ISBN: 9781770086975
Bertus the Buffallo is very big and strong, but so are his unhappiness and meanness!
Bertus only notices negative things in situations and in others, and thinks it an important job to point out their differences, faults and mistakes, making fun of them. He doesn’t see wrong in what he does, but thinks it his task to say what needs to be said.
The other buffaloes decide they have to do something about it, and give him a taste of his own medicine. Bertus realises that it doesn’t feel so great when someone is unkind or criticizes us, and feels sorry that he made the others feel that way. He decides he doesn’t want to be unkind anymore.
This is another wonderful Animal Adventure by Jacqui Shepherd, beautifully illustrated by Tanja Dunstan, that teaches life lessons, in this case about criticism.
The story can help kids learn to be considerate to others’ feelings, and to hold one’s tongue, that not everything that pops up in our mind has to exit through our lips! It also teaches that words can make or break a person, and that we should rather utter positive, uplifting words of encouragement, and that those who criticise all the time usually end up not being part of a group, but lonesome and alone, because it is not nice to have them around.
The most important thing that all people should realise is that “there is nothing wrong with being different, and everybody makes mistakes!”, leaving nobody the right to point a finger!
These Animal Adventures are available in English as well as Afrikaans, sold as a set of 10 books of 32pp each. All the stories have lovely life lessons and are beautifully illustrated by Dana Espag and Tanja Dunstan.
Other stories in the series include:
Eddie gets a fright!
The rabbit and the fox
Jojo’s journey
Wally gets a tummy ache
The proud old owl
The little grey horse who loved to run
Pinky breaks the rules
Ruby Right
The monkey who wanted to be different
Published by the Awareness Publishing Group, South Africa, they can be contacted for more information: 086 110 1491. Series ISBN: 9781770086876
