A young author from southern Texas has published his own book to teach kids about the power of being kind and respectful.
Sixth grader Ethan Lee Dowiat wrote "Welcome to Niceville" two years ago.
The book is about a town called Niceville that tries to maintain a friendly and non-bullying environment, until the character Doom Hat comes from Bullyville.
“There’s a lot of talk around bullying and certain aspects about it. So I thought it would be cool to write a bullying book to teach younger generations about bullying and why it’s important to know about,” said Ethan Lee Dowiat, author of Niceville.
The main characters, Top Hat and Tip don’t allow bullying.
“Because bullying is hurtful in many ways and can leave an impact on many people,” said Dowiat.
Ethan said he witnessed one of his friends being bullied by an older kid at school. “So I walked up to him and I said 'hey that’s not right, we should just be friends',” said Dowiat.
He said he decided to turn his experience into a book.
Before the pandemic, he was also taking part in public readings to help children get a better idea of what bullying is, what it can look like and why it is bad.
“It just makes me feel, so great, I mean it makes me feel like if he can do this at that age, I am just so excited to see what he does when he grows into a young man,” said Dowiat.
And for the kids who are being bullied or witness it, Ethan wants them to know that they should not be afraid and to speak up.
“Because the bully may not know that it is wrong because they [may] not know any better. So you can make a difference and you can change your whole perspective about bullying,” said Dowiat.
Ethan said he is working on another book that will continue where "Welcome to Niceville" left off.
For more information about Ethan and to purchase his book, visit his website here.
This story originally reported by Corderro McMurray on KRISTV.com.
