What If Bunny's NOT a Bully?

by Lana Button, Christine Battuz

Overview

Not your typical bullying story. Gertie the elephant says everyone on the playground should stay away from Bunny because she’s super mean. But Kitty has questions: How did Bunny become a bully? Was she born that way? Did she catch the bully flu? Wait, does that mean bullying is contagious? Could the other animals catch it? But … then no one would play would them either, and that doesn’t seem fair. Might Bunny be sorry? Should they give her a second chance? Flipping the focus turns ideas about bullies (and those who call them that!) on their heads.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781525305177
Publisher:	Kids Can Press
Publication date:	03/03/2020
Series:	Kitty and Friends
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	71 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Lana Button works in early childhood education. She is the author of Willow's Whispers, Willow Finds a Way, Willow’s Smile and My Teacher’s Not Here! Lana studied theater performance at Concordia University in Montreal, and now lives in Burlington, Ontario, with her husband and three daughters.;Christine Battuz has illustrated over sixty books for children, including Wade’s Wiggly Antlers and What If Bunny's NOT a Bully?, and has taught art to children of all ages. She lives in Bromont, Quebec.

Editorial Reviews

... the message of giving friends a second chance is well expressed, and teachers will find a useful opportunity in identifying for children who the real victim of bullying is in this story.—Booklist

A playful approach to a serious topic, this is a great choice for young readers to explore what it means to be a bully and the reflect on the power of forgiveness.—School Library Journal

... a beautifully illustrated atypical bullying story for primary aged children ...—CM Magazine

From the Publisher

04/10/2020

PreS-Gr 2—Gerti the Elephant and a group of her school friends gather in the schoolyard and watch as Bunny approaches. Elephant tells the others to stay away from Bunny since she is a bully. While Elephant is insistent that Bunny is a bully, Kitty starts to question how one even comes to be called a bully. She asks: Is it something you can catch like a cold? Was Bunny born that way? Kitty's series of questions provide the catalyst for the group to consider that everyone makes mistakes, and when someone else becomes excluded, they become the bully. The story is an important lesson in forgiveness and recognizing when the role of bully has been reversed. Button's story adeptly captures the nuances of schoolyard politics. Battuz's illustrations are bright, colorful, and charming. Though Button tells the story in simple rhymes, the text offer an opportunity for deep reflection in a way that is accessible to children. VERDICT A playful approach to a serious topic, this is a great choice for young readers to explore what it means to be a bully and the reflect on the power of forgiveness.—Kaitlin Malixi, Kensington Health Sciences Academy, Philadelphia

School Library Journal

2020-01-12
A pointed invitation to consider the notion that people deserve second chances.

Led by an elephant who could stand in for the sizable and undisguised agenda as well as a child in Battuz's cast of clothed young animals, everyone on the playground ostracizes the flop-eared supposed offender: "There's Bunny! There's the bully! / She looks extra mean today. / Stick together, everyone. / Make sure she stays away." A little kitten is curious about how bullies happen ("Did she pass a bully test / at a Be a Bully School?") or what Bunny actually did to earn her reputation. Receiving no answers, Kitty frets about coming down with "The Bullies," like a contagious disease that would result in being similarly shunned for life. Kitty's fears make other animals protest that they'd never do that to one of their own because it would be mean—which causes the penny to drop (in a pregnant wordless spread) and opens the door for a general apology from Bunny that leads to a reconciliation. " ‘I think friends can / make mistakes… / every now and then.' / ‘Want to see what happens… / if we all just try again?' " As Bunny never looks or acts the bully, she's the one who comes off as the victim here…a reversal that real-life victims may find implausible.

Flimsy and message driven. (Picture book. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews