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Jenna & Mickey
Bully
"You used to be a mouse," said Mickey to his ex-friend Jack. "And now you've turned into a great big rat."
Maybe Jack wasn't a rat, but he certainly was a bully. And he made life very uncomfortable for Mickey.
Mickey's parents had some helpful ideas, but Mickey found that it was easier to talk about loving your enemies than actually to do it, and brave words were often just words.
But then something happened that surprised Mickey as much as Jack. And the unexpected result was that the ex-bully was once more a friend, and Mickey had good reason to be proud of his problem-solving technique.
Maybe Jack wasn't a rat, but he certainly was a bully. And he made life very uncomfortable for Mickey.
Mickey's parents had some helpful ideas, but Mickey found that it was easier to talk about loving your enemies than actually to do it, and brave words were often just words.
But then something happened that surprised Mickey as much as Jack. And the unexpected result was that the ex-bully was once more a friend, and Mickey had good reason to be proud of his problem-solving technique.
- GenresPicture Books
32 pages, Hardcover
First published March 20, 2001
22 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 26, 2020
Although Mickey and Jack had once been friends, Jack's bullying behavior - stealing his cookies at lunch, tripping him up, stealing his baseball cap - had driven a wedge between the two boys. Mickey's father advised him to use his brave words, because bullies were cowards, and his mother advised kindness, in light of Jack's possible feelings about having a new baby sister. Mickey himself wasn't sure what to do, until he saw the other kids begin to bully Jack for his new braces...
The fifth and final picture-book about Mickey, his family and his friends, Bully address an all-too-common childhood problem. Author/illustrator Judith Caseley sensitively depicts how a friendship can deteriorate, and how a child being bullied may feel helpless and unsure of how to protect themselves. I have seen some online reviews criticizing this one, because of the way it handles the central issue. It is certainly true that adults often times underestimate how harmful bullying can be, and mistakenly put the onus on the bullied child to find a solution. What I found interesting myself was the variety of strategies offered by the adults, and how each of these failed. When Jack's mother sees him pushing Mickey at the beginning of the book, she takes him home. This fails to solve the problem, and Jack continues to bully Mickey at school, demonstrating how adult intervention and punishment often doesn't change childhood social behaviors, when adults are absent. Mickey's father's advice, to use his "brave words" and stand up for himself, is something Mickey had already done, in calling Jack a "rat" at the beginning of the story, when he (Jack) stepped on his fingers. This too failed to solve the problem, but rather worsened it, demonstrating that sometimes confrontation can deepen the underlying problems that cause bullying. Mickey's mother's advice, to love one's enemy, is something the young boy attempts to put into practice, by providing extra cookies for Jack, but it too fails, and could even be read as pacifying the bully. In the end, it is Mickey's sympathy for Jack, when the latter boy is called names because of his new braces, that heals the wound between them, and solves the problem.
A part of me finds this solution far too pat, and thinks it unlikely, in most situations. Few bullied children would be able to use this strategy, unless the bully were to become the target. On the other hand, childhood friendships do often follow these trajectories, going from friendship to hostility and back to friendship again, so the story here is not impossible. In the end, I was impressed that Caseley showcased how complex this issue is, even if there isn't a perfect solution provided. I would recommend this one to those seeking picture-books about bullying, and about arguments between friends, with the proviso that they read it through before sharing with children, to see if it might be helpful.
The fifth and final picture-book about Mickey, his family and his friends, Bully address an all-too-common childhood problem. Author/illustrator Judith Caseley sensitively depicts how a friendship can deteriorate, and how a child being bullied may feel helpless and unsure of how to protect themselves. I have seen some online reviews criticizing this one, because of the way it handles the central issue. It is certainly true that adults often times underestimate how harmful bullying can be, and mistakenly put the onus on the bullied child to find a solution. What I found interesting myself was the variety of strategies offered by the adults, and how each of these failed. When Jack's mother sees him pushing Mickey at the beginning of the book, she takes him home. This fails to solve the problem, and Jack continues to bully Mickey at school, demonstrating how adult intervention and punishment often doesn't change childhood social behaviors, when adults are absent. Mickey's father's advice, to use his "brave words" and stand up for himself, is something Mickey had already done, in calling Jack a "rat" at the beginning of the story, when he (Jack) stepped on his fingers. This too failed to solve the problem, but rather worsened it, demonstrating that sometimes confrontation can deepen the underlying problems that cause bullying. Mickey's mother's advice, to love one's enemy, is something the young boy attempts to put into practice, by providing extra cookies for Jack, but it too fails, and could even be read as pacifying the bully. In the end, it is Mickey's sympathy for Jack, when the latter boy is called names because of his new braces, that heals the wound between them, and solves the problem.
A part of me finds this solution far too pat, and thinks it unlikely, in most situations. Few bullied children would be able to use this strategy, unless the bully were to become the target. On the other hand, childhood friendships do often follow these trajectories, going from friendship to hostility and back to friendship again, so the story here is not impossible. In the end, I was impressed that Caseley showcased how complex this issue is, even if there isn't a perfect solution provided. I would recommend this one to those seeking picture-books about bullying, and about arguments between friends, with the proviso that they read it through before sharing with children, to see if it might be helpful.
