Thursday Thoughts: Imaginary Friends, Bullying, and Pingo

Katrina has imaginary siblings.
...and cousins.

It started with a sister named Flower, and now there's a brother named Keek, and a cousin named Rainbow.

Generally, these come up when we are talking about something we don't have or can't do (that Katrina wishes we could or thinks is interesting). She will then tell us a story about how Rainbow DOES have that thing or HAS done that thing.

Ken tried to explain to her that these stories are not true because the people are not real. She then started telling us stories about Emma (who is a real person in her class at church). But the stories are just as false ;)

We still hear about Keek and Rainbow fairly often, and I don't mind too much- it's totally amusing! :)

So, I was pretty happy when we received a copy of Pingo and the Playground Bully (published by Shadow Mountain) and found out that it involves a bunch of imaginary friends! :) I had to share this with you- I think you'd like it!



I love this cute story! It's very fun for both my 3 year old and my 6 year old. The 3 year old loves the imaginary friends, and I love that my 6 year old gets to find out about things like bullying that she might face at school, and see positive ways to deal with it. And I think the pictures are fabulous and the story is really cute :)

Here's a peek into the story:

Who has the best imaginary friend? Is it Gary, who protects the galaxy with Sparky the robot? Is it Tiffany, who helps save the day with Awesome Girl? Or Dustin, who can hide Mr. Bob in his pocket? During recess, Chad and his imaginary pet, Pingo, are invited to participate in the contest to see which imaginary friend is the strongest or the smartest or the sneakiest. But when Jeremy, the schoolyard bully, and his imaginary friend, Grunt, barge into the contest, demanding to be included, no one expects what happens next—or how Pingo saves the day.