THUNDER BAY — A Thunder Bay author and elementary school teacher has announced the launch of his team's second illustrated children's book.
Dave Mossman announced the release of Jungle Buddyz: The Surprise Party on Dec. 7.
"I started writing these kids' books because I wanted to create books that teach kids about social-emotional learning or getting in touch with their emotions and emotions they go through on a daily basis, whether it be at home or at school or out in the real world," said Mossman.
The book is co-authored with Brian Nolet and features illustrations by Chris Rose.
It comes shortly after the success of their debut book last year, Jungle Buddyz: A Race to Remember, which became an Amazon Best Seller the previous December and earned them a nomination for a Canadian Choice Award.
Their story tells the tale of Milo the Monkey, who grapples with feelings of exclusion after not being invited to a big birthday party in the jungle and the efforts of his friends — the Jungle Buddyz — who work together to create a surprise celebration for him.
"I know that a lot of kids out there deal with not being just invited to birthdays but included in sports or getting invited to gatherings and things like that," said Mossman.
"So, we wanted to write a book, my co-author and I, that focuses on teaching kids about how to help others when you see them when they're sad and what to do in those kinds of situations."
Alongside their book, he said they've also excitingly launched stuffed animals for their characters and have things on our website that complement the book.
Mossman said he is super excited about this launch and the kids 'getting their hands on their book.'
He said they also feel it's important for teachers, educators and social workers to get their hands on a copy.
"We provide great lesson plans on our website that have to do with the book, coloring pages and puzzles and everything like that for parents to print out or teachers to print out to utilize. So, my main purpose is to create these books so that they kind of make a difference for kids," said Mossman.
However, the series will continue beyond two books. Mossman said he hopes to have a few more yearly, one for each of the five Jungle Buddies and other emotional topics or social-emotional skills.
The book will be available online at www.thebuddyz.ca and internationally on Amazon.
