Last Updated on May 29, 2022 by ellen
Ellie the Wienerdog hit it right on with the life lesson of trying to be good but it being hard. Having three children, I know all about life’s little temptations that they encounter every single day. My son is always telling me that it’s hard to stay good all day long. I tell him that it’s all about choices. He knows what he should and should not be doing. Temptations are all around us. My two younger daughters are exactly the same way. They don’t think before they act (because they are young and impulsive at ages three and one) and this leads them into trouble.
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Ellie the Wienerdog: It’s Hard to be Good
I really enjoyed sharing Ellie’s story with my kids because it taught them that if they just slow down and think through a temptation that they could ultimately avoid it. In Ellie’s case, she is tempted by the smells of foods that she knows that she is not supposed to have. While we were reading the book, my three-year-old daughter just kept laughing at all the foods floating that Ellie was dreaming of. She now knows why our cat has the temptation of being under the table while we eat.
This was such a cute story that we have read it multiple times and my son will read it to my girls even without me. They giggle and they praise Ellie for not eating the tempting sandwich. It is teaching them a lesson that you get rewarded in different ways if you stick to what is good. Ellie’s good choices reward her for being a good girl in the end. The way the story is told, my kids are proud of Ellie and they want to be just like her. It’s great that such a simple book about a wienerdog that just wanted to eat a sandwich she wasn’t supposed to have resonated with my kids.
Life lessons can be hard to teach when it comes from adults. Your kids feel like they are just being talked down to and won’t listen if they feel like they are being confronted. Ellie the Wienerdog is their friend in the same situation as they are often put in. They read on as she makes a good decision and they want to be more like her. I know that I will be looking for more books with Ellie and her life lessons because this one already has taught my kids that even though it may be hard to be good sometimes, they can do it.
Ellen is a mom of a 25-year-old son and 30-year-old daughter. She is Grandma to one adorable toddler. In what little spare time she has, she loves to read, watch movies, and check out the latest toys and games.