PLEASE takes on NO WAY: The Nurchies

The 'Nurchies' picture books feature three dynamic characters, PLEASE, THANK YOU and SORRY, sure to fire kids' imaginations at story time. The Nurchies love to behave well and in return, their nurturing goodness leads to happiness. Values such as caring, generosity, patience, forgiveness and support are all encouraged within captivating and fun-filled tales. The stories are devised as an aid for parents to nurture good behavior in their children, helping them to make and maintain friendships. The Nurchies' rivals are three rather unpleasant suspects - NO WAY, MINE and DON'T CARE, whose dubious behavior is contrary to The Nurchies' values. Our story, the third episode in a series of three books, starts on a quiet lazy Saturday afternoon. Everyone is taking it easy. There's a mild, crisp breeze in the air and it's too nice a day to sit around. PLEASE decides to fly her fabulous stunt kite in the front garden. Whoosh goes the kite, upwards into the blue sky as PLEASE completes some clever flips and loops. But suddenly she's rudely interrupted by a noisy onlooker, who scoffs at her kite-flying skills. She recognizes the grouchy character slouching against her fence, it's NO WAY! He refuses to join PLEASE in the garden, distracting her attention from the kite. A gusty breeze swoops the kite out of control and it gets trapped in the top of a tall tree. Now it's stuck and won't come down. PLEASE appeals for help from NO WAY but he's too stubborn to help, simply sulking and ignoring her request. PLEASE slumps under the tree, sad and dejected. But then the kite begins to jiggle about and come loose. PLEASE jumps to her feet, grabs the two lines for the kite as it's falling from the tree and manages to return it safely to the ground. NO WAY points up to the tree and there's the answer. A large magpie squawks and flaps his wings. PLEASE is so grateful she rushes indoors and returns with some bread to feed the hungry bird, who is soon joined by several of his feathered friends. NO WAY doesn't want to join in the fun, but then he realises it's too good to miss out on. So eventually, he relents. Afterwards he helps PLEASE gather up the kite and they go inside for some refreshments, much to the amusement of the magpies! These quirky and appealing characters make learning fun and therefore effective! Each character's name reflects the values and virtues associated with that word back onto the character themselves. They almost become autological, with their personalities defined by their names. Thus: PLEASE is gentle. She's always patient and never gives out. THANK YOU is kind and very friendly. She's also thoughtful. SORRY is strong. He's caring and doesn't judge people. Whereas: NO WAY is stubborn. But he's kind of lonely. MINE is selfish. She argues a lot and she's grumpy too. DON'T CARE is lazy and he lets his friends down. The Nurchies originate from a message by Pope Francis on his visit to Ireland in 2018, noting that three words underused in today's world are 'Please, Thank You and Sorry.' The stories will aim to bring fresh inspiration for parents when reading with their children. Combining a unique formula with unique characters, The Nurchies seek to both stimulate and reward young minds.