Gusto

© Wonderchums 2021

© Wonderchums 2021

© Wonderchums 2021

© Wonderchums 2021 First published in Australia in 2021 by Wonderchums (ABN 13 600 229 258) 32/61 Marlborough Street Surry Hills NSW 2010, Australia [email protected] https://wonderchums.com Text & Illustrations Copyright © Wonderchums, 2021. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, transmitted or stored in any information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic or other means, without prior written permission of the publisher. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Title: Gusto and the Determination Superpower Authors: Joanne Jakovich, Kelly Stewart, Dorothy Siemens, Alison Jakovich Illustrator: Dorothy Siemens ISBN: 978-0-6487510-3-8 For children aged 3 to 8. Text created by: Joanne Jakovich, Kelly Stewart, Dorothy Siemens, Alison Jakovich of Wonderchums.com Illustrations by: Dorothy Siemens Design by: Joanne Jakovich Thank you to our contributing family: Leonie Measom, Colin Steele and Ned Steele

GUSTO and the DETERMINATION SUPERPOWER © Wonderchums 2021

© Wonderchums 2021 The Wonderchums lived in Wonder World, a place where everyone was different,

and being different was WONDERFUL! © Wonderchums 2021

© Wonderchums 2021 Gusto was a technology wiz. She loved new gadgets and inventing new gizmos. Gusto’s biggest dream was to fly to the moon. Every night she fell asleep reading books about rockets and spaceships.

In fact, Gusto had tried to fly to the moon many times before, but she always ran into tricky problems. © Wonderchums 2021

One time she didn’t tighten the screws and the whole rocket fell apart! © Wonderchums 2021

Another time she forgot to install a window © Wonderchums 2021 and couldn’t see where she was flying! Despite these setbacks, Gusto kept trying. She imagined looking down on Wonder World from the moon and it gave her goosebumps. “I have to know what it’s like up there!” she beamed.

Gusto read every book in the library about going to the moon and started building her newest and bestest rocket. © Wonderchums 2021

And after lots of hard work, the rocket was © Wonderchums 2021 finally ready to launch and Gusto invited her friends to watch. Everyone cheered as she put on her helmet and climbed into the control seat.

“Screws: check. Window: check. Seat belt: check.” Gusto was ready to go! © Wonderchums 2021

She pushed the big red TAKE OFF button © Wonderchums 2021 and the rocket began to rumble... Up, up, up she went!

© Wonderchums 2021 And then down, down, down she came... Gusto couldn’t believe it. Once again, the rocket didn’t reach the moon! She felt that sinking feeling in her tummy.

Her friends tried to make her feel better. © Wonderchums 2021 “You’ll have better luck next time,” they said. But Gusto didn’t want to try again. She went straight home and locked herself up in her invention room.

© Wonderchums 2021 Gusto’s friends all gathered around. They couldn’t just let her give up on her dream! They decided something had to be done. And they started working on a plan. The next night, Gusto was sitting in her invention room.

“What is the point of inventing © Wonderchums 2021 if I keep failing?” And as a tear dropped from Gusto’s eye, she heard a pebble hit her window.

She looked outside and saw her friends gathered on the lawn. They had worked very hard to put on a play about Gusto’s favourite inventor. “Once upon a time there was a wonderful Wonderchum who invented the first flying machine.” © Wonderchums 2021

“She tried many, many times and never gave up.” “After one-hundred-and- seventeen attempts at flying, she finally made a machine that worked!” © Wonderchums 2021

© Wonderchums 2021 Gusto watched the play, but she didn’t feel any better. ”Thank you, but I’ll never be a great inventor. I don’t have the inventing-wonderful-things superpower.” And with that she shut her window.

She moped around her invention room. © Wonderchums 2021 She threw her favourite toy rocket in the bin. She tore down her poster of the solar system and she flung herself on her bed in despair.

© Wonderchums 2021 She lay awake for hours, unable to forget the story of the inventor. She suddenly realised that she had only tried to reach the moon one-hundred-and-sixteen times. She needed to give it ANOTHER GO!

