STORIES BROUGHT TO LIFE
BY THE
STORYTELLER
THANK YOU!
I'd like to thank each and every one of you amazing PandaPeeps for your orders over the last 12 months.
It means so much to me after the publication of my debut book and I'd love to hear your feedback
so please leave a review.
Just go to the feedback form at the bottom of the site.
Preston's second book in the series, Preston's Cosmic Adventure is now available to pre-order, just go to 'Shop' in the site menu at the top.
Or better still, subscribe to my website to receive newsletters and updates.
Just go to the subscribe section if you'd like to join my mailing list.
Jinny Morgan Lewtas
Children's author
Welcome!
After 27 years of teaching children with additional needs, I am now in the very privileged position to be able to share the skills and knowledge I have accumulated over the years.
These skills have helped the children in my classroom to engage with learning in a fun, interactive and inclusive way and I hope my Preston Panda stories will have the same impact.
Jinny is a recently retired Special Needs teacher.
She realised very early in her teaching career that students with additional needs are very often overlooked by education professionals working outside the realms of Special Education.
Materials that enhance and encourage learning are often in short supply and those that are available tend to be more expensive and less readily-available than
regular teaching resources.
From experience, good storytelling relies heavily on the imagination, creativity, time, effort and commitment of all SEN staff alongside a tendency towards hoarding things that 'may come in useful one day'.
It is with this in mind that Jinny is now writing inclusive stories for children, their parents, their carers and their teachers.
Jinny enjoys 'the outside' through a range of local activities such as
all-year-round open-water swimming and walking her dog.
She is passionate about live music, especially going to see her childhood hero,
Gary Numan.
Jinny has two grown-up children, Ellie and Tom, a dog called Ruby
and a cat called Reuben.
The Enchanted Suitcase &
other Preston Panda stories.
I am working on a series of books centred around the character Preston Panda.
He will embark on a series of magical adventures when he climbs inside his enchanted suitcase.
Along the way, he will also learn how to deal with the sorts of problems, worries, and disappointments a typical six-year-old panda might stumble upon.
My debut book, 'Preston's Christmas Surprise' is available to purchase now and my second book 'Preston's Cosmic Adventure' is available to pre-order.
To order your copy, go to 'Shop' in the top menu.
My Books
THE ENCHANTED SUITCASE
PRESTON'S CHRISTMAS SURPRISE
SPECIAL EDITION. HARDBACK.
Enter the amazing world of Preston Panda.
Join him on his magical Christmas Eve journey in this SPECIAL EDITION, HARDBACK version of the story. An ideal gift for Christmas Eve, this is a story that can be enjoyed again and again and a book that can be passed down through the family.
The book comes with hints and tips on how to make the story come to life by creating a story box or story sack.
The book also comes with a page to help children understand Preston's feelings throughout his Christmas adventure.
FOR AGES 4-8 WITH ADULT SUPPORT
£16.99 (includes P&P)
TO ORDER THIS BOOK GO TO 'SHOP' IN THE MENU BAR OR CLICK THE LINK BELOW
THE ENCHANTED SUITCASE
PRESTON'S CHRISTMAS SURPRISE
SOFTBACK
Enter the amazing world of Preston Panda.
Join him on his magical Christmas Eve journey in this paperback version of the story.
An ideal gift for Christmas Eve, this is a story that can be enjoyed again and again.
The book comes with hints and tips on how to make the story come to life by creating a story box or story sack.
The book also comes with a page to help children understand Preston's feelings throughout his Christmas adventure.
FOR AGES 4-8 WITH ADULT SUPPORT
£9.99 (includes P&P)
TO ORDER THIS BOOK GO TO 'SHOP' IN THE MENU BAR OR CLICK THE LINK BELOW
THE ENCHANTED SUITCASE
EASY-READ VERSION. SOFTBACK.
THE ENCHANTED SUITCASE: PRESTON'S CHRISTMAS SURPRISE
Enter the amazing world of Preston Panda.
Join him on his magical Christmas Eve journey in this signed paperback version of the story.
An ideal gift for Christmas Eve, this is a story that can be enjoyed again and again
This version tells the same story but in fewer words for early readers and readers with additional needs.
The book comes with hints and tips on how to make the story come to life by creating a story box or story sack.
