Home Poem

Read A Bedtime Story written by Sally Hardy, then write your own poem!

A Bedtime Story

From the outside, the house looked small.
It was not very wide. And not very tall.
But when it was your home
it grew and it grew
as big as the places that it took you to…

You could open the door and find magical things
like boxes of rockets
and friends made of string.
There were eyeballs for bouncing
with fat orange worms
And ears so enormous they could hear the world turn…

And the snail who lived there could go very far
with her house on her back
through the roof
to the stars
Leaving a trail like a silvery map
Of thick shiny goo that showed the way back
Up in the sky she would play hide and seek
Perhaps for an hour….
Or maybe a week.
But she never was lost
and was never alone
Because inside her shell
she was always at home

Follow up Activities

Write a poem
Write your own poem inspired by the show. What things do you remember from the show? How would you describe what you saw? Does your poem rhyme?

Create a performance
In a small group create your own performance to go with the poem. Try to create a performance with no words. Have someone read the poem out loud while you act out your performance.

More activities to try

Storytime with Temeka: All the Ways to be Smart Find a comfy spot to share the affirming and award-winning Australian picture book All the Ways to be Smart with Patch pal Temeka.
Try It
Visual Storytelling Share the wonder of visual storytelling with children using these imagery-based activities.
Try It
Behind the Creation of ZOOOM Learn about the inspiration and creative process behind our multi-award-winning show ZOOOM from Artistic Director Geoff Cobham.
Try It