Abbie Rose & The Magic Suitcase

Storyline

Our protagonist, Abbie Rose, is an engaging, inquisitive, adventurous, irreverent and occasionally cheeky girl who travels to faraway places through the help of a magic suitcase. Before each journey, Abbie Rose listens excitedly to her father recount his latest assignment as a globe-trotting travel writer. She wants to emulate his exploits (the series discreetly underscores the importance of a close relationship between a present, enthusiastic daddy and his daughter) - so the father encourages her to use his magic suitcase! A unique portal, the magic suitcase has a combination lock filled with letters - rather than numbers - and Abbie Rose must find the right letters to form the names of destinations she wishes to visit. She can go anywhere. She is limited only by her imagination. On her journeys, she always takes her best friend Billy - a rainbow-coloured, indeterminate cuddly toy - who provides the voice of reason on their madcap travels. In each adventure, Abbie Rose explores a new habitat or environment, usually in search of an exotic or at-risk animal she wishes to discover. Abbie Rose and Billy come to the rescue of the animal and its environment - or vice versa in many cases. And that's the fundamental difference. But through her journeys of discovery, she learns from her mistakes. Abbie Rose doesn't merely learn about unfamiliar animals and environments, she learns to co-exist. That is the subtle life lesson she always takes away with her. By the end of each story, she has made a new friend, reinforcing the need to appreciate the living world and recognise that she shares her environment. And she arrives at these conclusions through adventure, humour, irreverence, disagreement and even a little petulance. But each journey always ends on a note of enlightenment.