This is a book about a Wuzzle worm named Johnny. He climbs higher than all the other worms, to become a butterfly that nobody had ever seen before.
Johnny the Phoenix is a book that will inspire your child to be the best that they can be, by showing them the value of hard work and persistence. There is also an alphabet activity at the end of the book, where kids take play-doh or crayons and make their worms look like the ones in the book.
My name is Scott A. Batten. I live in the Shenandoah Valley with my
wife and six year old daughter. I was frustrated by the books
available for reading to her. I wrote Johnny the Phoenix in response
to a lack of inspirational teaching books. I believe that children
should try their best to be the best. I believe that books help form
the thinking patterns and instill the ethics that will take them
through life.
The others reassured themselves, saying “I’ve seen red butterflies” or
“My dad or mom is a red butterfly. There must be red apples up there.”
After a few more hours of climbing, the worms came upon the next set
of branches. Behold, there were red apples on them, just as their parents
had said. Everyone stopped and had a few bites.
Johnny, after taking just a few bites, said to his friends, “Okay, on to
the golden ones.”
Most of the worms there said, “Johnny, you’re crazy; there aren’t any
more apples up there; just look. We don’t see them; do you?”
Johnny answered honestly, “No, I don’t see them, but my mother said
they are there and I believe her.”
This moved a few of his friends to go a bit further, but as the sun
started to go down, they said, “Johnny, there is still enough time for us
to go back down and eat and make our cocoons. We still don’t see any
golden apples; do you?”
Again, Johnny answered honestly, “No, I don’t, but my mother said
that they are there and I believe her.”
His friends all told him he was crazy, but wished him luck and turned
back down the tree and ate red apples with the others who climbed
there.