Book Excerpt 9 - continued from Excerpt 8, same session: (excerpt 8 here)
“Oh wow. I was not prepared for this.” stammers the counselor wiping a tear under her glasses.
“You all—excuse me while I try not to completely unravel—but that was… stunning. Just stunning.”
She stands, facing the group of students who are looking both nervous and surprised at her reaction.
“I know I wasn’t your target audience—Mr. Joe here caught me in the hallway on my way to lunch—but I’m so, so glad I got pulled in.”
She glances at the illustrations in the students hands, and she points to the kids who presented Scene Ten. She takes a breath.
“You didn’t just tell a story about a turtle. You told a story about grief. And you did it with such a light, careful hand. You gave us just enough room, but not so much that we missed the ache underneath. That’s hard to do. Even for adults.”
She turns slightly to the class, her voice steadying.
“And I know… someone here went through something like this. Maybe more than one. A real version of it. Maybe that turtle’s shell was covering something closer to home.”
She pauses, her voice sobers up.
“I lost my mom recently. And I swear, that little turtle snuck into a part of my heart I thought I had locked up tight. You got in.”
She lets the moment hang, the class still and listening.
“And yes, I’m now going to cry into my lunch. Thank you for completely ruining my sandwich… for all the right reasons.”
(She smiles, cleaning up her eyes with a tissue.)
“Seriously. That was beautiful.”
The janitor and the counselor depart.
Joe waits for a few moments to let it all sink in.
"Now you know how a "cartoon" can effect an audience. We are all turtles it turns out." Joe smiles.
The kids are letting out a collective exhale as Joe notices the clock.
"Let's stop here. I'm not sure we can follow this experience with the time we have left. Just a quick question, do we all want this ending or the happy one with the hug.
Every.
Hand.
Goes.
Up.
For.
Turtle Heaven.
"Now all we have left to do is make it. " Joe smiles. "Let's hammer out the other three stories next time. Until then, let's continue to have a meaningful day."
Joe steps out glowing with pride. What he won't find out until next time is the note that arrives two days later from the guidance counselor to the class:
Dear Ms. Rose,
"Just wanted to send a quick note to follow up on the storyboard presentation I was lucky enough to witness the other day—the one with the turtle and the ice. I’m so grateful I got pulled in. For the record, our illustrious janitor passes along that his turtle's name was Clamps -please share!
Stories—especially the ones told by kids—can be just as healing as they are heartbreaking. I hope they keep telling them."
Warmly,
[Counselor’s Name]
(P.S. I owe them a box of tissues and a turtle sticker or two.)
End of excerpt 9
Meet Joe
Joe Summerhays is the creative force behind Animating Kids & Animation Chefs, the globally adopted “anti-slop” media literacy platforms that turns kids learning spaces into movie studios and students into visual storytellers.
In an era of infinite AI-generated content, Joe’s mission is simple: help kids become authors, not passive consumers, by learning how meaning is built with sound and motion.
Over the past two decades, he has trained 25,000+ kids and educators across 20+ countries, giving schools a practical, repeatable way to build real media agency.
An award-winning creative executive with experience across software, TV, publishing, and advertising, Joe brings industry-grade persuasion knowledge into primary education, then flips it into defense and empowerment for kids. His signature Animation Chefs Colored Hat Levels, inspired by karate belts, gives media coaches a clear pathway from storytelling basics to full film production.
Using handmade cut-paper stop motion, Animating Kids forces students to stay human. It slows media down frame by frame so they can see how images, timing, and sound shape perception, then reassemble those parts into stories they own.
The result is kids who can spot manipulation, resist AI “slop,” and communicate with clarity - rare skills in an age of automated content.
More Testimonials:
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"Thank you SO much for sharing your wealth of information and opening this world to every kid! I first learned about you when my husband introduced our daughter to you. Now I am bringing it into my after school program. I’m so psyched!" — Joy H. Retail After School Specialist
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