Review by New York Times Review
In four picture books, a menagerie of creatures teaches lessons on making friends and getting along. NO child (except yours and mine) is nice all the time. But we don't look the other way anymore when children are mean. Four new picture books about bullying substitute animals for children. This charming menagerie lightens things up, allows us to laugh, and sometimes sneaks in - or rams through - a valuable lesson. In Kate Messner's "Sea Monster and the Bossy Fish," Ernest the sea monster (familiar to readers of "Sea Monster's First Day") welcomes a newcomer to fish school who has trouble making friends. The new fish doles out unwelcome nicknames and hogs the dress-up clothes. "I'm a ninja-cowboy-dinosaur-wizard!" The last straw comes when he starts an exclusive club: "The Fresh Fish Club is for all of the cool fish - Lurch the Perch, Big Mouth, Smelly Smelt. You too, Ernesto-Saurus! I'm president." Ernest, taking the high road, starts a new club that welcomes all. "I decided I'd rather be a Friend Fish than a Fresh Fish," he says. Silly jokes are woven into Andy Rash's cartoonish illustrations; Ernest eats Sea Stars cereal, and the library has a book entitled "The World According to Carp." Though the text is heavy-handed, especially when Ernest is setting things right, Messner, author of the Marty McGuire chapter book series, subtly implies that the new fish is behaving badly because he feels vulnerable. Despite his abrasiveness, he wants to earn respect and make friends. Young readers will relate as they settle into the new school year. Alex Latimer, a South African writer and illustrator, doesn't hit us over the head with a message in "Lion vs. Rabbit." Lion is mean, and the other animals are too scared to stand up to him - Zebra brings a note from his mother - so they post an ad: "We need someone to make Lion stop bullying us. Reward of 100 bucks (mostly gazelle)." A few candidates apply for the job, but only Rabbit can get the better of Lion. Rabbit wins every competition: marshmallow eating, trivia quiz, foot race and more. Children may catch on to his sneaky ways - there are hints in the pictures - but Lion never does. "You're amazing," Lion says. "You win. I'll stop bullying the animals." It's too bad that Latimer renders Lion's victims overly passive and the aggressor a changed man only because he lost a bet; it makes the resolution less satisfying. Though peace is restored, neither the bully nor the victims have really learned anything. As in his earlier book "The Boy Who Cried Ninja," Latimer's illustrations are quirky and dryly funny. Most of the animals are drawn minimally, with Twinkieshaped bodies and Popsicle-stick legs. When Lion steals Hyena's "lunch monkey," Hyena holds the limp, dead monkey in one hand and a fork in the other. And when Rabbit sails home with his reward, his ship is indeed loaded with the gazelle bucks he was promised. Adults may wish for more depth, but older children will appreciate Latimer's edginess. For her very young audience, Laura Vaccaro Seeger uses little text and deceptively simple images to say a lot in "Bully." The animals' bodies are illustrated in crisp, flat colors with sketchy black outlines, while animated eyebrows and mouths emphasize their feelings. A background resembling handmade paper evokes the look and texture of barnyard hay. Seeger, winner of Caldecott Honors for "First the Egg" (2007 ) and "Green" (2012 ), sets the story in motion before the title page; a big bull tells a smaller one to "Go away!," launching the angry little bull on his tirade. As the story continues, he lashes out at his friends with insults so direct they're funny: "Chicken!" to the chicken, "Slow poke!" to the turtle, and so on. With each unkind remark he appears more aggressive and powerful; both his body and the text get larger and larger. Finally, the goat calls it like it is: "Bully!" Now deflated, the bull utters one small word, "Sorry," as a tear rolls down his cheek. What's lovely about "Bully" is that the little bull is a sympathetic character throughout. Having shown us the reason for his anger, Seeger offers children a way to root for him. She also provides a way out. Goat demonstrates that he doesn't need to act like a victim, and the other animals give the bull another chance. Anna Dewdney similarly writes touchingly about the emotions of young children. In "Llama Llama and the Bully Goat," the latest title in the best-selling Llama series, she presents characters that resemble Seeger's: an angry bully who gets a second chance and a friend who stands up to and later forgives him. Gilroy Goat is having a lousy day, culminating in an insult-hurling, sandthrowing tantrum on the playground. Llama Llama and Nelly Gnu, in Dewdney's bouncy rhyming text, don't flinch: "Gilroy, this is not O.K. Stop it, or we'll go away." As Gilroy continues to selfdestruct in the background, Llama and Nelly take the narrator's advice: "Being bullied is no fun! Walk away . . . and tell someone!" Gilroy, who stays near the teacher the rest of the day (she knits next to him when he sits in time out), finally pulls himself together, and it's Llama who asks him to play again. Dewdney uses textured brush strokes to paint characters with expressive faces and body language against bright, beautifully contrasting background colors. Children will recognize the familiar preschool setting, complete with circle time, recess and a gentle teacher who just happens to be a zebra. Like Seeger, Dewdney offers young readers a model for empathy, courage and forgiveness. It's an unfair, if not surprising, coincidence that the bullies in all four books are boys. (Alas, bullying is an equal opportunity offense.) But these bullies get a chance to show they're good on the inside. And, with the exception of Latimer's helpless chumps, their friends show their inner strength, too. * Bossy animals get their comeuppance, and a second chance: From left, "Bully," "Lion vs. Rabbit" and "Llama Llama and the Bully Goat." SEA MONSTER AND THE BOSSY FISH By Kate Messner Illustrated by Andy Rash 40 pp. Chronicle Books. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 5) LION VS. RABBIT Written and illustrated by Alex Latimer 32 pp. Peachtree. $15.95. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) BULLY Written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger 40 pp. A Neal Porter Book/ Roaring Brook Press. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 7) LLAMA LLAMA AND THE BULLY GOAT Written and illustrated by Anna Dewdney 40 pp. Viking. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 5) Becca Zerkin, a paper engineer, is working on a pop-up science book for children.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [August 25, 2013]
