One of my first questions to author and professional speaker Trina Dawkins Patterson was why she would write her first children's book on bullying when a primary focus of her Cookie Movement organization is promoting abstinence.

Dawkins Patterson replied that they aren't isolated issues -- that bullying robs young girls of self-esteem, and a lack of self-esteem makes them more likely to be careless when it comes to sexual activity. "The way one feels about him or herself has a huge bearing on the choices that you make," she said. "Girls with low self-esteem tend to engage in sexual activity earlier than girls with high self-esteem."

The Woodbury mother of two boys said that her book, "A Tale of Two Cookies: A Message of Kindness and Acceptance," promotes self-confidence and friendship. (It has no direct or indirect reference to abstinence.) Dawkins Patterson used cartoon cookies, living in the land of Confection, to show young readers how bullying can be hurtful and how "kindness begets kindness."

"I've found that it was a message that was just needed," she said. "It's not just about tolerating people who are different, but actually accepting them in the ways that they are."

Dawkins Patterson created The Cookie Movement organization when she lived in Indianapolis and worked with a non-profit organization that mentored young, expecting mothers. So many of these young women lacked self-esteem, she said, and furthermore couldn't identify the reasons why they decided to be sexually active. The organization is the vehicle by which Dawkins Patterson offers presentations and programs for schools and youth organizations -- sometimes about abstinence, but more often about building self-esteem and forming positive relationships.

The book's storyline of a lemon cookie and an oatmeal cookie becoming friends -- after some initial problems -- originated with a poem that Dawkins Patterson presented to a Girl Scout troop. She encourages readers and parents to discuss the questions at the end of the book, which can help young readers to understand bullying and how to deal with it in their own lives. She is planning two more children's books.

The Cookie Movement sounded like an odd name to me (given the potential double entendre with the word cookie) but Dawkins Patterson explained the thinking behind it. Kids are like cookies -- and sometimes people only look at them externally without thinking about the ingredients that make them unique and special.

"You don't see the egg, you don't see the sugar, you don't see the vanilla," she said. "There's so much inside (children) that people don't even recognize -- that people don't see."

And when it comes to the abstinence message, she tells youngsters to "save your cookies for the right glass of milk." Apparently, they should also avoid that "tall drink of water!" (Sorry, I couldn't help the pun.)