The book also comes with a page to help children understand Preston's feelings throughout his Christmas adventure.
FOR EARLY READERS AND READERS WITH ADDITIONAL NEEDS WITH ADULT SUPPORT
£9.99 (includes P&P)
TO ORDER THIS BOOK GO TO 'SHOP' IN THE MENU BAR OR CLICK THE LINK BELOW
PRESTON'S LATEST STORY
IS NOW AVAILABLE!
THE ENCHANTED SUITCASE: PRESTON'S COSMIC ADVENTURE
THE ENCHANTED SUITCASE
PRESTON'S COSMIC ADVENTURE
Join Preston on his latest magical journey through space in this SOFTBACK edition.
An ideal gift, this is a story that can be enjoyed time and again.
The book comes with hints and tips on how to make the story come to life by creating a story box or story sack.
The book also comes with a page to help children understand Preston's feelings throughout his Cosmic Adventure.
FOR AGES 4-8 WITH ADULT SUPPORT
£9.99 (P&P Free)
TO PRE-ORDER THIS BOOK GO TO 'SHOP' IN THE MENU BAR OR CLICK THE LINK BELOW
THE ENCHANTED SUITCASE
PRESTON'S COSMIC ADVENTURE
EASY-READ
Join Preston on his latest magical journey through space in fewer words, with this
EASY-READ SOFTBACK version.
An ideal gift, this is a story that can be enjoyed time and again.
The book comes with hints and tips on how to make the story come to life by creating a story box or story sack.
The book also comes with a page to help children understand Preston's feelings throughout his Cosmic Adventure.
FOR EARLY READERS AND READERS WITH ADDITIONAL NEEDS WITH ADULT SUPPORT
£9.99 (P&P Free)
TO PRE-ORDER THIS BOOK GO TO 'SHOP' IN THE MENU BAR OR CLICK THE LINK BELOW
THE GALLERY
Preston (and Jinny!) On Tour
Orrets meadow school
author visit
Friday 10th December 2021
PRESTON'S CHRISTMAS PHOTO COMPETITION 2021
SHORT STORIES
Here are a few short stories (not all about Preston)
I hope you enjoy them!
The alarm went off. Ellie hit snooze. She hit snooze again. After the third time she got up. Her interview was at 11 o’clock so she still had time to shower, make-up her face and grab some breakfast before driving to Paula Preston Solicitors for her interview as a £15K per year receptionist.
She got into her little white Fiat 500, connected Bluetooth to Spotify’s ‘Chill and Drive’ collection and drove the 10 miles into town. Arriving at Preston’s she checked her face in the rear view mirror, applied another layer of lip gloss, wiped the smudgy mascara that had collected under her eyes and ran her fingers through her shoulder-length, blonde hair. She checked the time on her phone. It was 10.45 am. There was a text message from her mum wishing her luck and a WhatsApp from her best friend Stevie promising 2-4-1 cocktails to celebrate the ‘new job’ later that evening. She put her phone on silent and placed it in her new handbag. She got out of the car, smoothed down her skirt and walked tentatively on 4-inch heels to the front door that proudly announced on a gold-coloured plaque, ‘Paula Preston Solicitors’.
Nerves kicked-in.
Taking a deep breath, she slapped a huge smile on her face and pressed the buzzer. A woman’s friendly voice on the end of the intercom said, ‘hello.’ Announcing her arrival, she heard the door click and pushed the
door letting herself into the building.
The woman with the friendly voice met her, invited her to sit on one of a row of 3 chairs and offered her a coffee whilst she was waiting. She declined the offer, not wanting to stink of coffee or need a wee during her interview. There was nobody else there.
At precisely 10.58, a young woman was shown out of a room opposite by a young man in a blue and grey striped suit. She eyed Ellie suspiciously, undoubtedly weighing-up the competition. “Hello Ellie, I’m Tom,” he said and held open the door. Nervously, she stood up, shook his hand and entered the room.
A smartly-dressed woman in her mid-40’s stood up from behind a large table, proffered her hand and introduced herself as Paula Preston. “Take a seat, Ellie,” said Paula.
The interview was formal but friendly. Ellie answered a lot of questions about her previous job, her legal knowledge and public relations. At the end, she asked the obligatory, rehearsed question, shook hands with Paula and Tom, said “Thank you for your time,” and was shown out of the room and out of the building.
