‘Trouble at the Watering Hole’ teaches problem solving

Nov. 30, 2017 | Payton North
payton@thereminder.com

Bay Path University Professor-turned-author Joshua Weiss has released a childrens book he co-authored, “Trouble at the Watering Hole: The Adventures of Emo and Chickie.” The book teaches its readers how to effectively problem solve and negotiate through an issue, all while being relatable for children.
Reminder Publications submitted photo

LONGMEADOW – Bay Path University Professor Joshua Weiss co-authored a children’s book this year with San Diego native Gregg Relyea, which features two characters, Emo and Chickie, as they learn how to negotiate and problem solve.  “Trouble at the Watering Hole: The Adventures of Emo and Chickie” teaches children how to effectively communicate and problem solve in a relatable manner.

Weiss is no stranger to writing, as he’s published a series called “The Negotiator and You,” though he hasn’t produced a children’s book prior to this one.

Co-author Relyea teaches negotiation at the University of San Diego School of Law and University of California, San Diego.  Weiss said that “Trouble at the Watering Hole: The Adventures of Emo and Chickie” was Relyea’s “brainchild.”  Relyea approached Weiss about his idea of teaching negotiation to a younger audience, and the two decided to make it a reality.

“There’s not many books that are story-based that the lessons are rooted in the story itself.  I remember as a kid, books like “Curious George” and Dr. Seuss books, they really captured your imagination,” Weiss shared. “The more we talked about it the more we felt like we could take the principals that really underpin negotiation and weave them into a story that kids could relate to, that would be a really effective way of getting this across to them in a fun way.”

The two set off to create “Trouble at the Watering Hole: The Adventures of Emo and Chickie.”

“The forest animals have a problem—the watering hole isn’t big enough.  They have all the usual reasons for getting more water—who is biggest, who is strongest and who is cleverest.  But the animals are getting nowhere.  Worse yet, they are fighting with each other, which won’t solve anything.  In “Trouble at the Watering Hole,” Emo, a baby bear cub, and his best friend, a colorful bird named Chickie, know there must be a way to stop the fighting.  Together with the forest animals, Emo and Chickie explore ways to work things out that are positive and constructive,” the book jacket reads.

Though he’s published before, the process of co-authoring a book as well as hiring an illustrator posed a new challenge for Weiss.

“Gregg lives in San Diego and the illustrator in Pakistan, so everything was virtual,” Weiss said.

The process of coming up with the book idea, creating the storyline, going back and forth with the illustrator and re-working the book after editing, took two years.

“I don’t even know how many times we edited, it was in the teens.  I mean, this is 20 pages and 20 pages is a little long, every word sort of counts, and there were a couple of times that we went through and really asked ourselves, do we really need all of this in here, is there a way to shorten it and make it more succinct?  It was, the virtual element of it, was a little more laborious,” Weiss explained.

Over the course of the two years Weiss and Relyea tested the effectiveness of their book on fellow parents and teachers.  Their goal was to keep the characters relatable while maintaining the books overall message.  

“One woman said to me that she read the story to her daughter, who was I think five, and her daughter has been having a hard time sleeping at night.  After she read her the story, when she said goodnight to her, the daughter said, “I’m pretty sure I’m not going to have nightmares tonight,” and the mother said “Why is that?” and she said, “Because Emo and Chickie are with me.”” Weiss said. “I think there’s sort of a way in which kids can relate and become attached to the characters that embody the types of things that they’ll learn.”

All in all, Weiss says “Trouble at the Watering Hole: The Adventures of Emo and Chickie” has been well received by parents, teachers and students alike.  Additionally, to go along with the book, Weiss and Relyea created a parent-teacher manual to help broaden the books meaning beyond to educators, so its message can be expounded upon in conversation with children.

“We published a parent-teacher manual to go along with the book that has some pretty tried and true methods related to negotiation, so people can not just read the book, but also continue the conversation,” Weiss explained.  “We’ve heard from both teachers and some parents who’ve said it was very helpful so they weren’t just reading the story, they can make it into a real lesson.”

“Trouble at the Watering Hole: The Adventures of Emo and Chickie” may be the first of a three-book series, as Weiss and Relyea are currently working on a children’s book about bullying.  Weiss said that the working title is, “Bullying at the Watering Hole.”  

“The watering hole worked well for us,” he chuckled.

“Trouble at the Watering Hole: The Adventures of Emo and Chickie” can be purchased online on amazon.com on paperback for $9.95 or on Kindle for $7.99.  The book is intended for children in grade levels kindergarten to sixth.  Additionally, the parent/teacher manual can be purchased for $12.95 on paperback or $4.99 for Kindle.

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