Start with the friends
One of the things I want to make room for in Lovetopus is the friend who joins in differently. Zippy and Ray enjoy racing through the ocean. Finley is a careful observer who can referee. As a dad and a storyteller, I love that there can be a place for all of them.
This is one of the lovely details near the beginning of Finley’s book: the friends do not all have to do the same thing to share an adventure.
Invent a little event
Here’s a little scene I’d invite you to invent together: a race around a coral arch. What needs to happen before it begins? Someone could choose the route, announce the start, watch the finish or make up a cheer.
Invite your child to choose a role, or invent another. The activity can stay entirely imaginary: voices and a few marks on paper are enough.
Let roles change
Perhaps the referee wants a turn racing. Perhaps the fastest swimmer wants to draw the route. You can change the story together as it goes.
Try asking, “What would make this fun for Finley too?” Keep the question about the friends. There is no need to turn their fictional race into a lesson about something that happened earlier.
A small idea for today
My small invitation for today: draw three places in EmOcean. Take turns moving an imaginary friend between them. One person describes where they arrive; the other adds something they notice.
Finish by deciding who they might invite next. A new friend can bring a new idea to the same game.
A Lovetopus story-and-play invitation. These examples are invitations for shared reading, not instructions for assessing a child’s feelings.