Relieved it was done; Ellie sat back in her car, took a deep breath and reached in her bag for her phone.
1 MISSED CALL.
At 11 o’clock from Radio City with a voicemail telling her that unfortunately she had failed to pick up her phone and say the magic words “I Love Radio City,” for a £100,000 prize.
THE MISSED CALL
THE MEET
Saturday.
The wind was howling, and the rain was battering against the bedroom window.
She checked the time. 6.10 am. It was a 7am meet.
She'd barely slept. A night full of revisited conversations, images dancing before her sleepy eyes, a Peter's and Lee, 'Welcome Home' earworm that she
simply couldn't shake off. Partner snoring.
"I'll leave it today," she thought, "nobody will miss me and I need to grab a couple more hours' sleep."
She settled back into her pillow, wrapped the duvet around her shoulders, and closed her eyes.
No. Not happening. She checked the time. 6.20 am.
Sod it, she could still make it if she got a wiggle on.
Quick wash, change, teeth brushed, bag packed. Ready. 6.30 am, still dark, still raining, the wind still howling.
She made a flask of hot chocolate and stuffed it in her bag.
6.40 am. The car felt cold inside but she knew if she put the heater on she'd regret it at the other end. A fifteen-minute drive, easy at that time, the roads were quiet. Nobody about, just a startled fox looking for his breakfast.
She parked the car on the road by 'the meet'. Stepped out, still pouring, freezing wind, still dark. "Why-oh-why?" she muttered, grabbing her bag from the back seat.
7 am. The others were there. Seven of them.
She instantly felt the warm hugs from her swimming community.
They quickly disrobed down to swimsuits, leaving their coats, towels, and bags on nearby rocks. Shivering in the late November wind, rain bouncing off semi-naked flesh, they joined hands and ran into the lapping surf of the bay.
Screams and gasps from the sudden, freezing, cutting pain, like being stabbed by a million tiny needles all at once.
Then delight as the sky cleared and the cold, break of day water crept quickly around their expectant bodies until the familiar, united chant, "F**K IT!!" as they dived into the inky blackness of the sea.
Screams. Laughter. Chatter. Pure joy.
Sunrise. Low, pale, silent and, predictable, almost ghostly, with no sign of warmth,
stopped them in their tracks.
Peace. Quiet.
A savoured moment, shared.
The rain stopped, just for a moment.
Deeply breathing in the natural wonder of this overwhelmingly beautiful moment.
"This is what it's all about," she said.
PRESTON AND THE KITE
Preston was playing in the garden shed. He found a box of old things. In the box was a kite. The kite was red and yellow and it had a long piece of string attached It also had blue and green ribbons.
“What’s this,” he asked Daddy.
“It’s a kite. It’s something you can fly in the sky on a windy day,” said Daddy.
Preston tried to take the kite out of the box but it was stuck. The string was tangled.
Preston and Daddy tried to untangle the string but it was caught around all the other things in the box.
“Oh no,” said Preston.
Daddy took all the other things out of the box and put them on the grass but the string was still tangled around the wheels of his brother Tommy’s old skateboard.
“Oh dear,” said Daddy, I think we’ll have to cut the string away. He went to the kitchen and brought out a pair of scissors.
Daddy started to cut the string away from the skateboard wheels.
Preston got upset.
“You’re going to break the kite,” he cried.
“Don’t worry, I have a plan,” said Daddy.
Daddy pulled the kite free of the skateboard wheels.
“Now go and ask mummy for some string.”
Preston went to find Mummy. Mummy found a ball of string in the kitchen drawer.
He ran out to the garden grasping the string. Daddy tied the new string to the kite.
Just then the wind picked up.
“Daddy, it’s windy!” said Preston, excitedly.
“Let’s go and fly the kite,” said daddy.
Preston and Daddy climbed the hill outside their house. Preston took hold of the string and ran down the hill.
“Look Daddy! I’m flying a kite,” screamed Preston happily.
Preston and Daddy took turns to fly the kite for the rest of the afternoon.
“Thank you Daddy,” said Preston.
“You’re a good kite-flyer,” said Daddy as they walked home for tea.
"The meaning of life is to find your gift.
The purpose of life is to give it away."
Pablo Picasso
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