Andy Andrews’ Books Teach Us Our Effect on the World

As we begin to approach the holiday season and think about giving to others, maybe even donating our time or money to charity as well, it’s not often we stop and think about what effect we are having on the world and on other’s lives. We just do it.

Best-selling author and speaker Andy Andrews reminds us of the powerful impact we can have on others – good and bad – in his book for grownups called “The Butterfly Effect – How Your Life Matters” (Simple Truths, LLC, 2009, $14.95, 978-1-40418-780-1) and his new corresponding children’s book called “The Boy Who Changed the World,” (Tommy Nelson Publishers, August 31, 2010, $16.99, 978-1-4003-1605-2).

The Butterfly Effect is the theory that a butterfly can flap its wings in Colorado and then around the world, the wind blows a windmill in India. That tiny breeze, the moving of those air molecules, keeps building and building across the globe. The tiny effect of that butterfly can change the world.

 “The reason I created this book was to give children proof about how much they matter,” Andrews said in a recent press release about The Boy Who Changed the World. “The lesson I want people to learn is that the decisions you make today, big and small, can truly change the world.”

In Andrews’s books, he profiles the chain of events that culminates with Norman Borlaug winning the Nobel prize for saving the lives of 2 billion (yes, billion) people by developing a high-yield seed that can withstand harsh conditions and thus, feed starving people in desolate climates.

But Borlaug didn’t learn about seeds on his own; he was taught by a man named Henry Wallace, who went on to become the Secretary of Agriculture and the Vice- President of the United States. But Wallace didn’t learn about plants on his own…

George Washington Carver was a family friend who used to teach Wallace all about plants. Carver went on to become a very successful inventor who developed 266 ways to use peanuts and 88 ways to used sweet potatoes that we still use today. But Carver wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without the help of his adoptive father, Moses Carver.

Moses saved baby George from Quantrill’s Raiders when they came and burned down his farm and kidnapped George and his mother. And so began the chain of events which brings us back to Borlaug.

Both books show us what colossal effect our actions have on others. Everything we do and say changes the way the world works.

Andrews tries to bring this point home in both books by giving us the practical example of this effect in both beautiful books. He says, “I think encouragement is great, I just think proof is better.”

Philip Hurst’s watercolor illustrations are absolutely stunning in The Boy Who Changed the World. This is a book you will read over and over to your children and discuss the effects of their actions. It’s a great life lesson book.

And The Butterfly Effect is perfect for a co-worker or friend who might be struggling with something, trying to achieve something or just needs a few words of encouragement.

Make sure you check out Andy Andrews’ website for The Boy Who Changed The World  because there is much more information as well as study guides for teachers or homeschooling parents. And register here for a chance to win a free copy of The Boy Who Changed the World – we will contact the winner on October 15, 2010.

About Andy Andrews

Andy Andrews, has been hailed by a New York Times writer as someone who has quietly become “one of the most influential people in America.” He is a best-selling novelist and in-demand corporate speaker for the world’s largest organizations as well as the U.S. military troops. His book, The Traveler’s Gift, a featured book selection of ABC’s Good Morning America, has been translated into nearly twenty languages and was on the New York Times bestseller list for seventeen weeks. His latest book, The Noticer was also on the NY Times bestsellers list. His recent books include The Heart Mender, The Butterfly Effect, and Return to Sawyerton Springs.

He lives in Gulf Shores, Alabama with his wife, Polly and their two sons.