Susan Cox
A few weeks ago, I was struggling with everything going on in my life. I was doing some shopping when I saw a book by Sandra Boynton. I loved reading her books to my kids when they were young, so I stopped to read the book, “Woo Hoo! You’re Doing Great!” An enthusiastic chicken runs around shouting at everyone that they are doing great at whatever they’re doing.
All goes well until the chicken cheers on a sleeping bear, waking it up in the process. The chicken is distraught and feels like a failure. A kindly mouse reminds the chicken that we all make mistakes and mistakes are how we learn. As the chicken and bear nap together, the mouse shares that encouragement from others is nice, but perhaps the best “Woo hoo!” is the one we say to ourselves each day.
Immediately my spirits lifted — this was just what I needed to shift my mood.
Boynton’s drawings are charming and amusing, and, more importantly, her message hit home. I decided to buy the book for myself, and I got copies to send to my now-adult children so they could benefit from Boynton’s message too. You can find the book at the Bartholomew County Public Library or your favorite bookstore.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Boynton shared how the book came to be. “It’s kind of a wild story. On my social media, I like to let people know about incredibly important holidays, such as Static Electricity Day or National Lima Bean Respect Day. And I always illustrate my posts. So on Sept. 12, 2021, I decided to post something for National Day of Encouragement. I came up with a very shouty chicken saying “WOO HOO! YOU’RE DOING GREAT!” The deluge of responses floored me — varied and heartfelt and astonishing. And so many people ask[ed] me if I could make a poster or T-shirt or something so that they could give it to someone they wanted to honor or encourage. That chance WOO HOO! post is what provided the title, cover art, and official spokeschicken of this book.”
She went on to explain what she hopes kids take from the book: “I very much hope that the refrain ‘Woo hoo! You’re doing great!’ will stay with little people and big people alike. In the absence of a convenient loudmouth chicken, it’s a great thing for us all to say to ourselves.”
Boynton is right — we do need to remind ourselves we’re doing okay. I know I tend to focus on the things I still need to do or the things that I’m not doing well. I generally overlook what I have accomplished or what I do well. For example, after spending a couple of hours weeding, I think about all the places that still need to be weeded instead of congratulating myself on the places I did weed. This outlook, which is a natural human tendency, keeps me in a deficit mode, which makes it easy for me to get discouraged and overwhelmed.
I also tend to do the same thing with others — my husband, my children, my students. I notice the things that need to be improved instead of recognizing the efforts and progress that has been made. I fall into this tendency easily when I give feedback on my students’ writing, often marking all the small errors instead of commenting on how interesting their ideas are or how well they have presented those ideas. Boynton’s book has made me rethink what I focus on. I want to encourage others and myself.
I have two challenges for you. First, think of someone you could give encouragement to. Send this person a note or a text, give them a call or talk to them in person to cheer them on in their endeavors. Second, each day think of something you’ve done that day, big or small, and tell yourself “Woo hoo! You’re doing great!”
Susan Cox is one of The Republic’s community columnists, and all opinions expressed are those of the writer. She is an avid reader, an outdoor enthusiast, a mother, a grandmother, and an adjunct instructor of English at IUPUC. She can be reached at [email protected].
