Being Me Is the Best Thing to Be

A turtle named Honey wishes to be like other animals that she sees at a lake. With the help of her Mama, Honey figures out that being herself is the best thing to be.

A turtle named Honey spends a day near a mountain lake with her Mama. They see different animals, and Honey wants to have a characteristic that each animal possesses. Her Mama explains why each characteristic won't work for her and tells her why she is just right the way she is. That night, Honey dreams about the animals and the next morning she wakes up and decides she is happy being herself.

As an educator, Judy Erb's favorite part of teaching was reading books to children and discussing books with them. Because she misses reading to children, she is thrilled to have written Being Me Is the Best Thing to Be. Judy was inspired while kayaking on a lake with her husband in the North Carolina mountains. She watched all the animals around the lake, and because she loves turtles, she decided that her main character just had to be a turtle. As a child, Judy grew up in a large family in New Jersey. She always wanted to be a teacher and loved being around lots of nieces and nephews at family gatherings. After graduating from Trenton State College, she moved to Georgia and began her teaching career. Judy received two more teaching degrees and continued to learn about teaching throughout her career. During her career, Judy received recognition for her teaching, and she was given the opportunity to learn at Harvard University in the Project Zero program studying with Howard Gardener. Judy also spent time at Columbia University where she studied best practices for teaching reading and writing to children. She always had a big heart for children who either struggled to learn or had challenges at home. She remains close to many of her former students and their families today. After thirty-three years of teaching elementary students, Judy retired, and she and her husband moved to the North Carolina mountains with their fur babies. Judy volunteers so she can still be around children and their giggles. She loves to travel in their RV and abroad, read and explore nature.