Well, the XXX Summer Olympics just finished up in London. Don’t pretend that you haven’t been watching them, because we know that you watched the US Men’s gymnastics team place fifth and the US Women’s gymnastics team take gold. We know that you cheered (loudly) when Missy Franklin won her first ever Olympic gold at age 17.
We know that the only event you really want to watch is Women’s Beach Volleyball and not just because Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings are going for their third gold. We all do it. My voice is still hoarse from cheering Franklin onto victory. Don’t be ashamed. You know who else isn’t ashamed of the Olympic performances? Boomer, the main character of Victoria Jamieson’s new children’s book “Olympig”.
Boomer is taking part in the Animal Olympics for the first time ever. Not only is it his first time ever, but he is the first ever pig to make it into the Animal Olympics. He has been training incredibly hard, even though he might not be as fit as some of the other animals.
He isn’t ashamed of this, however because for Boomer, it’s all about hard work and patience. However, as the games start, Boomer finds himself losing and losing every event that he competes in and his optimism quickly turns into pessimism. But there is one event left that he has a chance at: gymnastics.
This is an adorable book about perseverance, but it still teaches the kids a valuable lesson: not everyone can win at everything and sometimes we need to be gracious losers. When kids are growing up, this is sometimes the hardest value to teach—trust me, I know. One of my daughters wouldn’t speak for hours if she lost so much as a video game. If I had had this book when she was younger, I might have been able to stop quite a few temper tantrums and saved myself a headache or two.
That being said, however, this book is extremely encouraging. If Boomer, the first ever pig can somehow manage to perform so well on such a big stage, what is your child capable of? This is why children’s books are so great! They teach life lessons, but encourage and inspire as well. Victoria Jamieson did a fantastic job writing this book, if I do say so myself, and this is one book that I’m going to keep around for years, even after Michael Phelps has been dethroned as the most decorated Olympian ever (though that won’t happen any time soon).