Educational Message

Vizby The Naughty Dog Book series (1-3) was written for children aged 7-12 years old. The protagonist of the stories is a Hungarian Vizsla dog, named Vizby.

The premise of each book is a glimpse into Vizby's life whilst highlighting her talents. The events described are based on real experiences set in Brisbane, Australia.

The overall goal of the books was to be fun; first and foremost.

The authors’ academic goals were to help children extend their vocabulary. Caregivers and educators can help by supporting their child's research activities such as using a dictionary and discussion; obtaining help with word replacement from a more experienced reader (adult, sibling or friend); and practising pronunciation.

The book series is intended to encourage children in the discovery of three core themes: [1] dialectical thinking (that is, viewing information from multiple perspectives); [2] understanding the whole person (e.g. you can be naughty but also have a range of positive strengths and traits); and most importantly, [3] the fostering of both academic and emotional intelligence is critical to effective problem-solving, not one without the other. The storyline also promotes the application of tactics or strategies to stay mentally agile; creating your own fun outdoors; and embracing your surroundings with confidence.

The psychological goals for child readers were to reinforce concepts like: helping out neighbours safely resulting in positive friendships; being brave enough to try new activities to expand your world experiences; the benefits of sharing; self-soothing routines as helpful coping mechanisms; compassionate caring of others as well as the self; and learning to think about others’ thoughts and feelings (theory of mind). And finally, to reinforce that regardless of our cultural and language differences, we can find a way to share and care for each other under all circumstances, it might just take some effort and understanding!

We hope that children (particularly those in big cities) would come to understand that while dogs can be unpredictable, sometimes resulting in feelings of anxiety, it is important to step back and see things from the dogs’ point of view too (empathy) and learn ways to communicate with dogs that are less threatening for both sides. This is a parallel process for encouraging understanding between humans as well!

The authors thank-you for taking the time to absorb this educational message.

Dr Karla Johnston and Dr Roland Simons

First release: June 2019