The Story Shapers: A Tale of Crumpled Starts, Courageous Creativity, and a Tattooed Moose (Bug & Bear)

"The world we want needs the magic we choose." -Bart

When Bug and Bear stumble into a dusty attic full of forgotten pages, misfit characters, and meandering plots, they don’t just find a story… they find the story about stories and their author: a grumpy little rat—Bart—who’s given up on all of his ideas.

The gooses won’t queue; the kangaroos escaped their zoos; the moose got tattoos--all of his starts are "naughty time twos." This rhyming romp through a rebel archive flips the script on what a “proper” story should be.

But rules were made to be rewritten.

Together, Bug, Bear, and Bart uncover the heart of storytelling: bold beginnings, unexpected turns, and the courage to venture somewhere new. With clever rhymes, wild imagination, and full-blown visual chaos, The Story Shapers is a celebration of voices that refuse to be silenced, characters that won’t stay in line, and kids (and rats) who dare to rewrite the rules.

• Wacky adventures and wild imagination
• Books that play with how stories work
• Rebellious characters who don’t do what they’re told
• Laugh-out-loud rhymes and brilliant chaos
• Meta stories like The Book With No Pictures, Battle Bunny, or This Book Just Ate My Dog!

Ages 5–9 Grades K–4
Perfect for creative kids, reluctant readers, future authors, and anyone who ever got bored of coloring inside the lines.

Creativity, Storytelling, Breaking the Mold, Rebellion (the fun kind), Courage, Imagination, Empowerment, Sibling Unity