Nippy of Play Vale

Nippy of Play Vale COMING SOON

Twelve original stories about kindness, judgement and growing up.  Nippy is a small wooden boy who lives in Play Vale, a place where everyday moments quietly turn into opportunities to learn.  With his loyal friend Twiggin, and a world that feels gently familiar, Nippy encounters the kinds of situations children recognise immediately: making mistakes with words, learning how friendships work, deciding when to speak, when to wait, and when to help.  Although Play Vale is imaginative, the emotional challenges Nippy faces are real ones.  Together, the twelve stories form a connected journey of moral development, designed to be enjoyed individually or read in sequence as a growing narrative.

What the stories explore
Across the collection, children encounter themes such as:
    •    kindness and empathy
    •    responsibility and reliability
    •    friendship and fairness
    •    boundaries and judgement
    •    communication and repair
    •    courage and compassion
The stories do not lecture or instruct. Instead, children are invited to recognise situations, feel their impact, and draw meaning naturally through the story itself.  Humour, including the kind loved by primary-aged children, is used to keep learning safe, memorable and human.

A gentle moral progression
Read together, the stories follow a clear developmental arc:
    •    Belonging and safety - where love and trust come first
    •    Responsibility - learning routines and consequences
    •    Relationships - manners, empathy and apology
    •    Judgement - pausing before acting or speaking
    •    Social awareness - fairness and influence within groups
    •    Compassion - choosing kindness even when it costs
This progression mirrors how children mature: from needing reassurance, toward forming an inner sense of right and wrong.

Created with psychological understanding
The stories were written by a child psychologist, drawing on long professional experience alongside the warmth of real storytelling shared with grandchildren.  They are not therapy tools or teaching scripts. They are stories shaped by listening, laughter, mistakes, and reflection — told and retold until they felt right.  Children meet challenge in these stories, but never fear. Growth happens through experience, not punishment.

Reading and use
The Nippy stories are well suited to:
    •    bedtime reading
    •    shared conversation
    •    early independent readers
    •    classroom reflection
    •    quiet enjoyment without explanation
Each story stands alone, while together they offer a coherent emotional journey.

An evolving story world
Play Vale is intentionally open and flexible, allowing room for refinement, illustration and development.  At heart, these stories are about learning how to live kindly in the world — not perfectly, but thoughtfully.  That is Nippy’s journey.

© Michael Lock.
All characters, settings and stories on this website are original works of fiction.
Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to other fictional works is coincidental.
No part of these stories may be reproduced without permission.