All is not what it seems.

Have you ever put something down then find that it has gone?
Mummy and Daddy do it a lot.
“Where are my keys?” they ask. “I could have sworn that I left them here.”
They put it down to bad memories or say that somebody moved them.
But somebody didn’t move them, it was a something.
And that something is an Ippa.

Ippa are small fluffy creatures that live inside trees.
Their feet are big and soft and their hands are small and fast.
They have big eyes and little noses and mouths that like to laugh.
Each one has two things that make them special, their fur and their hat.
Some have blue fur some have pink. Others have orange, green or silvery zinc.
All the colours of the rainbow then more. All of the colours that you adore.
Then their hats are their pride and joy. Whether it’s a cap, a wrap or a top hat,
Paper, cloth and metal, big and small, the Ippa have them all.

When no one is looking the Ippa come out to play.
Playing catch, hide and seek and tig through the day.
Human things they like to use, like pens and socks and even your shoes.
And they’re not very tidy so they don’t put them back.

This is a story of an Ippa that didn’t play.
He sat in his tree and sulked all day
Because unlike the others he was very sad
As he was the only Ippa with no form of hat.

He was called Simi and he was all blue
With patches of orange fur shaped like stars.
His eyes were light purple and his tongue is bright red
But he has no hat to put on his head.

His friend Frood and his polka-dot cap
Told him to go on a hat treasure hunt.
Frood gave him a map of their homeland parks
And told little Simi to follow the marks.

So off Simi went to the first big red X
And found himself stood by the big apple tree.
He looked and he looked but no hat could he see
Only some feathers left behind by a bird.

“These feathers aren’t a hat.” Simi said with a sigh.
He cuddled them close thinking that he might cry.

Like a brave little Ippa he continued his quest
And followed the map to the second red X.
It led to a pond where lots of ducks swam.
High and low he looked for his hat
But all that he found was a lost human glove.

“This glove is not a hat.” Simi said with a frown
He had really hoped that he’d find a gold crown

Moving on with his mission he found the last spot
Out in the grass where some picnic blankets were.
He snuck past the humans on his tip-toes
And searched the ground all around.
No hat had been left though and all that he found
Was a dull old wrist watch on top of a mound.

“This watch is not a hat.” Simi said very sadly.
His hunt was now over and had gone very badly.

Simi was very upset when he wandered back home
And told his friend Frood that he was hatless and alone.
All he had found were feathers, a glove and a watch
None of which looked at all like a hat.

As he looked at his finds then an idea hit him
So he dashed away up into his tree.
He worked and he worked until with a laugh
Simi hopped down from his tree and for all to see
A special hat sat upon his head as proud as could be.

The hat was unlike any other Ippa hat
For it was a glove with black feathers in the fingers
And a watch around the bottom like a head band
Simi smiled very proudly as his friends clapped and cheered
Then set off to collect some more gear
To start his new life as an Ippa hat engineer.

I wrote this a while ago as a first attempt at writing for young children then forgot all about it. Let me know what you think. I haven’t had much interaction with kids so haven’t had chance to test it out. Any feedback is welcome as I love the idea of the story but am a bit weary on the written execution.

Thanks.