Addressing the high cognitive barriers and abstract nature of early programming for children aged 5–8, this study integrates narrative theory into the design of Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs). We developed a five-dimensional narrative model encompassing themes, characters, actions, scenes, and props to mitigate learners’ cognitive load through contextualized representation. A one-week comparative experiment demonstrated that children in the narrative tangible programming group significantly outperformed those in traditional computer programming and abstract tangible programming groups in terms of core concept comprehension, task efficiency, and self-correction proficiency. The findings suggest that narrative design achieves the “de-abstraction” of programming logic by embedding it into concrete storylines, fostering deep logical understanding in autonomous learning environments. This research provides valuable insights and design pathways for the development of early programming educational tools.