Butters the Fly: A Tale About What Truly Makes Someone Special (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780692306017)

Born and raised in southern Illinois, James (Jim) A. Mourey, Ph.D., has enjoyed a lifetime in the creative and performing arts, so when the idea hit him to write a children's book he thought, "Why not?" Thanks to super supportive parents, equally artistic siblings, and a cool international program (Odyssey of the Mind) in which Jim participated as a child and now volunteers for, no creative feat ever seems impossible! Butters the Fly was written in two hours in a pool and illustrated over a two-week time period in September of 2014. Jim's young nephews, his sisters, and his mom were the test audience of the first draft: it went well. On the surface, the story is a tale of a cute fly named Butters and the friends he meets one day, but a deeper, psychological, and more profound Jim sees the story as a fun way to teach children positive self-esteem even when potentially intimidated by or envious of the success and abilities of others. Rooted in the psychological tendency for humans to denigrate others as a means of restoring their self worth or esteem, the story teaches children that they should not only be proud of others for their accomplishments and talents but also proud of themselves for seeing the best in others. I know: deep stuff for a story about a fly, right? But look at it this way: if we can prevent even one bully from needlessly harming another child by teaching a healthy way of building and maintaining self-esteem, even when others seem so amazing sometimes (and we seem so ordinary), well, we're onto something. Day to day, Jim is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at DePaul University in Chicago where his class has been described as a "twice-a-week comedy show filled with knowledge." He has over a decade's worth of experience working, teaching, and consulting on the topics of marketing and relationship development and delivers keynote speeches and workshops on these subjects across the country. Jim is the author of the book Urge: Why You Really Want What You Want (And How To Make Everyone Want What You've Got), which is now used at universities around the world to teach college students the tenets of Consumer Behavior. In his spare time Jim also sings in a Chicago-based a cappella group (The Uptones), hones his improvisational skills at The Second City, and writes books, songs, manifestos, and love poems in French...just kidding...he writes them in Swahili.