And so, she set to work building the BEST. ROCKET. EVER! © Wonderchums 2021

© Wonderchums 2021 A few days later, Gusto invited her friends to go to the lookout point to watch something spectacular. When they arrived, they saw Gusto waving from the control seat of her fabulous new rocket!

Gusto was feeling determined as she checked all of © Wonderchums 2021 the controls. But a small voice in her head asked, “What if it doesn’t work, again?” Gusto shook her head and said, “Nevermind! If it doesn’t work, I’ll just give it another go!”

Her friends started the countdown, “10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...” And Gusto shouted, “LIFT OFF!” © Wonderchums 2021

Everyone watched as the rocket soared high © Wonderchums 2021 into outer space. They had never seen anything so amazing! Gusto was bursting with joy as Wonder World became a teeny tiny beautiful view below her.

And then all of a sudden, Gusto realised that she did have a superpower - she was DETERMINED! © Wonderchums 2021

No matter what challenges arose, Gusto found © Wonderchums 2021 a way to keep trying. She didn’t give up and that is why she was able to achieve her dream of getting to the moon!

Hi Kids, Gusto here! Next, I want to tell you the WONDERCHUMS TRUE STORY OF NED‘S SUPERPOWERS © Wonderchums 2021 One day there was a Both of the legs, other kids were little boy called Ned. playgroups were full good at talking with Ned liked trains and of kids with all kinds sign language, and diggers, and he loved of superpowers. some kids were good to stay on the swing Some kids were good at using their iPads at the park all day. with their hands or for games or for Ned was still only talking. little, but he went Ned was particularly about making lots of good at making the friends. Sometimes he kids laugh. He had went to a playgroup a great smile and near his house, and a cheeky way of at other times he making everyone feel went to a different happy around him no playgroup near his matter what. This was favourite park. definitely one of his superpowers.

But Ned also had the inside. And Ned And the boy‘s eyes © Wonderchums 2021 another very special knew how to talk with smiled back at Ned. superpower... Let‘s the boy who spoke Wow! Ned could speak find out what it was! through his eyes! anybody‘s language! One sunny day, Ned Ned came up to the Ned knew how to and his Daddy went little boy and gave talk to all kinds of up to the shops to him a big friendly kids with all kinds of buy some things. As smile using his eyes. superpowers, because they were leaving He lay his hand on he had been to two the supermarket, Ned the little boy‘s knee, different playgroups saw a little boy who and he said - without and he was still only 3! looked a bit different even saying a word - to Ned on the outside. “You are my friend.” WHY DO YOU This little boy rode in THINK NED IS NOT a chair with wheels WHAT DO YOU THINK to get around and he NED‘S SPECIAL AFRAID TO TALK spoke only with his TO ALL KINDS OF eyes and not words SUPERPOWER IS? from his mouth. CHILDREN? But Ned knew all kids DO YOU THINK were the same on YOU COULD DO THAT TOO?

Hi Kids, let’s build your DETERMINATION SUPERPOWER I AM DETERMINED DETERMINATION IS WHEN WE KEEP TRYING WHEN: AND NOT GIVING UP EVEN WHEN SOME- THING GETS DIFFICULT. IT’S A STRONG I CREATE MY OWN GOALS FEELING THAT WE WILL DO SOMETHING AND WON’T LET ANYTHING STOP US. I KEEP TRYING FOR THEM CAN YOU THINK I DON’T GIVE UP EVEN IF I WANT TO OF PEOPLE WHO ARE I ASK FOR HELP DETERMINED IN THESE DIFFERENT WAYS? I FOCUS ON SMALL STEPS BY STRIVING TO BE A GOOD TEAM MATE I TRY AGAIN AND AGAIN BY PRACTISING EVEN WHEN IT GETS TOUGH SOMETHING EVERY DAY © Wonderchums 2021 BY TRYING SOMETHING NEW WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT IN SOME BY DOING SOMETHING WAYS AND THE SAME IN OTHER WAYS. THAT IS HARD FOR THEM AND THIS MEANS THE WAYS WE ARE (AND EASY FOR OTHERS) DETERMINED CAN BE DIFFERENT TOO!

