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Illustration of page 1 of story The Festival of Kind Monsters

Bao was racing Sao past the rain puddles when the biggest puddle began to glow. Inside

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The Festival of Kind Monsters

4-8 years old • 7 minute • Choosing respectful language

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Bao and Sao wander into a joyful monster festival where every unusual feature hides a beautiful talent. When giggles about someone’s looks begin to spread, Bao learns how respectful words can open the way to friendship instead of hurt.

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Full text

Read in full The Festival of Kind Monsters

20 pages, approx 7 minutes while listening. Enter the child’s name in the reader above so the narrator can call the child’s name correctly.

  1. 1

    Bao was racing Sao past the rain puddles when the biggest puddle began to glow. Inside it, upside-down lanterns bobbed like tiny moons, and music jingled from somewhere under the sidewalk. Sao’s star pendant warmed against his chest, as if it had been invited.

  2. 2

    Sao tapped the puddle with one careful paw, and a bridge of blue light unrolled across the water. At the far end stood an arch made of smiling teacups, striped mushrooms, and bells that giggled whenever the wind tickled them. Bao whispered, “Adventure?” and Sao bounced twice.

  3. 3

    They landed in a square bright with twirling streamers and cinnamon-sweet steam. Gentle monsters filled the booths: one with twelve fuzzy elbows braided flowers faster than bees, while another blinked three shiny eyes to paint rainbows in the air. Bao forgot to breathe for a moment.

  4. 4

    Near the melon-fizz fountain, two little goblins pointed at a tall blue monster whose ears drooped like wet umbrellas. “Floppy-flop!” one sang. Bao felt a laugh jump up in his throat because the ears did look funny—but the blue monster’s smile folded small.

  5. 5

    Sao leaned his cinnamon-colored shoulder against Bao’s ankle. Bao swallowed the laugh and looked again—not at the floppy ears, but at the monster holding a tray of tiny clouds that trembled with silver rain. “Maybe those ears hear something special,” Bao said softly.

  6. 6

    Bao and Sao followed a trail of floating lantern bubbles to a little plaza where a round blue monster patted its jelly-soft belly like a drum. Every gentle boom sent tiny rainbows wobbling into the air. Bao’s feet started dancing before he could decide whether he was brave.

  7. 7

    Two older festival kids nearby copied the monster’s bouncy belly and giggled. Bao laughed too, quick as a hiccup, because the sound was funny and he wanted to belong. The blue monster’s drumming softened until the rainbow bubbles popped one by one.

  8. 8

    Sao pressed close to Bao’s ankle, his star pendant tapping softly. “Bao,” he whispered, “that laugh made his music smaller.” Bao looked at the blue monster, who was smoothing a little sash across his belly as if trying to hide the very thing that made the song.

  9. 9

    Bao’s cheeks warmed, but he did not run away. He stepped closer, keeping his hands still and his voice gentle. “I’m sorry I laughed at your belly,” he said. “Your drumming made me want to dance. Could I hear how you learned it?”

  • 10

    The monster blinked, then gave one small boom that shimmered like a sunbeam on soup. “My name is Bim,” he said, smiling a little. “My belly remembers every kind step I’ve ever heard.” Bao listened harder than he had danced.

  • 11

    Near the Moon-Melon stage, a tall monster stepped out with three wobbly eyes and petals growing from his elbows. Someone in the crowd snickered, and the snicker hopped from mouth to mouth like a grasshopper. Bao felt a laugh tickle his throat, then saw the monster’s petals droop.

  • 12

    Sao’s ears folded flat. “Bao,” he whispered, “that laugh did not sound happy.” Bao swallowed and noticed the monster trying to smile anyway, carefully tucking one petal behind his back as if it were something to hide.

  • 13

    Bao remembered how proud the bubble-bellied drummer had looked when people asked about her thunder-music instead of her roundness. He stepped forward before the next giggle could land. “Your petals moved with the lantern breeze,” Bao said. “Do they help with your talent?”

  • 14

    The monster blinked all three eyes, and his petals lifted. “I paint with wind,” he said, twirling his elbows through a silver mist. Colors streamed out in ribbons, curling into a bright picture of the whole festival holding hands.

  • 15

    A hush spread, softer than snow. Then a little pebble monster called, “What is your name?” The petal painter bowed. “I am Lumo.” Bao grinned when the crowd repeated it gently, not as a joke, but as a welcome.

