Bert the Squirt

by Leela Hope

Bert is a different sort of dragon, instead of fire, Bert shoots water. Bert doesn’t like being unique and gets bullied at school. But one day Bert learns that being different can save the day.

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 14, 2014

About the author

leela hope is a writer with over 22 years of experience in writing endearing children's fiction. Her lively characters have entranced and captivated her audience, and she has taken great joy in writing the three series of books, each beautifully illustrated with love and care. Her stories concentrate on the adventures of floppy eared bunnies and wide-eyed children learning lessons in life, before returning home wiser and eager for sleep. leela hope writes her stories to entertain the very young, but also to educate. Her vision is always of a parent sitting on a child's bed, reciting the stories each night, while the young one drifts off to sleep, lulled into a dream world full of fun and adventure.
From her very earliest years of childhood, leela made up stories in her head, telling them to her younger brother and sister. The stories flowed easily from her mind, and it wasn't long before she realized she had a gift for writing. By the age of 14, she had already written a small book of short stories for her own entertainment, and by the age of 22, she had published her first full-fledged children's fiction in several magazines. leela hope was destined to be an author and she knew exactly what genre of fiction she wanted to dedicate her life too.

Born in San Diego, California, and still residing in the area, leela studied English Literature at Berkeley, earning a degree in 1989. Her writing covers a span of several genres, but she always returns to her first love, children's fiction. She enjoys scuba diving and visiting wildlife parks, seeking new inspiration for cuddly characters for her stories. leela hope lives in an urban area of San Diego and is presently at work on a new book.

Reviews

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bert the dragon saves the day!

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bert the Squirt is a book about a dragon the squirts water instead of fire and all the other children at Dragon School make fun of him. He meets a smaller dragon and then comes to the rescue when the school catches on fire and Bert becomes a hero. The book is a good way to start a lesson about we are all different in some ways but also have the same feelings. It is important that we do not hurt others because of differences and saying things to hurt them. My preschool children loved this book and we had a very good discussion on being kind to others.

[Angieleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I say this with every story that I've reviewed by Ms. Hope; the morals to be learned in each one is easy for young children to understand. The illustrations are adorable and the prose in which she writes is beautiful.

The moral of this story is that bullying others for being different isn't right. We should be celebrating each person's uniqueness and the gifts that they bring to the table.

The only con to this story is that it could use a good edit. There are several grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors throughout the story that are easy to spot and should have been fixed before publishing (this is a running theme with all of her stories).