Bug And Little Kitty Learn We Are All Different (The Bug Books For Beginning/Early Kindergarten And First Grade Readers Book 5)

This Bug Book is the fifth in the The Bug Books For Beginning/Early Readers In Kindergarten and First Grade Series. It is obviously more complex because of the topic but I tried to use simpler words when possible and lots of repetition so that beginning readers can still help out with reading. There are 10 pages in this book with 3 to 6 sentences per page. For some example pages, please see customer images.

I wrote this Bug Book after reading stories about a woman who has facial deformities due to birth defects and a veteran who was severely burned and disfigured. Reading how they were frequently referred to as “monsters” or shunned in public made me sad. And it made me think how hurtful it could be to someone if my own children were to make comments or ask questions simply because something was new to them. So the goal of this Bug Book is to help adults start a conversation about differences with children.

All of us are different but some of us look more different on the outside than others. The book starts at the park with Little Kitty asking the Bug why one of the other bugs looks different. The Bug explains that we are all different and uses examples like hearing, seeing, thinking and moving differently. The main part of the book is explaining how we are all different but we can still be friends and that being different is a positive thing that helps us all grow and learn. Near the end I also included a sentence about how feelings can get hurt when we talk about someone. My hope is that this will be an opportunity for discussion after the book is finished.

Writing this story also made me think about my own cousin and I wondered what he would have thought. I really wanted to include him in some way so I called my Aunt and asked her if she would be willing to let me dedicate the book to Jeff. While I was speaking with her she told me that she wanted to write a book for other parents of special needs kids and she wanted to emphasize how important it was to have laughter. She talked about how hard she tried to always have a sense of humor even in the most difficult, not fun situations. It was then that I realized why my memories of Jeff were so filled with his smile and laugh, it was her gift. She was always the one making us laugh with her jokes. I did not remember her jokes until now but when I think of Jeff I always think of his smile and how it lit up a room.

My Aunt also wanted to make sure I included something about autism. She spoke about how with Jeff it was obvious he was different so people were more accepting and open but that she felt heartache for the parents of children with autism because they did not look different but behaved differently so there was frequently disapproval and judgments from people around them. This is a more difficult topic but one that has been a lot more public recently. In a children’s book it is hard to explain but I included a page about thinking differently and a sentence about looking and acting differently on another page.

The quote at the end of the book by August Wilson is for my Aunt, for her love, her dedication and her faith. There have been many times in my life when I have started thinking too much about myself and how many things were going wrong and how all of it was too much and then I would think of her. And I would step back, count my many blessings, think about what really matters in the big scheme of things, and realize that I can carry on too. I hope she finishes her book and that this Bug Book helps all of us be more understanding and tolerant of our many wonderful differences!

Normally The Bug Books donates 50% of the net proceeds of each book to non-profit organizations. But The Bug And Little Kitty Learn We Are All Different was written for a very special purpose, so all of the net proceeds from this Bug Book will be donated to non profit organizations. Together we can make a difference. Happy reading and forever hugs!