We dedicate this book to anyone that needs a little nudge when speaking up for themselves

We dedicate this book to anyone out there that needs a little nudge when speaking up for themselves.

Douglas gets up to start his first day of kindergarten with butterflies in his stomach.

He quickly throws on his clothes, stopping to make sure they are on straight, grabs his back pack filled with fresh markers and crayons and runs out the door excitedly.

Douglas bounces up and down in his car seat all the way to school, anxious to be there.

However, as he starts to walk in, he gets nervous. There are so many other kids!

When Douglas got to his class, he sits quietly at his seat in the back, and waits for his teacher to call roll.

The teacher starts to call roll. "Sally?" "Here," says Sally. "Fred?" "Here," says Fred.

Here!

"Douglas?" Douglas mumbles that he's here. A kid sitting near him at the back turns to him and says, "I'm going to call you Dugly."

Douglas says, "My name is Douglas," but so softly that no one can hear him.



By lunch time, he's feeling better. He's just sitting down with his brand new blue lunch box when...

Hey Dugly, can I have your cookie?" "Hey Dugly, want a cupcake?" "Hey Dugly, can I have an apple?"

Douglas's face turned red. He grabbed his lunch box and ran to the bathroom, where he quietly whispered, "My name is Douglas," to the empty bathroom.

During art class, Douglas was painting a big red heart for his mom when...

Some one on the other side of the room yelled, "Hey Dugly! Can you bring me the red paint?"

Douglas began to cry. When the art teacher asked why, Douglas just kept crying.

Finally, the end of the day came. He was silent all the way home.

Douglas's mom noticed his silence. "What's wrong Douglas?" she asked worriedly, "How was your first day of school?"

Douglas tearfully explained what had happened at school. His mom hugged him and said, "Oh Douglas, why don't you just tell them? How about tomorrow, if they do it again, you tell them how you feel." Douglas nodded.

The next day, Douglas walked into school confident.

I can do this.

When Douglas got into his class room, someone called from across the class.