Review by Booklist Review
The concept of a trickster rabbit, ready and willing to take on a less quick-witted, if stronger, opponent, isn't exactly new. But Latimer does the trope justice and adds a nice twist to the story line: a last reveal that should make readers smile, playing off a rabbit's capacity to multiply. Set in Africa, the story centers around a lion who is such a bully that the other animals are willing to pay someone to stop him. Their first attempts to recruit a hero are failures neither the bear, tiger, or moose is up to the task. Then comes Rabbit. The little guy proposes a series of competitions a marshmallow-eating contest, a TV quiz show, etc. all for which Lion is ill-prepared. Bright art and boxy-looking critters will seem familiar to fans of Latimer's earlier books. Meanwhile, plenty of busy asides allude to Rabbit's quick thinking, and evocative but simple facial expressions help make the story lively. Readers should be pleasantly swept up in this underdog victory.--Cruze, Karen Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
From "The Tortoise and the Hare" to Shark vs. Train, adversarial showdowns are a sure bet for stories in which an ego-check is in order. Latimer (Penguin's Hidden Talent) seems to know this well, and he combines a cast of savanna animals, a slew of modern competitions, and plenty of visual and verbal humor in this story about a bullying lion. With a roundish body and tiny claws, Lion looks more teddy bear than king of the jungle, but that doesn't stop him from tormenting other animals, whether he's sticking a "silly note" on Zebra's back (it reads "I am a horse") or stealing Hyena's "lunch monkey." Too timid to confront Lion, the animals place an online ad for a rescuer. A bear, moose, and tiger are no match for Lion, but a small brown rabbit has what it takes, besting Lion in artistic, intellectual, and athletic feats. Latimer's digitally colored pencil cartoons are full of funny details (a TV color test appears in Lion's thought bubble during a trivia challenge), and while he lets readers in on Rabbit's secret to success, Lion simply gets a satisfying, fable-worthy comeuppance. Ages 4-8. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Lion is nasty to his fellow jungle animals: he gives Buffalo "a wedgie," sticks a note saying "I'm a horse" on Zebra's back, and steals Hyena's "lunch monkey." The beleaguered creatures decide to place an online advertisement for a protector, but the respondents can't compete with Lion's boxing, fencing, and arm-wrestling prowess. When a small rabbit arrives, Lion assumes certain victory. The king of the jungle is surprised when he fails miserably at besting the bunny at marshmallow eating, hopping, and painting competitions. After losing the final "race to the top of the mountain" challenge, Lion admits defeat and promises to stop bullying the animals. Latimer's digital colored-pencil illustrations humorously capture the funny details of the contests, such as Lion's paint-splattered stick drawing of a dinosaur compared to Rabbit's rendition of the Mona Lisa (with bunny ears). Readers will laugh at the surprise revelation that a colony of wily rabbits was in on the success. This quirky twist on "The Tortoise and the Hare" is a winner.-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
When Bear, Moose, and Tiger all fail, Rabbit steps up to stop Lion's bullying ways. Fooled by his small stature, Lion is quickly outwitted by Rabbit (and his twenty-one brothers), and Lion's tyranny comes to an end. The humorous, silly digitized drawings invigorate the otherwise heavy topic of bullying, while the story's twist makes this a refreshing addition to the canon. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Lion's a real bully, but he may have met his match when wily Rabbit takes him on. Tired of Lion's bullying but not brave enough to confront him, all the animals advertise for someone to "make Lion stop bullying us." A bear, a moose and a tiger respond, but Lion quickly defeats each. When Rabbit arrives, Lion's confident he'll win and tells Rabbit to pick the contest, so Rabbit chooses a marshmallow-eating competition and wins. Disgruntled, Lion complains he was sick, so Rabbit offers a quiz contest. Rabbit wins this, as well as hopping and painting competitions, but as Lion always has some excuse for losing, Rabbit tells him to choose a final competition. Knowing he's faster, stronger and a better climber, Lion suggests a race to the top of the mountain, but no matter how fast Lion runs, clever Rabbit always seems to get ahead. Precise, digitized pencil illustrations utilize simple lines, patterns and colors to highlight Lion's mean and silly bullying antics, his prowess in competitions against the bear, moose and tiger, and his humiliating defeats against wily Rabbit. Readers with sharp eyes will be rewarded with numerous amusing visual details, including hidden hints about how Rabbit outwits Lion. A droll, nonthreatening tale of bullying in the guise of a modern fable. (Picture book. 4-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
