The Serious Business of Hiding a Ball was co-created by young people and the author, Amy Lee Tempest, using ‘story-making dice’ designed by the Stories2Connect project team. The story features a dog called Baxter who dreams of becoming an astro-physicist but feels anxious about his first day at school. Baxter has a special ball that helps him to cope when he is feeling nervous. In fact, his ball is his world, but Baxter is worried that the other dogs at school might not understand. On his way to school Baxter meets a new friend who helps him to realise that the solution to his problem was right under his nose all along…

This story was illustrated by Anna Violet and is aimed at young children and families. The story is especially relevant for children and young people who sometimes struggle to cope with change or new situations.