Creature Cues
Empowering children to understand themselves, support others, and work through big feelings at school and at home.
Creature Cues is a character-led resource series I created to help young children (ages 3–6) recognise emotional states in themselves and others — and respond with empathy, clarity, and self-regulation.
Each creature models a specific sensory or emotional need, from Kara the Kangaroo’s craving for comfort to Benny the Bat’s sensitivity to sound. Through playful storytelling, clear visual metaphors, and developmentally appropriate actions, these characters offer real-life coping strategies in a way that feels safe, relatable, and fun.
Dialogue bubbles show characters noticing and supporting each other (“You look squished,” “Want to join?”), while visual cues like eye contact, gentle gestures, and shared props reinforce peer empathy. Each story includes mini-moments of emotional awareness — a pause, a glance, an offer — and teacher prompts to spark classroom discussion (“How did Kara help Dash?” “What could Dash say to Hazel?”).
Designed to be modular and scalable, Creature Cues has strong potential for expansion into picture books, flash cards, classroom posters, board games, animations, and interactive teaching tools. It’s a values-driven IP with heart, humour, and real-world impact — helping children build emotional literacy that lasts a lifetime.
Dash the Dog
The Big Wiggle
Dash the Dog tried very hard to sit still during story time. But he’d been sitting SO long. But his paws twitched, his tail danced, and his legs wanted to leap! “I’ve got the zoomies!” he barked. So Dash jumped in place, did a wiggle dance, and stretched like a rainbow. After that, he could listen again.
He sees his friend Bixie the bee sitting very still with a frown. “Want to wiggle with me?” Dash asks, and they do a stomp dance together.
Lesson: If your body feels bouncy, try a jump or stretch to help it settle. If someone looks stuck, ask them to join!