Review of "Leo the Lightning Bug"

This short book for very young children is very sweet. It tells the story of Leo, a lighting bug who can't make himself light up. His friends make fun of his efforts, and he feels very silly and embarrassed. But with practice he succeeds, and he manages to laugh with his friends about what happened.

The illustrations are very nicely done, in delicate and luminous colors that do well conveying the night scenes. The book comes with a CD of the story being read by the author and others, which may come in handy if on occasions when you are not able to read to your child yourself.

The theme of the book is about building self-confidence and not letting the opinion of other people get you down. The story is fun and makes its point well. This is probably not a book that your children will cherish for years and years, but they will probably like it.

© 2001 Christian Perring. First Serial Rights.

Christian Perring, Ph.D., is Chair of the Philosophy Department at Dowling College, Long Island. He is editor of Metapsychology Online Review. His main research is on philosophical issues in psychiatry. He is especially interested in exploring how philosophers can play a greater role in public life. He is available to give talks on many philosophical or controversial issues in mental health.