Maria Kyriakides 
The Adventures of Tina 
The Butterfly

A little girl called Tina and her dog, Pongo, live in a tree house. On a hot lazy day, they see a butterfly, which they name Trouble and follow her to the lake. There they find a crocodile who doesnt want to eat them but instead, needs their help as he is hurt. He was curious and stepped on broken glass, which was shining. Against Tinas better judgment, she helps the crocodile and removes the glass. She is shaking, a not so happy Pongo is watching, and Trouble is also not far away. She understands the importance of not throwing rubbish as it can affect others, and the crocodile promises that no crocodile will ever harm her or Pongo so they will always be able to play by the lake. Tina and Pongo happily return home after saying good-bye to a thankful crocodile and get a kiss from Trouble.

About the author

Having a two-year-old daughter, I can see how easily, and how eager, she is to learn. When I started writing, like everything we do together, I wanted to pass on a fun and interesting story that she could understand without giving any real stress to what she would be taught.
Spending most of my time with her, I always use my imagination and create stories, so one day I decided to also try writing the story down, which she could actually see as well as hear.
We actually have a dog called Pongo, who does everything with us, and my daughter loves butterflies and follows them. Additionally, when visiting our local zoo, all she wanted to do was look at the crocodiles, and we spent the rest of the day enjoying listening to her pronounce the word cro-co-dile.