CC's Corner — stories where every child is the hero
Free Illustrated Storybook

He knew the answer.
He just never raised his hand.

There's a big difference between knowing a thing and believing it. Most kids live in that gap.

So we wrote Titus a night where there was nobody left to ask.

Ages 5–10 20 pages, illustrated Free PDF
Titus and the Long Night — illustrated storybook cover
FREE

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What you're getting

01

The full storybook

All 20 pages, illustrated, ready to read on a phone, a tablet, or printed out for the nightstand.

02

Words to Know

Ten real vocabulary words from the story — perception, perspective, patience, courage — defined for kids.

03

Questions to ask after

The conversation starters that turn a bedtime story into the talk you actually wanted to have.

The story

Titus knew a lot of things. He knew the answer in class before anybody else. He knew three shortcuts home — but he'd still ask, "This is right, isn't it?"

He knew he was smart. He just didn't believe it.

When Titus and his big brother Jaden get pulled into the game they've played a hundred times, the words burn across the sky: Survive until dawn. Then a winged shadow takes Jaden — and Titus is alone with the dark, the ravine, the dragon, and one voice in his head saying you can't.

Every single thing he needs, he already brought with him.

This story doesn't hand your child courage. It shows them the courage was already theirs.

Written and narrated by Calvin "CC" Swinton — nearly twenty years in rooms with kids, at New York Foundling, Harlem Children's Zone, and Children's Aid.

Built with a social worker. Every CC's Corner story is created by a team that includes a licensed social worker, Ayana Spears, LMSW.