Testimonials

Hi Rhonda, just wanted to give you some feedback on DUSTY. I have used it with two kids so far and it has been well received. Yesterday I had a 2nd grader in my office. He insisted on reading the entire book out loud to me and the vocabulary was not too hard. He laughed over the prarie dog "barks" and would shout THE WORLD as well as other words which were in all caps. I wish you could have seen his animation when reading. He was truly engaged.

DUSTY has been a great tool so far in helping kids talk about fears. Thanks so much for writing it.
Jane Simmons

NOTE: If you are a mental health professional with a waiting room for clients who are parents, Dusty Sees the World is a nice addition to your reading materials. If you work is with children, Dusty Sees the World is an important adjunct for addressing childhood anxieties.

Book Review

I found the book Dusty Sees the World by Rhonda Borman, LCSW, to be a must-have for parents and teachers, as well as mental health professionals who work with children. A therapist for 19 years now and former kindergarten teacher of nine years, I found myself wishing that this book had been available to me in the classroom.

The book’s byline is “A small book for talking about Big Scary Things”. Rhonda Borman’s vast experience in dealing with child phobias is evident in her choice of content. The story follows Dusty, a young prairie dog as he and his mother leave the burrow for Dusty’s first experiences above ground. What I liked most about this book is how it differs from most children’s books about emotions. While Dusty Sees The World covers many kinds of fears—fears of novel experiences, fears of disastrous events, fears of unkind treatment by peers-- it does not offer one pat solution to the feeling of fear. Rather, the book allows the child to describe various kinds of fearful circumstances and offers the child reader or listener the opportunity to begin thinking about options for dealing with them. Without generalizing, the book also helps its hearers differentiate circumstances, such as bullying, which cannot be made completely safe, from other situations in which the child can be made more comfortable.

If you are looking for a short children’s book with a tidy happy ending, this is not it. Instead, its ending is realistic. Because Dusty Sees The World is sensitive and comprehensive, I believe it can stimulate a great deal of discussion, awareness and confidence in the adults and children who share it. I believe parents and professionals can use it most effectively by setting a slow reading pace and by taking time to read through the book bit by bit. This creates a secure environment for the child. In this environment, there can be genuine discussion about each type of fearful situation the child is experiencing and which solutions or coping strategies can best implemented.

Frances M. Bledsoe, MS, MSSW,
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Clinical Member AAMFT

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