hsquared's review
2.0
Bailey is a young raccoon in an animal-diverse elementary school who’s experiencing physical bullying from one of the other animals. Eventually Bailey shares his problem with his mother, who alerts the school of the situation. Several helpful adults, including his mother and the school counselor, give Bailey some tools to deal with the bullying, such as staying with a group and expressing confidence by looking the bully in the eye. Each page has commentary in small print that offers extra information about physical bullying, which may help an adult reader. The back page of the book also offers a few print and internet resources about bullying. The digital illustrations are in calm, muted tones and accompany the story without adding much more to the narrative. The story itself feels contrived, with the focus on the issue rather than letting the story take the lead. And though it might prompt important conversations about bullying, so would any number of excellent picture books available, such as Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson or Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
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