Miney

About the Book

This is a simple counting story of a monkey who spends his time collecting things while ignoring the world around him. He eventually learns that focusing on items interferes with his ability to fully experience joy. As with all the books in the Stories for Children and Their Adults series, this story is written in a delightful singsong style and can be enjoyed by both children and adults alike, yet it can also be used as a tool to explore deeper issues. Specifically, this story deals with hoarding and stinginess and how collecting smiles can be much more fulfilling.

About the Author

Cindy Graves was raised by her children in Utah, after having narrowly missed several unsuccessful attempts by her loving parents and older siblings in Connecticut. There is some debate over whether the last rearage attempt was, indeed, successful, or whether it was yet another failed attempt. When asked why she is the way she is, Cindy smiles sweetly and says, in her most childlike voice, "My children raised me this way. . . ". We can only assume that the final attempt was successful. As a single mother of four, Cindy studied Applied Mathematics and receivedher Bachelor of Science degree from Weber State University in 1994. She then went on to complete a 23 year career as an SQA Programmer and Analyst. She is currently retired from the technical world, writing poetry and children's stories, and living in Utah with her mother, 6 dogs, and 3 cats.