Customer Reviews

Dotty's Topsy Tale

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Here is a book that has all of the features that our family looks for when we are shopping for books. It's also published by a great Christian publishing company that caters to families with younger children.

Dotty's Topsy Tale is written by children's book author Donna Shepherd and illustrated by artist Kevin Collier.

It is highly recommended as a self-esteem booster and affirmer for kids and is part 2 of a sequel. It delves into the topic of discrimination and supports community-building values and living by a higher standard.

It espouses the value of change -- we don't always have to live the way we were raised to live, especially when that was based in untruth or ignorance. These are much needed topics of discussion for children to understand while they are young and developing a foundation for their character that will carry them through the rest of their living years in this world. In the face of all of the infamous leadership failures we've all witnessed in recent years, high-quality character development really needs to be at the top of the list of priorities for all educators in public, private, and home schools.

Bravo, Donna!

Also, the illustrations are stunning due to Kevin's use of contrasting and complimentary colors. Our oldest is an aspiring artist and really enjoyed the pictures.

This is our official review as we have added this book into our homeschool curriculum for 2009.

Dotty is a sweet little hippo, friendly and kind. She's smart. She's a lot of fun. But, she's also pink. Not just pink but REALLY pink. Everyone else is purple. How did that happen? Does it REALLY matter that she's pink? Come and enjoy the fun while learning that the outside doesn't matter at all.

If you read Topsy Turvy Land by the very talented author Donna J. Shepherd, then you won't want to miss the tale of Dotty, one of the fun-loving and colorful characters from Topsy Turvy Land. However, if you haven't read the first book in this wildly imaginative collection of picture books, then you're in for a real delight (well, you're in for a treat even if you have read the collection).

Dotty is a pink hippo who lives in Topsy Turvy Land, and as you might already have guessed, things are not as you might expect in this place. For Dotty, you might think she would feel part of the crowd, but even in her colorful, wild world, she feels like the odd hippo out. After enlisting the help of her best friend, Chizzy, a green monkey who knows how to get into trouble, they set off on an adventure to help Dotty fit in with all the other hippos. Along the way, Dotty and Chizzy realize it doesn't matter how you look. After all, what's wrong with being a pink hippo instead of a purple hippo as long as you're a true friend and have a big heart?

Of course, Donna doesn't disappoint us in this newest tale in the Topsy Turvy Land collection. Because of everything from Donna's smooth rhyme to her wild inventions of the animals living in Topsy Turvy Land, children will want to visit Dotty and her friends again and again. Kevin Scott Collier's artwork is vivid and brings each page to life, adding the right blend of colors to accent the words written by Donna in Dotty's Topsy Tale.