May 11, 2009
I'm sure this one is doled out by teachers and librarians quite frequently - and it definately has its heart and intent in the right place. However, as the mom of kids who have been bullied, I get really weary of the victim of bullying being the one who needs to set things right attitude with the adults making very little out of it. In this day where we have seen bullying lead to quite terrible things such as teen suicides over cyber bullying, isn't it about time we stepped in and said - hey, not acceptable, call in the grown-ups, this is serious and not to be allowed? My son recalls a "helpful" group arranged by the school - a child in a wheel chair, a child with autistic issues, a hearing impaired child with motor issues, and some other similar cases - all being told by the social worker leader how important it was that they step up and make friends with their bullies, etc.
Yeah.
Yeah.
October 26, 2023
This book was about a kid learning to become friends with the boy who was bullying him. It shows that the reason he became a bully is because of family problems, and not because he actually disliked the kid. He got advice from his parents and also from his sister, and after using all of their advice combined, he became friends with the bully in the end. Its a cute book about not taking it personal when a bully does things to you and gives the students advice on how to deal with a bully. I think this would be good for 3rd or 4th grade.
December 18, 2018
I really feel like I've read this book before, too. Was it another book with the same exact message? Or have I really read this one before? It wasn't marked read already on my Goodreads and I'm usually pretty good about updating this.
May 11, 2022
This book was what you would expect. It is handled well but feels a little dated. The fact that many friendships can descend into bullying and fall apart is something that I talked with the kids about as we read this book.
October 22, 2009
Summary: "You used to be a mouse," said Mickey to his ex-friend Jack. "And now you've turned into a great big rat."
Maybe Jack wasn't a rat, but he certainly was a bully. And he made life very uncomfortable for Mickey.
Mickey's parents had some helpful ideas, but Mickey found that it was easier to talk about loving your enemies than actually to do it, and brave words were often just words.
But then something happened that surprised Mickey as much as Jack. And the unexpected result was that the ex-bully was once more a friend, and Mickey had good reason to be proud of his problem-solving technique.
Genre: Fictional Picture Book
Reading Level: Fluent, This book is a fluent picture book. It has one or two paragraphs written on each page. The pictures support the text but they do not give insight as to what the story is about. The font size of the text is small.
Topic: Dealing with Bullies, getting help, resolving problems
Curriculum Uses: Read-Aloud
Social Issues: This book discusses getting along with others and being able to resolve the problems you already have. It discusses how to be friends.
Literary Elements: Uses repetition in beginning by saying several times, "Watch Me, Watch Me!" "The baby was crying."
Illustrations & text: The illustrations show the emotions that the characters are feeling. The text and illustrations both show how bullying effects children.
Maybe Jack wasn't a rat, but he certainly was a bully. And he made life very uncomfortable for Mickey.
Mickey's parents had some helpful ideas, but Mickey found that it was easier to talk about loving your enemies than actually to do it, and brave words were often just words.
But then something happened that surprised Mickey as much as Jack. And the unexpected result was that the ex-bully was once more a friend, and Mickey had good reason to be proud of his problem-solving technique.
Genre: Fictional Picture Book
Reading Level: Fluent, This book is a fluent picture book. It has one or two paragraphs written on each page. The pictures support the text but they do not give insight as to what the story is about. The font size of the text is small.
Topic: Dealing with Bullies, getting help, resolving problems
Curriculum Uses: Read-Aloud
Social Issues: This book discusses getting along with others and being able to resolve the problems you already have. It discusses how to be friends.
Literary Elements: Uses repetition in beginning by saying several times, "Watch Me, Watch Me!" "The baby was crying."
Illustrations & text: The illustrations show the emotions that the characters are feeling. The text and illustrations both show how bullying effects children.
November 19, 2008
This is a great book that starts off talking about the idea of bullying. Mickey is being bullied around by Jack. He realizes that he must use his own problem solving strategies in order to fix the problem and eventually does it on his own.
Reading Level- Transitional
Curricular uses- Independent reading
Social Issues- discusses bullying and how it is done. Encourages kids to think and use their own problem solving strategies like mickey did to fix his problem.
Reading Level- Transitional
Curricular uses- Independent reading
Social Issues- discusses bullying and how it is done. Encourages kids to think and use their own problem solving strategies like mickey did to fix his problem.
October 3, 2012
Super-didactic picture book that doesn't particularly have that much else to recommend it.
The art has a very distinct late 90s Saturday morning cartoon look, which will definitely appeal to some kids, but others might find dated.
Way too long for a readalong, but might be good if you needed a book for a specific topic.
The art has a very distinct late 90s Saturday morning cartoon look, which will definitely appeal to some kids, but others might find dated.
Way too long for a readalong, but might be good if you needed a book for a specific topic.
July 6, 2009
While you could use this to address bullying, I didn't like the way it labeled the behavior. It just seemed that you could address some of these issues by creating a compelling story on its own, without calling out the name of bullying.
February 24, 2015
I am not sure about this book. It was very interesting to read, it was back and forth with the bullying and too many people giving him advice could confuse a young child. In the end though it was a happy ending because he stood up for the bully in a way by not being rude about his new braces.
September 12, 2008
Use this book to help teach elementary school chilldren about bullying
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews