Missing the Meaning

Maddening and confusing things keep happening to Gabe – for no reason! Or so he thinks.

During the basketball game, Jacob refuses to pass the ball to Gabe or any other teammate. They end up losing. When Gabe gets his math assignment back, he doesn’t get full credit for having the right answers. He ends up with a rotten grade. And when Harper pushes Gabe’s pencils off his desk, she just laughs. What’s going on?

Did Jacob really have no reason for never passing the ball? Did Gabe’s math teacher really have no reason for not giving full credit? Did Harper really have no reason for messing with the pencils?

Gabe doesn’t understand why any of these things happened. He’s so frustrated, he has to take a moment to calm himself by sitting in the classroom’s Cool Down Spot. While there, something super strange happens. The nearby Puppet Theater comes to life and starts talking!

The Puppet Theater is named Curtains, or Curt for short, and Curt wants to help Gabe learn how to see and understand the reasons behind why people do what they do. With patience, empathy, and encouragement, Curt teaches Gabe to pay more attention, ask more questions, and look at situations from more than one point of view. If Gabe can remember to do those three things, his life will make much more sense. And it might just help Gabe become more forgiving, patient, and careful!

Missing the Meaning explores how to identify and better understand the reasons behind why people say what they say and do what they do. A special page written specifically for parents, counselors, and educators offers practical strategies to help children discover what the words “for no reason” really mean.