Pinky Doodle Bug -- a tale of channeling one's talents

This week, I'm excited to be reviewing a new children's book by Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino with whimsical illustrations by Sandra Waugh. Pinky Doodle Bug explores the suppressed talents in so many of us ... talents that no one harnessed when we were young. Talents we may not have expressed 'correctly' as kids, so they were squashed under the heel of appropriateness.

You know what I'm talking about. The drummer who was reprimanded for tapping the margarine tub with his fork. The ballerina who was told to sit still when inside she was longing to twirl. And the budding artist whose drawings were simply in the wrong places. Like Pinky, who liked to doodle, until one day when she was told, "You can't do that, Pinky, that's called grafitti."

Have you been there? Do you remember what it felt like?

The dilemma is obvious from the start of this charming tale. Pinky loves to draw, but rather than someone coming alongside her and channeling her creativity and moving it forward, they simply tell her she is wrong for doing what comes naturally. For Pinky, doodling simply erupts from the passion inside her ... a passion to create art.

I had a passion when I was a child. I wanted to write. Fortunately, I had parents who encouraged that talent. Here I am, 5 decades later, doing what I love.

As parents, we need to nourish our children's passions and channel them in the right directions. Wait, this is starting to sound like a life lesson instead of a book review. But isn't that what a good book does? Entertains while presenting a moral or a lesson. Look at Aesop's Fables, for instance.

So what happens to Pinky Doodle Bug when she is told to no longer doodle? Well, you'll have to pick up a copy of the book to find out. And here are your options:

The book is available on Lulu.com in three formats:

Hard Cover for $24.95
Paperback for $14.95
eBook for $9.99

Or ... you can win a Hard Cover copy! And it is easy to enter! Simply 'like' the Pinky Doodle Bug Facebook page and on the GG Facebook page telling me what your talent/passion was when you were a child and whether or not your parents encouraged you, or discouraged you, to pursue your dream. Not on Facebook? That's okay. You can just post a comment here on the blog to enter.

Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino is all about encouraging people to pursue their dreams. Her Best Ever You network is designed to bring out the ... well, the best in you!! So Pinky Doodle Bug is a perfect tool for teaching your little ones to stick to their natural talents and create a life based on them. Isn't that the ultimate dream for all of us?

As a poet, I'm a stickler for good meter and proper, but not forced, rhyme. This is where I have to add a slight criticism of the book. There are times the meter is off and, in one instance, the sentence structure is miscued in order to create the rhyme ("my words you have found"). But hey, it's a kids' book, not an actual poem, so it is a minor detail that probably only bothers people like me who can never seem to put down their red editing pen.

The story itself is fun and the illustrations by Sandra Waugh are delightful. I am quite certain children will fall in love with Pinky Doodle Bug and little girls will want to be her. That's where you, as a parent or grandparent, have to remind her that it's fun to pretend to be someone else, but the best person she can be is exactly who she is!!

Looking forward to reading your responses!

Reviewing it for you,

Hana

Entries will be received through midnight EST Monday, Dec. 19, 2011 and a winner will be chosen via Random.org and posted here on the blog on Tuesday. Don't forget to check back to see if you won!