Martin’s Comments (group member since Nov 30, 2011)

Martin’s comments from the Q & A with Martin J Day group.

Martin's influences are wide unexpected, and few are literary. If you are curious, ask away here.

A dog who gets hold of the wrong end of the stick; a horse who beats the odds; a wasp who discovers a sting in the tail. This is the stuff of The Animal Parables. Each tale features an animal who finds that things turn out to be quite different from how it imagined and profound life lessons are learned along the way. These seven, life affirming, tales will delight young minds and leave adults moved to reflection. In this collection Martin Day has re-discovered the power of the parable to layer deeper meanings under the skin of a simple narrative. In doing so he has created a collection of stories that sound at multiple levels. It’s like the delight of finding that second tray under the first in a box of chocolates!

These short stories are an average 2973 words long and take between 17 and 25 minutes to read out loud.

The Caterpillar sees eating as her only joy and purpose in life but it becomes an addiction robbing her of her joy. A dragonfly heaps shame on but a butterfly sees something deeper in her... This is a story about both the roots of shame in addiction and transformation though suffering.

This is the fifth of The Animal Parables series. Each tale features an animal who finds that things turn out to be quite different from how it imagined and profound life lessons are learned along the way. These seven, life affirming, tales will delight young minds and leave adults moved to reflection. In this collection Martin Day has re-discovered the power of the parable to layer deeper meanings under the skin of a simple narrative. In doing so he has created a collection of stories that sound at multiple levels. It’s like the delight of finding that second tray under the first in a box of chocolates!

This is a short story of 2,999 words and a read aloud time of 21 minutes.

A wasp is drawn to a colony of bees and discovers a sting in the tail. This is a story about both the stronghold of incorrect belief and the power of identification within community.

This is the sixth of The Animal Parables series. Each tale features an animal who finds that things turn out to be quite different from how it imagined and profound life lessons are learned along the way. These seven, life affirming, tales will delight young minds and leave adults moved to reflection. In this collection Martin Day has re-discovered the power of the parable to layer deeper meanings under the skin of a simple narrative. In doing so he has created a collection of stories that sound at multiple levels. It’s like the delight of finding that second tray under the first in a box of chocolates!

This is a short story of 3,617words and a read aloud time of 25 minutes.

The dog enjoys a carefree start to life but soon finds himself being trained about good and bad behaviour. When he is sold he finds that his new master is very different to the trainer... This is a story about both the power of grace overcoming the power of law and of true identity discovered.

This is the third of The Animal Parables series. Each tale features an animal who finds that things turn out to be quite different from how it imagined and profound life lessons are learned along the way. These seven, life affirming, tales will delight young minds and leave adults moved to reflection. In this collection Martin Day has re-discovered the power of the parable to layer deeper meanings under the skin of a simple narrative. In doing so he has created a collection of stories that sound at multiple levels. It’s like the delight of finding that second tray under the first in a box of chocolates!

This is a short story of 3,013 words and a read aloud time of 21 minutes.

The donkey has always felt less significant than the self-important race horses, until a purebred white horse comes and tells him he is to race... This is a story about both the power of sacrificial love and the strength found in a name.

This is the seventh of The Animal Parables series. Each tale features an animal who finds that things turn out to be quite different from how it imagined and profound life lessons are learned along the way. These seven, life affirming, tales will delight young minds and leave adults moved to reflection. In this collection Martin Day has re-discovered the power of the parable to layer deeper meanings under the skin of a simple narrative. In doing so he has created a collection of stories that sound at multiple levels. It’s like the delight of finding that second tray under the first in a box of chocolates!

This is a short story of 2,514 words and a read aloud time of 17 minutes 30 seconds.

The mackerel carries injuries and is angry and bitter. But these injuries never heal because blood sucking lampreys are attracted to the wounds. When he is hooked by a fisherman he finds out how he can be free of the blood suckers... This is a story about both the crippling nature of bitterness and the liberty in forgiving.

This is the fourth of The Animal Parables series. Each tale features an animal who finds that things turn out to be quite different from how it imagined and profound life lessons are learned along the way. These seven, life affirming, tales will delight young minds and leave adults moved to reflection. In this collection Martin Day has re-discovered the power of the parable to layer deeper meanings under the skin of a simple narrative. In doing so he has created a collection of stories that sound at multiple levels. It’s like the delight of finding that second tray under the first in a box of chocolates!

This is a short story of 2,941 words and a read aloud time of 20 minutes 30 seconds.

The crab has taken many knocks in his life and has developed protective armour. When he meets a transparent prawn he sees a different way to live... This is a story about the self-protecting nature and false identity of the flesh.

This is the second of The Animal Parables series. Each tale features an animal who finds that things turn out to be quite different from how it imagined and profound life lessons are learned along the way. These seven, life affirming, tales will delight young minds and leave adults moved to reflection. In this collection Martin Day has re-discovered the power of the parable to layer deeper meanings under the skin of a simple narrative. In doing so he has created a collection of stories that sound at multiple levels. It’s like the delight of finding that second tray under the first in a box of chocolates!

This is a short story of 3,056 words and a read aloud time of 21 minutes.

The Mynah bird longs to be special like the other animals but he is just a dull black bird. A snake suggests that he would be more popular if he tried to be like more the other animals and so the Mynah bird tries doing impressions... This is a story about both the empowerment of identity and the bankruptcy of people-pleasing.

This is the first of The Animal Parables series. Each tale features an animal who finds that things turn out to be quite different from how it imagined and profound life lessons are learned along the way. These seven, life affirming, tales will delight young minds and leave adults moved to reflection. In this collection Martin Day has re-discovered the power of the parable to layer deeper meanings under the skin of a simple narrative. In doing so he has created a collection of stories that sound at multiple levels. It’s like the delight of finding that second tray under the first in a box of chocolates!

This is a short story of 2,711 words and a read aloud time of 19 minutes.

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