Time for some DETERMINATION BINGO! COLOUR IN THE SQUARE ONCE YOU‘VE HAD A GO CREATE A TRY THREE DECIDE NEW GOAL TIMES TO TO EAT A FOR MYSELF BUILD THE HEALTHY AND DO IT TALLEST BLOCK FOOD I TOWER I CAN DON’T LIKE FIND WAYS ASK FOR KEEP A OF THE 107 BILLION TO ENJOY HELP WHEN DAILY DIARY PEOPLE THAT HAVE SOMETHING EVER LIVED YOU ARE I GET FOR A COMPLETELY UNIQUE! I FIND STUCK ON MONTH YOUR SUPERPOWERS DIFFICULT SOMETHING FIND A WAY ARE YOURS, AND THEY TO CLIMB ARE 100% UNIQUE TO WALK OR USE CHOOSE A SOMETHING YOU! A BIKE EVERY SPORT TO I HAVEN’T FOCUS ON CLIMBED MY UNIQUE DAY FOR A IMPROVING BEFORE SUPERPOWERS OF WEEK TO GET WORK EXTRA DETERMINATION ARE: SOMEWHERE HARD AT SOMETHING FIND A WAY LEARN I FIND © Wonderchums 2021 TO HELP TO COOK DIFFICULT SOMETHING SOMEONE WHO NEW AND IS LONELY TRICKY AND DO IT

Welcome to Wonderchums © Wonderchums 2021 Welcome to our “It’s an amazing in childhood can shape awesome kids’ chance for kids positive social attitudes, community for finding with and without improve social and your superpowers disability to make communication skills, and celebrating the friends and learn build self-esteem, enable superpowers of others! skills for a better a sense of belonging, world.” reduce fear of human Our mission at difference, help develop Wonderchums is to Alison Jakovich, personal moral and grow a generation of Wonderchums CoFounder ethical principles, and kids who know the enable warm and caring power of collaboration, adventures, digital friendships that lay diversity and inclusion games, video lessons, the foundation for the and who have the true-life stories and future.1 courage to lead in this social events that are way. designed to support The Wonderchums playful learning of characters have wacky In a rapidly changing inclusion and diversity shapes and forms. In global world, it is from a young age. each storybook, the essential for children character discovers their to recognise their own Early childhood is a unique ‘superpower’, strengths and passions, pivotal time to influence inspiring children to and to celebrate the attitudes towards, and explore each others’ strengths of others experiences of, inclusion. diverse strengths as a so that together they basis for learning and can grow to solve the Research shows that f riendship. tricky challenges facing for children with and humanity. without disability, For children to find experiences of inclusion delight in human The Wonderchums diversity it is important to inclusive learning build skills in recognising platform is filled with and celebrating diverse characters, uniqueness, being

“All kids have in storytelling or online Join us in building superpowers!” contact over a period of the wondrous world time. 2 of the Wonderchums “Superpowers where the celebration are diverse and The Wonderchums of diversity empowers abundant!” characters model an all children to thrive, inclusive community laying the foundations Wonderchums inclusive and prompt children for a more inclusive and holiday camps guide children to explore new ways of socially innovative future through playful activities being in the world. society. to discover each others’ superpowers. https://wonderchums.com curious and open- 1 in 10 children have a disability. minded, practising That gives 9 children a daily opportunity to learn respect and being empathetic. about diversity, collaboration, inclusion and friendship. The Wonderchums © Wonderchums 2021 storybooks, games, videos and events work together to reduce bias through ‘extended contact’ - the notion that even without direct contact with children with disability, positive attitudes towards disability and inclusion can emerge through continued immersion 1. Hehir, T., et al., 2016. A summary of the evidence on inclusive education. Instituto Alana, São Paulo. 2. Cameron, L., and Rutland., A, 2006. Extended Contact through Story Reading in School: Reducing Children’s Prejudice toward the Disabled. Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 62, No. 3, 2006, pp. 469-488.

© Wonderchums 2021

© Wonderchums 2021

© Wonderchums 2021 When Gusto‛s 116th attempt at making a rocket to fly to the moon fails, she nearly gives up. Luckily her friends help to reignite her passion and with one more try, she discovers she has a superpower to help her achieve her dream.