  • 16

    The laughing children waited, still pointing at Muddle-Moss’s twisty horns. Bao felt the old silly words bump against his teeth, but he swallowed them down. Sao brushed his tail against Bao’s ankle, and Bao said, “Those horns look like they can carry a whole sky of lanterns.”

  • 17

    Muddle-Moss blinked, then smiled so wide that moss-flowers shook from their shoulders. “They do,” the monster said, lifting three tangled lantern strings with careful horns. The drooping lights rose into a shining arch, and the children’s teasing softened into surprised little oohs.

  • 18

    One child shuffled forward, cheeks pink. “I called them noodle horns,” she said. “I’m sorry.” Bao nodded, and Sao gave a tiny approving yip. Together they asked Muddle-Moss about the flowers growing in their fur, and the monster proudly showed them each one’s sweet midnight smell.

  • 19

    When the moon climbed high, the Festival of Kind Monsters began its final parade. Blobble bounced puddles into rainbow mirrors, Feathergruff sneezed silver sparks, and Muddle-Moss carried the lantern arch at the front. Bao and Sao marched beside them, careful with their cheers, loud with their joy.

  • 20

    At the quiet edge of the festival, Muddle-Moss tucked a fallen moss-flower into Bao’s backpack strap. Bao touched it gently and smiled at Sao. All the way home, the star pendant glimmered, and Bao kept thinking how every strange shape might be someone’s beautiful story.

    • For parents

    Go further with your child after the story

    The Festival of Kind Monsters is a 20-page English adventure for 4-8 years old. Through a vivid problem and a safe, earned resolution, children see why avoid joining in with appearance-based teasing and discover the person behind an unfamiliar look matters; parents get a natural opening for a short conversation and a five-minute practice at home.

    Story guide

    The Festival of Kind Monsters for whom?

    Children 4-8 years old who are beginning to practise choosing respectful language in real moments, not just in pretend play.

    Story problem solved

    The adventure gives a child a safe rehearsal space for avoid joining in with appearance-based teasing and discover the person behind an unfamiliar look. Parents can notice the character’s choice, then connect it to one small moment at home without turning the story into a lecture.

    The synopsis does not reveal the ending

    Bao and Sao wander into a joyful monster festival where every unusual feature hides a beautiful talent. When giggles about someone’s looks begin to spread, Bao learns how respectful words can open the way to friendship instead of hurt.

    Learning goals

    What will your child learn?

    • Notice the moment when avoid joining in with appearance-based teasing and discover the person behind an unfamiliar look becomes useful.
    • Describe one safe next step instead of rushing to solve the problem.
    • Name one choice the child could practise during the next ordinary day.
    Talk together

    Stories with the same topic group

    The story teaches children to be polite and how to speak to othersStories for 3 year oldsStories for 4 year oldsStories for 5 year oldsStories for 6 year olds

    Questions after listening

    1. Which detail first told Bao and Sao that the adventure was changing, and how did they respond?
    2. What did the friends learn about choosing respectful language after their first idea did not work?
    3. Where could your family try one tiny version of “avoid joining in with appearance-based teasing and discover the person behind an unfamiliar look” this week?
    Activity with your child · 5–10 minutes

    Make a tiny choosing respectful language plan

    1. Ask your child to point to one moment in The Festival of Kind Monsters when avoid joining in with appearance-based teasing and discover the person behind an unfamiliar look mattered.
    2. Together, name one ordinary family situation where the same choice might help; let your child suggest the first move.
    3. Act it out for five minutes, then ask what felt easier and what kind of help would be useful next time.

    Short answer, easy to look up

    Frequently asked questions

    What can children learn from The Festival of Kind Monsters?

    The story makes choosing respectful language concrete: children watch Bao and Sao notice a problem, make a choice, and adjust it when the world answers back. The learning stays connected to the characters rather than sounding like a rule sheet.

    How should a parent talk about choosing respectful language after the story?

    Start with the story detail your child remembers. Ask what the characters noticed, what they needed, and what a small version of that choice might look like at home; there is no need to test for a single correct answer.

    Is this story suitable for shared reading?

    Yes. The page-by-page illustrations and short English scenes suit a calm read-aloud for 4-8 years old; pause when your child wants to predict, and return to the same story later if a particular choice feels important.

    Content information

    TalePillow Studio · Updated Aug 17, 2026

    Editorial methodResponsible unit