Helix

Helix is a tortoise who was born with a physical challenge, he can't use his back legs, leaving him unable to walk. He was at a new school and his teacher, Mr. Torty, introduced him to his new classmates. Helix was very brave and explained to the class what his physical challenge was. Helix's new friends asked him to play games, but due to his physical challenge, he wasn't able to play them. Helix wasn't upset about not being able to play the games, in fact, he showed lots of perseverance by using words like "not yet". Then Herman came up with a creative idea to save the day. With lots of kindness, Herman gave Helix his skateboard wheels and helped attach them. Now that Helix has wheels, he can play all the games with his new friends. The story ends with Helix sitting at the dinner table with his parents, telling them all about his wonderful day of school. The last few pages of the book are character pages. Each student in Helix's class is a different species of tortoise, so the character pages include common name, scientific name, habitat, climate, and a fun fact. When Children read this book they will learn about being brave, acceptance, kindness, problem solving, physical challenges, perseverance and they will even get a little education on tortoises. Helix gets his wheels will be part a series of books dicussing Social emotional learning standards, taught in a fun way, through a cute tortoise, that really exists.

Helix is a new student at The Tortington School, who has a physical challenge. "I was born without being able to use my back legs," he so bravely explains to his class. Helix's new friends ask him to play games, like tag, hopscotch, hide-and-seek, kickball and football, but due to his physical challenge, he is not able to play. Then Herman comes up with a creative idea and it saves the day. With a lot of thoughtful kindness, Herman helps Helix play all the games. The last few pages of the book are character pages. Each student in Helix's class is a different species of tortoise; the character pages include some basic information about each species, along with a fun fact. There is even a page that documents the true story of Helix. When Children read this book they will learn about being brave, acceptance, kindness, problem solving, physical challenges, perseverance and they will get a little education on tortoises. Helix Gets His Wheels will be part a series of books discussing social emotional learning standards, taught in a fun way, through a cute tortoise, that really exists.

Randal Betz Jr. was born January 16, 1979 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and spent his summers deep-sea fishing and enjoying the beaches of Ocean City, New Jersey. For high school he went to The Pennington School in New Jersey, where he was forever influenced by friends, teachers and coaches. He has a degree in animal biology from Penn State University, which he does not use professionally, but more so for his passionate hobby of turtle and tortoise conservation. He currently lives in Wilmington, Delaware with his wife Meghann and their four children. He is a full time husband and father, a medical sales consultant by day, a tortoise conservationist by night, and an author of a children's picture book about an inspirational tortoise named Helix, who is the true definition of divine intervention.