“Don’t Ya?” by Cathy Woodyard

Barbara’s Book Review

Through conversation among a variety of animals, this book encourages positive self-esteem and self-acceptance. The main character, Ellie, an unidentified animal in most of the book, travels through a jungle to an ocean, chatting with a variety of friendly animals along the way. Each animal is proud of their own traits, and each asks Ellie “Don’t ya (wish you had this physical trait yourself)?” To which, Ellie always replies that she is happy just the way she is. The underlying premise in this book is that each and every one of us has a body that is perfect for who we are.

Kids of all ages will enjoy the hints along the way as they try to identify Ellie’s species. This would also be a fun Readers’ Theater with children taking on various parts, as there is much conversation throughout the book.

The illustrations by Pamela Thompson are vibrant and colorful, with all of the animals depicted as being kind. Many of the illustrations hint at the clues to identify Ellie.

I recommend this book for ages 6-12.

Educator Notes

This book may be useful for…

alliteration
comprehension through conversation
conversation punctuation and sentence structure
inference
clue search
matching illustration to narrative
strong verbs
adjectives
Readers’ Theater

About the Author

Cathy Woodyard, Ed.D., LPC, is a Licensed Counselor and owner of A Sheltering Tree – Center for Counseling & Creativity. She has been a teacher at the high school, college and university levels (at which she has learned that children’s books are great for any level of student). She currently counsels individuals and groups and leads retreats across the United States and in Costa Rica and Canada. Cathy currently lives in McKinney, Texas.

Visit Cathy’s website at www.ashelteringtree.com and email her at [email protected] .

About the Illustrator

Pamela Thompson is an artist, author, Law of Attraction coach, and certified hypnotist. As a teenager she loved drawing and recently, her passion has grown as she created a series of adult coloring books and self-help books. She enjoys sharing uplifting messages through her art, which is why, she says, illustrating this book was so much fun. Pamela currently resides in Plano, Texas.

Visit Pamela’s website at http://focusonyoursuccess.com/ and email her at [email protected].

How to Purchase

“Don’t Ya?” is available from Amazon. ISBN 9781670058645.

Purchase link below: