Captain Rhino's Progress
Captain Rhino is the one in command of the SS. Progress, a fact that his passengers understand quite well. When the Progress runs into trouble, the Captain is loathe to accepting any advise. While Praiseworthy Pig and Olivia Owl continue to reassure the Captain of his ability to solve the problem, Emory Elephant and Silas Skunk devise a plan, strictly forbidden by policy, that "rocks the boat." Who could guess that a policy must be broken before the problem can be solved? Captain Rhino's Progress is a book for all ages. Keep it handy in case you get a reprimand at work, perform it as a play at a staff party, secretly slip a copy on the desk of your boss, or use it in your classroom and have the children pick their hero. Warning: The passengers may resemble someone you know! If so, it's best to keep it to yourself.
- Published
- 2003
- ISBN
- 1-890437-86-7
- Pages
- 32
- Publisher
- Western Reflections Pub. Co.
- Listed at
- $9.00
Publication details from Open Library. The price shown is the last one on record and is historic, not a current offer.
- Direct from us info@westernreflectionspublishing.com or (336) 565-6915. We pack and post from Lake City.
- Amazon Buy from Amazon.
- Any bookshop Quote ISBN 1-890437-86-7 and your local bookseller can order it.
About this book
Captain Rhino's Progress is a short story set aboard a ship. Captain Rhino is in command of the SS Progress, a fact his passengers understand quite well. When the Progress runs into trouble, the captain is loath to accept any advice. Praiseworthy Pig and Olivia Owl keep reassuring him of his ability to solve the problem, while Emory Elephant and Silas Skunk devise a plan, strictly forbidden by policy, that "rocks the boat." The description asks who could guess that a policy must be broken before the problem can be solved.
The record lists the book as fiction with the subjects Office politics and Organizational behavior. That tells you what the animals are standing in for: the book uses a ship's crew to look at how people behave when a leader will not listen and the people around him tell him what he wants to hear. Our catalogue shows a 2003 first printing from Western Reflections Pub. Co., with 32 pages.
Who it is for
Captain Rhino's Progress is for readers who work in organizations and have watched a decision go wrong while everyone nodded along. Its subjects, Office politics and Organizational behavior, point to managers, team leaders and trainers who might want a short story to start a conversation. At 32 pages it can be read in one sitting and passed around a workplace.
Ways to use this book
Reading aloud to children
At 32 pages, the book suits one sitting. Afterward, read an Aesop fable from the free edition and ask the child how the animals act, and who is willing to tell the truth.
Opening a team conversation
A manager can use a short story to start a talk without pointing at anyone. Share the book or the study summary, then ask what makes bringing bad news upward easy or hard on your team.
Teaching a unit on stories with a point
A teacher can set the book beside The Emperor's New Clothes and have students list what each leader hears and from whom. The record calls the book fiction, so keep the comparison about the stories.
Go deeper
Captain Rhino's Progress uses animals on a ship to look at a leader who will not listen. Animal fables have a long history, and these resources help a reader or a classroom explore that tradition and the workplace research behind it.
Three Hundred Aesop's Fables
A free Project Gutenberg edition of a collection of fables with talking animals, plants and humans. It is an easy place to see how short animal stories carry a point about behavior.
Andersen's Fairy Tales
A free Project Gutenberg edition that includes The Emperor's New Clothes, a tale about a ruler surrounded by people who tell him what he wants to hear.
Employee silence and upward communication
The Institute for Public Relations summary of a 2003 study that interviewed 40 employees about issues they were reluctant to raise with supervisors.
Good to know
Is Captain Rhino's Progress fiction?
Who are the characters?
How long is it?
Is there outside information about the author?
Have a book of your own?
This is the kind of book the house publishes: regional history, biography, memoir and the stories that belong to a place. Send us yours and a person will read it.