EDDIE THE BULLY

Name: EDDIE THE BULLY
Author: Henry Cole
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0181-1

by Henry Cole ; illustrated by Henry Cole ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 6, 2016

Not a single, perfect solution to the complicated problem of bullying but a reminder that there are a few bullies who can...

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A young bully gets a second chance.

Eddie is clearly miserable and cranky, his feathers spiked up on his head and his yellow beak tilted downward. One could almost feel sorry for him if he weren’t such a pill. But Eddie's a big bully, physically and socially. He uses mean words—“ ‘You were born in a roach motel!’ he sneered at Russell”—and his unkind actions are documented in detail on the endpapers. “He was mean any way he could be, anytime he could be.” Frequent timeouts imposed by exasperated teachers just give Eddie more time to think of mean things to do. His classmates—anthropomorphized cartoon animals who play Person-Person-Monkey at recess—hold their breath as Carla, the new student, takes her seat next to Eddie. But Carla has the first word: “ ‘I LOVE your SWEATER,’ Carla gasped, feasting her eyes on Eddie.” Cole delivers a genuinely funny moment, with Eddie thoroughly nonplussed and unexpectedly redirected. Carla’s exuberant overture of friendship soon has Eddie regretting his mean deeds, wishing he had been a better classmate, and, Scrooge-like, deciding to become a model friend and helper. Cole’s exaggeratedly comic characters pull off this otherwise pat reversal.

Not a single, perfect solution to the complicated problem of bullying but a reminder that there are a few bullies who can actually be disarmed. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4998-0181-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Little Bee Books

Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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ALBERT'S ABCS
by Henry Cole ; illustrated by Henry Cole

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CARINA FELINA
by Carmen Agra Deedy ; illustrated by Henry Cole

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THREE HENS, A PEACOCK, AND THE ENORMOUS EGG
by Lester L. Laminack ; illustrated by Henry Cole

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LOVE FROM THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR

by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 15, 2015

Safe to creep on by.

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Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.

In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.

Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap

Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?
edited by Eric Carle

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WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE BUG?
edited by Eric Carle

- BOOK REVIEW
MY FIRST I SEE YOU
by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)