THE PEACEABLE KINGDOM synopsis

LOGLINE

Unlikely friendships, personal courage, and loyalty can save the day and bring peace to a troubled Kingdom.

PITCH

This story series (for ages 4-9) features Shirley the Lamb, Roger the Lion, Chloe the Cow, the Little Child, Joe the Leopard, Bobby the Goat, Leah the Calf, Gabrielle the Wolf, Todd the Yearling, Tansy the Bear, Harold the Ox, and Zachary the Cobra, with moral stories that have universal appeal, based on archetypes from public domain classic tales. 

The series of stories is reminiscent of Aesop’s Fables with a child’s perspective, while the overall theme and characters are based on The Peaceable Kingdom in Isaiah 11 of the Bible.

Young Shirley the Lamb and Roger the Lion are the main characters, with Zachary the Cobra as the antagonist. The Cobra family disrupts the peace in the Kingdom, breaks up the friendships, and wreaks all kinds of havoc, while the other characters have to work together to maintain their friendships even though they are very different animals.

Each story features, in addition to Shirley and Roger, one of the animals and their particular abilities and foibles and how that gets them into trouble. Problem-solving by respecting each other’s uniqueness and by working together in spite of drastic differences shows how real people of great diversity can come together to make a better world.

*One book based on each character.

*At least one original song for each character’s story.

*Additional music, such as a theme song.

*Bright, bold illustrations.

*Box set of stories.

THE STORIES

Meet Shirley the Lamb – Romeo and Juliet

Meet Roger the Lion – Sleeping Beauty

Meet Joe the Leopard – Pinocchio

Meet Gabrielle the Wolf – Red Riding Hood

Meet Bobby the Goat – Three Little Pigs

Meet Leah the Calf – Cinderella

Meet Todd the Yearling – Peter Pan

Meet the Little Child – Christmas Carol

Meet Chloe the Cow – Rapunzel

Meet Tansy the Bear – Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Meet Harold the Ox – Beauty and the Beast

Meet Zachary the Cobra – Rumpelstiltskin

SYNOPSIS – Meet Shirley the Lamb

Eight-year-old Shirley the Lamb doesn’t think she matters much to anyone. She doesn’t have a tail because a lion bit it off. Her family always makes fun of her, teasing her because she lacks the wooly waggler and looks incomplete to them. When Shirley becomes friends with young Roger the Lion, he never makes fun of her for missing a tail. Roger always walks beside her and makes a point not to wag his own tail since she doesn’t have one to wag. Sometimes, he even picks her up with his mouth and carries Shirley on his back. After spending time in the meadow together, Roger shares with her his secret of being afraid of the dark. Shirley teaches him to look for constellations up in stars at night, so Roger will never be scared again. Roger and Shirley fall in love, never knowing their families are involved in an age-long feud. Lambs and lions are supposed to hate each other.

When Shirley's and Roger’s families find out from Zachary the Cobra about their friendships, they are forbidden to see each other. Shirley’s family tells her that lions do nothing but eat lambs and she’s lucky she only lost a tail. Roger’s parents tell him if he sees Shirley again that he better not come back unless he eats her. Shirley cries herself to sleep that night as she looks up at the stars and thinks of Roger. A few nights later, Roger conquers his fear of the dark, and using the stars to guide him, he visits Shirley at her barn window. He promises her that they are still going to be friends, even if it’s a secret.

Days later, Shirley and Roger talk in the high grass by the river when Chloe the Cow tells them that Zachary is right, and they should go home before they start an all-out war in the Kingdom. After Chloe leaves, Roger tells Shirley that he has figured it out—the Cobras love to fuel feuds between families. They want everyone in the Kingdom to riot and kill the Little Child who is the future king. The Little Child’s father, King George, has been working hard to bring the land together in peace. The Cobra family wants to be in charge of the Kingdom and undo King George’s work.

When Zachary slithers through the grass to hear Roger telling Shirley about the Cobra family’s intentions, Zachary wicks out his sword-like tongue and tells them they will be sorry. A group of animals with Zachary are scared of him and do whatever he says. Joe the Leopard pounces next to Roger. Gabrielle the Wolf, Bobby the Goat, Leah the Calf, Todd the Yearling, Tansy the Bear, and Harold the Ox join Zachary in intimidating Shirley and Roger. Before Roger can pounce on Zachary, the vicious snake slips away with the other animals. Shirley blames Roger for the argument and says her parents are right. She tells Roger that she never wants to see him again. She says lions are dangerous. Roger says lambs are weak.

Later that night, the Kingdom goes into a fury when King George is murdered, and the Little Child is missing. Guards search for the Little Child and King George’s assassin. When they find a bloody knife in a potted plant on the porch of Roger’s family cave, Roger is held in suspicion for killing King George. Shirley stands up for Roger and says that he would never kill King George. That night, Shirley runs away with Roger to search for the Little Child. She apologizes for accusing him and tells him that they have to work together to find the Little Child. Shirley almost loses her life when the cobras attack and try to bite her tail, but she doesn’t have one, so she gets away. She and Roger rescue the Little Child from Zachary’s family. Roger bites Zachary so severely that he almost dies. Thus, Shirley and Roger escape with the help of the other animals in the Kingdom, who see firsthand the evil doings of the Cobra family. With the Little Child safely crowned, and on the throne, Shirley and Roger are heroes in the Kingdom.

Copyright 2022 Jennifer Waters