Sign-In
Cart
Dusty the Little Sheepdog: Sometimes Being Different is Exactly What's Needed
Paperback
ISBN13: 9781918386004
Publisher: Tiwik Publishing
Published: Nov 7 2025
Pages: 34
Weight: 0.15
Height: 0.09 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
Sometimes, being different is exactly what's needed.
Dusty the Little Sheepdog is a heart-warming rhyming story about courage, kindness, and belonging. Dusty tries to fit in with the flock, yet nothing feels quite right. When a storm scatters the sheep, he steps up and discovers that the very things that made him feel different are his strengths.
Written in Knaresborough by Yorkshire author and neurodivergent advocate Ian M. Smith, and beautifully illustrated by Charlie Barley, this story helps children see that difference is not a deficit, it is something to celebrate.
Key features
- Warm, inclusive story celebrating neurodiversity and being yourself
- Rhyming text to support early readers and reading confidence
- Ideal for ages 4-8, families, and classrooms
- Supports PSHE and social-emotional learning conversations
- Companion resources available, including classroom packs, songs, and Calm Cards
Early readers say
- Warm, funny, and full of heart.
- An instant classroom classic.
- The story I wish I'd had when I started teaching.
About the author
Ian M. Smith writes from lived experience and professional practice in inclusion. He lives in North Yorkshire and is also the author of Things I Wish I'd Known: A Compassionate Guide to Parenting Neurodivergent Children, with contributions from Laurie Edmans CBE and Barbara Schönhofer MBE.
About the illustrator
Charlie Barley brings Dusty's world to life with warmth and empathy. Her illustrations reflect the book's message of courage, creativity, and finding your voice.
Also in
Self Help
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women
Cavallo, Francesca
Rebel Girls
Favilli, Elena
Hardcover
You Got This!: Unleash Your Awesomeness, Find Your Path, and Change Your World
Penn, Maya S.
Hardcover
What to Do When Your Temper Flares: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming Problems with Anger
Huebner, Dawn
Paperback
The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World
Haidt, Jonathan
Price, Catherine
Paperback
The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs: 100+ Recipes That You'll Love to Cook and Eat
America's Test Kitchen Kids
Hardcover
The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World
Haidt, Jonathan
Price, Catherine
Hardcover
Sam's Neighborhood: How One Deaf Neighbor Transformed a Community - Includes More Than 20 ASL Signs
McCormick, Patricia
Hardcover
We Need to Talk about Cancer: An Important Book for Patients, Family, and Friends
Neon Squid
Juneja, Sanjay
Paperback
A Day in the Life of a Warrior: Travel Through Time with the Soldiers of History
Hinsdale, Emily
Hardcover
My First Mom and Daughter Journal: An Activity Book for Girls and Moms Together
Clemons, Katie
Paperback
The Patriots and the Pox: George Washington's Battle to Save the Continental Army
Anderson, Beth
Hardcover
Eyes, Knees, Boundaries, Please!: My First Book about Private Parts and Consent
Playforth, Krupa Bhojani, MD
Hardcover
The Girl's Body Book (Fifth Edition): Everything You Need to Know for a Healthy, Happy You!
Dunham, Kelli
Paperback
How to Be an Awesome Toddler: 50 Easy Rhymes to Make Growing Up Exciting and Fun!
Burk, Rachelle
Hardcover
Murphy's Law for Kids: 101 Life Principles for School, Friends, Big Feelings & Growing Up
Ray, Ethereal
Paperback
What to Do When You Worry Too Much, 2nd Edition: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming Anxiety
Huebner, Dawn
Paperback
How to Be a Person: 65 Hugely Useful, Super-Important Skills to Learn Before You're Grown Up
Newman, Catherine
Paperback
The Complete Baking Book for Young Chefs: 100+ Sweet and Savory Recipes That You'll Love to Bake, Share and Eat!
America's Test Kitchen Kids
Hardcover
Taylor & Travis Forever Ultimate Fan Edition Little Golden Book Biography: Bonus Wedding Planning Pages! Stickers!
de Las Heras, Nicole
Hardcover
A Quilt of Stars: Astronaut Karen Nyberg Stitches a Dream
McCallum Staats, Ann
Nyberg, Karen
Hardcover
Breathe a Rainbow (an Interactive Board Book): With 8 Calming Textures to Trace with Your Finger
Koon, Julie
Hardcover
Private Parts are Private: Learning private parts are private and what to do if touched inappropriately
Sanders, Jayneen
Paperback
My Bicentennial Summer: True Adventures from the Most Epic Family Road Trip of All Time
Neri, G.
Hardcover
Letter Tracing and Handwriting Practice Book: Trace Letters and Numbers Workbook of the Alphabet and Sight Words, Preschool, Pre K, Kids Ages 3-5 + 5-
Trace, Jennifer L.
Press, Diverse
Paperback
The Big Book of Birthdays: How Birthdays Are Celebrated Around the World
Feunekes, Anna Lena
Hardcover
A Place to Dance: How Richard Lamberty Brought Change to the Ballroom
Lamberty, Richard
Rosswood, Eric
Hardcover
Solar Mamas: The Story of Sanjit Bunker Roy and the Grandmothers Who Became Solar Engineers
Nookula, Jyothi
Hardcover
Secrets and Surprises: Learning the difference between secrets and surprises
Sanders, Jayneen
Paperback
Time for Kids: Your Hot Job Field Guide: A How-To Book for Exploring Your Future Career Path
Time for Kids
Singer, Allison
Paperback
Auntie Kristina's Guide to Asian American Activism
Wong, Kristina
Chao, Theodore
Wang, Anna Michelle
Hardcover
The Boy's Body Book (Fifth Edition): Everything You Need to Know for a Healthy, Happy You!
Dunham, Kelli
Paperback
A Supreme Friendship: The Unlikely Bond Between Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia
Murphy, Debbie Rovin
Hardcover
Marie's Magic Eggs: How Marie Procai Kept the Ukrainian Art of Pysanky Alive
Wallace, Sandra Neil
Hardcover
Wild about You (a Nat Geo Baby Board Book): A Sweet Board Book about Baby Animals
National Geographic Kids
Fego, Emily
Hardcover
Indestructibles (the Original): Al Bebé Le Encanta La Biblioteca/Baby Loves the Library
Workman Publishing
Paperback
A Doctor at Heart: The Story of Groundbreaking Scientist and Teacher Vivien Thomas
Schoettler, Joan
Hardcover
The Girl Who Changed Little League: The True Story of Maria Pepe and Her Battle to Play Ball
Patrick, Jean L. S.
Pepe, Maria
Hardcover
How to Survive an Apocalypse: The End of the World Doesn't Have to Be the End of the World
Hardy, Cameron
Coonradt, Coby
Hardcover
The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II (Scholastic Focus)
Fleming, Candace
Hardcover
A Smart Girl's Guide: Friendship Troubles: Dealing with Fights, Being Left Out & the Whole Popularity Thing
Kelley Criswell, Patti
Paperback
Indestructibles (the Original): Sesame Street: Let's Take a Bath!: Chew Proof - Rip Proof - Nontoxic - 100% Washable (Book for Babies, Newborn Books,
Pixton, Amy
Sesame Street
Paperback
The Woman Who Heard the Sun and Other True Stories Overlooked by History
New York Times
Padnani, Amisha
Hardcover
A Million Revolutions: The True Story of a Girl Who Cycled Across India
Raj, Suhasini
Thomas, Garen
Hardcover
When Someone Very Special Dies: Children Can Learn to Cope with Grief
Heegaard, Marge Eaton
Paperback