The Big Story

The Big Story has been inspired by Mira and the Big Story written by the award winning author Laura Alary.

The central idea is conveyed in the words of Old Alfred “Stories can make you bigger - not on the outside, of course, but on the inside. They can stretch your mind and heart. But a story can make you smaller if it takes up all the space in your mind and heart. When new people or new ideas come along there is no room for them. Whenever you hear a story you must ask yourself: What is this story doing to me? Is it making me bigger or smaller? Our village is dear to me, Mira. But our minds and hearts need to be stretched so we can make room for others”

Laura Alary writes: “When Kathryn invited me to be part of a development team meeting focused on turning Mira and the Big Story into an OutoftheBox story, I was both excited and curious. As delighted as I was to see my story take a form that would carry it to new listeners, I wondered how the team would condense it. What might be lost in the process? In particular, what would the team do with the competing creation stories and lengthy poetic account of the origins of our universe—the Big Story that has room in it for everyone?

It was fascinating for me to watch and listen as the team distilled my story into a form that retains the essence of the original but makes it accessible in this beautiful new way.  

I was also struck by the collegiality of the team and how open they were to questions, comments, and suggestions. If something wasn’t working they were prepared to wonder how it could be done differently, play with other possibilities, and make changes. This attitude reveals a lot about the curious, playful, and open mindset cultivated by OutoftheBox”

We are looking forward to working on a STEM OutoftheBox about Maria Mitchell - inspired by Laura Alary’s latest book The astronomer who questioned everything.

Excerpt from The Big Story