Pedagogical possibilities in the speculative landscape through Your Pal Fred by Michael Rex

Purpose This study draws upon a classroom experience within the spring of 2024 anchored in the text, Your Pal Fred (2022) by Michael Rex to explore what happens when teacher educators make pedagogical choices to support students in becoming climate literate future educators. Design/methodology/approach Informed by narrative inquiry, as a way of understanding experience, the analysis is designed through three structured vignettes. Narrative inquiry supports a three-dimensional model and is especially salient for considering spaces such as classrooms that are dynamic and multifaceted. The metaphoric three-dimensional space allowed me to analyze data by looking backward, forward, inward and outward in the temporal dimension (Clandinin and Connelly, 2000). Findings The storied classroom experience revealed that building a repertoire of stories set within the speculative landscape such as Your Pal Fred (Rex, 2022) better equips future teachers with the pedagogical tools they need to confront the climate crisis. By replicating this experience, students, teachers, and researchers may find themselves similarly shifted, unsettled, and newly attuned to what it means to live on a changing Earth. Originality/value By positioning the speculative landscape of children’s literature as a novel pedagogical entry point, this study demonstrates a replicable and generative approach to preparing future educators to engage meaningfully with the growing climate emergency, thereby extending the field of climate literacy in teacher education.