LLAMA LLAMA AND THE BULLY GOAT

Llama Llama loves the fun things he gets to do at school, but will a Bully Goat ruin his day?

Writing, drawing, counting, playing with clay, singing songs during circle time—what’s not to love about school? Well, being called names and laughed at for clapping and singing along, for one thing. Being the target of sand that’s kicked and dirt that’s thrown for another. Teacher has already made it clear that Gilroy Goat’s name-calling will not be tolerated, but Teacher isn’t near the sandbox. What will Llama Llama and Nelly Gnu do? Stand up to him, of course: “Gilroy, this is not OK. / Stop it, or we’ll go away.” They then walk away and tell a teacher. After Gilroy’s requisite lecture and long timeout, kindly Llama Llama approaches him, offering to let him play. While the resolution is too pat, and everyone gets over their feelings unbelievably quickly, still, Dewdney’s lovable Llama Llama offers children one strategy to combat bullying, all couched in her trademark rhyming verse and presented through situations that are sure to resonate with those new-to-school. Her textured oil, colored-pencil and oil-pastel illustrations shine when portraying the animals’ faces—joy, discomfort, surprise, anger, stubbornness, disappointment are all crystal-clear on them.

While children should not expect a Bully Goat to change his ways so quickly, this does provide them with some tools against bullying.