Introduction 

Every child has a favorite fairy tale. You can think back to the good old memories. Sitting next to your loved one, while the fairy tale is being read. 

Sitting down in front of the television, watching your favorite fairy tale, to entertain yourself. 

In spite of the entertaining side, fairy tales have a meaning. They teach important lessons of life in a simple context. 

Many times fairy tales include feelings of: 

• Anger 
• Death 
• Grief 
• Love

A great example is The Lion King. The story of The Lion King left a huge legacy for several reasons. 

It gives teachings about being responsible and about the “circle of life”, that connects all living things. 

Simba, his father, and the whole kingdom has been betrayed. After the loss of his father and his home, Simba has to deal with the struggles of grief and isolation. Until he finds two great friends in Timon and Pumbaa. 

It gives an important lesson about friendship. 

Eternal love. No matter whom we have lost, the love will always be there. It will not disappear. 

Another personal favorite of mine is the Little Prince by Antoine de Sant-Exupéry.

It is a beautiful story about a boy’s life, coming from a different planet. The narrator names him as the “Little Prince”. 

He is from a very small planet, where he spends his time pulling up baobab seedlings. 

One day an anthropomorphic rose grows on his planet, whom the prince loves with all his heart. 

But her vanity and demands become too much for the prince and he leaves. 

He has traveled across 6 asteroids, meeting different narrow-minded grown-ups on each. 

On the 6th planet he met a geographer who had never been anywhere, or seen any of the things he has recorded. He tells the Little Prince that his rose is an ephemeral  being which has not been recorded, and that next he should visit planet Earth.

The narrator – also a pilot – and the little prince meet in a desert when the pilot crashes. Over the next few days he gets to know the little prince better. 

The pilot learns a lot from him. During this time they become great friends. 

They have spent eight days in the desert when running out of supplies.

The two then go in search of a well, which they find successfully. 

The little prince tells the pilot that he wants to go home to his planet and flower. 

Now the stars will be meaningful for the pilot, because he will know that his friend is living on one of them. 

It provides teachings about love with caring. Caring for the planet. Love for other creatures. 

Building relationships, because life is only worth living with having relationships.

The most important things cannot be seen with your eyes, but only with your heart. 

And sometimes, do not forget to look up to the stars, because no one else in the world sees the stars exactly as you do. 

With these examples, children can have a broader understanding of what life is about. They relate to their feelings and at the same time, fairy tales help them not only to understand, but to deal with these feelings better.

In these week’s blog you will read about: 

• The Adventures of Ayu and Grof
• How To Use the Book of Ayu and Grof

The Adventures of Ayu and Grof

The Land of Volcanoes is a fairy tale written by Iván Gómez.

The Adventures of Ayu and Grof: The Land of Volcanoes is a fairy tale written by Iván Gómez. It is being used to help children dealing with their losses and feelings. 

It is an invitation to open the heart and enjoy the adventures of living. 

Ayu, the main character of the book, is a six year-old girl who has lost her mother. She is always with her dog Grof who accompanies her in a trip to the land of volcanoes. In this adventure, Ayu will learn how to cope with strong emotions while taking on the journey with Grof, that lead them into a new, colorful world.

By reading the book you will indirectly learn how to deal with the most frequent feelings that appear after losing an important person. 

Also you will find a role model in Grof on how to accompany and support bereaved children creating a healing bond. 

You will finally understand that grief is an expression of love. 

How To Use the Book of Ayu and Grof 

The book can be used in several ways to help children, adolescents and families who have been experiencing grief. 

I encourage you to spend time with the children, going through the pages together. 

Do not rush with it. You can even let the child read. 

Do impersonations changing the different voices of the characters. 

Paint. 

Put your thoughts on paper about your favorite chapters. 

Spend time talking about the book.  

Do a play or come up with a game that you can do together based on the story. 

The possibilities to be creative are endless. This can bring a very special time between the adult and child. 

In the end, what is most important is the connection that you make together. 

Many times, children who suffer losses struggle to put their feelings into words. 

By reading The Adventures of Ayu and Grof: The Land of Volcanoes the child would be able to identify with the main character Ayu, with the presence of her great friend, Grof. 

The book is also being used for drama therapeutic groups in Plamienok’s Grief Centre. Based on the story, children came up with their own reading and gave a great performance in the Slovak National Theatre. 

You can see a behind the scenes video about the performance here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRhQ3o9hqh8

It was such a rewarding feeling to see how the book fostered the creativity of the children to come up with this performance. It touched so many people.

Fun Fact: Grof does exist in reality and you may meet him when visiting Plamienok. He is a sensitive and wise Labrador who attends meetings and home visits.

And finally, do not worry if you are not a specialist in drama. You do not have to be a professional to benefit from the book. You can also read the story and do the activities that we mentioned. Or you can come up with something completely new. 

As always, I encourage you to be creative. Share your experiences and thoughts with us. 

Thank you for your reading, 

Ivan Gomez Garcia
Director of Creative Accompaniment
Psychologist expert in Psycho-Oncology and Palliative Care
Gestalt Psychotherapist (AETG-FEAP)

“Actually the best gift you could have given her was a lifetime of adventures.”

Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland