Bully

Seeger (Green) uses boldly inked barnyard animals to tell her story about bullying, casting a bull in the title role. The trouble starts when the young bull is rejected by an older one: "Go away!" it shouts. The young bull is shaken, but he's learned something--how to hurt others. When a rabbit, chicken, and turtle in the barnyard ask him to play, he grumps "No," then hurls insults at them, names that are no more than the literal truth. "Chicken!" he yells at the chicken, who jumps in the air. "Slowpoke!" he shouts at the turtle. "You stink!" he screams at a skunk. The more he abuses the others, the larger he grows, his angry bluster feeding his self-importance. At last a goat speaks truth to power: "Bully!" the goat cries. "Bully?" the bull repeats to himself. All the inflated air blows out of him, and he tosses and tumbles across a spread like a balloon let loose. Tearfully, he makes peace. Seeger's pages pop with action, and the lesson couldn't be clearer. Ages 3-7. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (July)

PreS-Gr 2--On the cover, bold black lines on an angry tomato-red background depict the scowling title character. Seeger sets the emotional tone from the very start: this is one mean bull. Front endpapers offer a clue to his behavior as readers see a larger, adult bull shout, "Go away!" The rejected little guy hangs his head, and, as many real-life bullies do, turns his hurt into anger. When he comes upon a group of animals who want to play, he puffs himself up in a near-identical pose to his adult counterpart and shouts, "No!" He proceeds to insult them with literal names ("CHICKEN!" "PIG!") that lend a bit of levity and humor to an otherwise serious story. With each insult, the bull's bravado makes him larger and larger, filling and then expanding outside the frame of the pages. Children will recognize and respond to this powerful visual depiction of rage. By the time he yells "YOU STINK!" at the skunk, only his two giant front hooves and enormous snout are visible. When the bull is finally forced to confront what he has become, viewers see him deflate like an overinflated balloon and become small. Again, Seeger lightens the mood with this touch of cartoon whimsy. Spare text and simple drawings allow the antibullying message to come across clearly without being heavy-handed or didactic. The arc of the bull's experience engenders discussion and encourages the quest for satisfying solutions.--Kiera Parrott, Darien Library, CT

"Intelligently conceived and beautifully executed, this picture book is visually and verbally pared down to essentials, making it accessible to a wide age range. Yet for all its simplicity, this story opens up a number of complex issues for discussion." — "Booklist", starred review

"Seeger's pages pop with action, and the lesson couldn't be clearer."— "Publishers Weekly", starred review