavas (2015)

It was Jessica’s first day of school. Her parents and grandfather were just knew she would make lots of friends, Jessica wasn’t so sure. So she decided to bring something special in a box to school. But the kids laughed at her teddy bear. The next day she brought cupcakes. Everyone ate the cupcakes but no one said thank you. Then she brought her dog, but the groundskeeper sent the dog home. That day Jessica hid herself in the box. A boy found her and took a turn hiding. All of the sudden, Jessica found a friend.

Jessica is in a wheelchair. No one knows why, but that’s not important. What is important is that Jessica is a kid like any other. She wants to have a friend. And what she learned is that she didn’t have to ‘buy’ a friend with toys or sweets, she only had to be herself. When she put herself into the box, she made her first friend.

What are some fun and interesting things you can do with an empty box?