Cubia
Kai is a boy with a big imagination who loves drawing his own worlds on his tablet. One day, a tiny cube he has drawn begins to move, and Kai suddenly finds himself opening the door to a colorful, wondrous new world. In this curious place called Cubia, everything is made of cubes, and Kai sets off with his new friends on an adventure full of discoveries. But soon he begins to realize that every choice he makes matters more than he ever imagined. A story about creativity, paying attention, and the value of small decisions, Cubia invites children on a fun and thought-provoking journey through a world full of colorful cubes.
Free story — no account needed to read it.
15 Minutes
3 Endings
7-12
auto_stories Similar Stories
About This Story
“Cubia” is an interactive fantasy story for children aged 7-12, about 15 minutes long. The reader decides how it goes at 6 choice points, and there are 3 different endings. It is free to read on Kitapz, with no account needed.
- Age range
- 7-12 years
- Reading time
- about 15 minutes
- Genre
- Fantasy
- Format
- Interactive · 6 choice points · 3 endings
- Language
- English, Turkish
- Access
- Free, no account needed
- Characters
- Biko, Kai, Dani
- Values
- Responsibility, Patience, Empathy
- Reading support
- dyslexia-friendly font, bionic reading, color-blindness filters
An Excerpt from the Story
Kai:
“There! One here, two over there...”
His fingers zip across the tablet screen.
Kai (thinking):
No empty spaces allowed. Every square has to be filled!
Before finishing one building, he jumps right to the next.
Kai:
“Done! That looks great.”
His eye catches the one empty spot in the corner of the screen.
Kai (thinking):
Should I fill that one in too?
As the game goes on, a strange sparkle appears on the screen.
One of the cubes is shimmering differently from the others.
Kai:
“What's that? Why is it glowing like that?”
“Cubia” · Ages 7-12 · kitapz.com
school For Parents and Teachers
In this story, children follow Kai, who hates leaving one square empty, into Cubia, where a placed cube can never be taken back. With him go his sharp-eyed friend Dani and Biko, a guide who talks in status reports. Readers decide when Kai rushes and when he stops to look, opening a conversation about choices that can't be undone.
What will children learn from this story?
- Learns that counting and planning before starting a job can prevent mistakes that can't be fixed later.
- Learns to watch the animals that live in a place, and to think about what they need, before changing it.
- Notices how listening to a friend who spots small details can show you what you have missed.
- Practices stopping to weigh the consequences before making a choice that can't be undone.
Curriculum links: Life skills, Science, Maths
Fact Box
Do rabbits use the same paths again and again?
Often, yes. Rabbits make habitual use of travel lanes within their home range. Where their shelter and their food are far apart, jackrabbits travel the same trails every day, wearing noticeable paths through the plants.
Source: University of California IPM
Why do gaps in buildings matter to birds?
Swifts nest in the nooks, crannies and eaves of old buildings, and once they find a spot they almost always return to it every year. Modernizing homes often removes these holes and new buildings rarely offer any, which is a significant factor in the decline of swifts in the UK. Swift bricks, which have a nest box built in, can be fitted into walls to give them somewhere to nest again.
Source: RSPB
What is a pixel?
A pixel (from "picture element") is the smallest part of a digital image or screen that can be controlled on its own. Pixels are usually arranged in a regular grid, and on computer monitors they are normally square. In color images, each pixel is usually made up of red, green and blue components.
Source: Wikipedia
Reading Comprehension Questions (5W1H)
The questions cover the opening that every reader sees, whatever they choose. Tap a question to see the answer.
-
Who? Who comes out of the glowing cube?
Answer: Biko, a tiny, toy-like creature who says his mission is guidance.
-
What? What role does Biko say Kai has been invited to play in Cubia?
Answer: The Placer, the one who gets to stack real cubes there.
-
Where? Where does Biko say he comes from?
Answer: From Cubia, a world that has empty spaces in it.
-
When? When does the strange sparkle appear on the screen?
Answer: While Kai is playing his game and filling the tablet screen with cubes.
-
Why? Why does Kai think about filling the empty spot in the corner of the screen too?
Answer: Because he doesn't want any empty spaces; he thinks every square has to be filled.
-
How? How does Biko talk?
Answer: In a completely flat, very serious voice, using short, report-like phrases such as "My mission: guidance."
Questions to Talk About After Reading
- At the very start, did you have Kai call Dani right away, or look on his own first? When you discover something new, who do you show it to first, and why?
- At the river, did you have Kai start lining up cubes right away, or count them with Dani first? Do you prefer to jump straight into a job or to make a plan first? Why?
- Imagine drawing with a pen that has no eraser, or doing something that can't be undone. What would you pay more attention to?
- When something new is built in a garden or park, how can we think about the birds, insects and small animals that already live there?
Word List
- portal
- A doorway, often a magical one, that takes you straight to another place.
- procedure
- A set of steps that are followed in a certain order to get something done.
- circumstance
- A situation or condition; "under any circumstances" means no matter what happens.
- crooked
- Not straight; bent or tilted to one side.
- mound
- A small hill or raised heap of earth.
- ledge
- A narrow flat edge sticking out from a wall, where something like a bird can stand.
Activity Idea
On squared paper, draw your own Cubia: first mark in pencil where a rabbit or a bird will need to pass, then color in the squares where you will "place cubes" with a felt-tip pen that can't be erased. When you are done, look together at whether the animal's path is still open and which squares you left empty.
Completion Rewards
What you'll earn when you finish this story: