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Title: Lucy and the Bully
Author: Claire Alexander
Reading Level: Ages 4 - 8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-8075-4786-1

Claire Alexander’s book is a sad but uplifting book about bullying. Bullying has become a real problem in today’s culture, and because of this, this book is of extreme importance to kids. Alexander’s story is simple and has wonderful illustrations. It will help young children talk openly and honestly about bullying. But most importantly, Alexander assures the reader that bullies can be stopped and something can be done about this growing problem.

The main problem with bullying is that bullies are great at hiding their actions and intentions from others. The only person who really knows that they are being bullied are the victims. And that is really sad. Alexander shows what some of the criteria of bullying are. And that in itself is very
important because most kids don’t even know that they are bullied.

I asked my five year old niece a few weeks ago which actions constituted bullying. At first, she wasn’t able to tell me. Then I read Alexander’s book with her, and all of a sudden she understood what bullying meant a lot better. Not only that but when I was visiting at her school a few days later,
she pointed out a real case of bullying to me. Now that was real progress.
According to Alexander, bullying is the use of aggressive, intentional, and often repetitive behavior in order to expert power over another person. A bullied child feels defenceless and intimidated. The victim may even feel uncertain about whether or not (s)he should seek help.

Sometimes, the bullied child may not even know that he/she is being bullied because the bully usually plays mind games with the victim.
Alexander’s message is that bullying should be dealt with right away. It’s essential for the victim to seek help from an adult as soon (s)he suspects that (s)he is being bullied. Than the adult must strive to ‘work it out’ with the bully. The victim need not feel responsible for stopping the bully him/herself.

The harmful effects of bullying can be lessened if adults are attuned, available, and accessible to their children. Adults must try and find a way to talk to children about bullying early on because bullying is becoming a problem at an increasingly earlier age.

Since most children learn by example, sharing stories about bullying situations and how to overcome them through successful resolutions is a wonderful learning tool for kids to not be victimized by bullies in their school or neighbourhoods. It also allows kids to imagine similar situations and it may even help kids make sure that they don’t become bullies themselves. Reading such stories with children can create a safe environment and connection between the parents and children by addressing a difficult topic in a friendly manner. This certainly occurred when I read the book to my niece. And I also now know that she will know how to tell whether she is being bullied and will seek help from teachers or other adults.

I was absolutely mesmerized by this book. It wonderfully illustrates the viciousness of bullying and how the victim feels. What an important book for our times! Thank goodness for authors who take important topics like this one and make it child-friendly!

About the author: Claire Alexander lives in England, where she studied art at the Kent Institute of Art and Design. In addition to her work as a children’s book author and illustrator, she is an
acclaimed portrait artist, with paintings in private collections in Europe, Australia, and the United States.

About the Reviewer: Irene S. Roth is a freelance writer for kids and young adults. Her work has been published in Girls’ Life and Boys’ Life. Roth is a reviewer for The Muse Reviews and the National Writing for Children Center. Find out more about her at www.sites.google.com/site/irenerothfreelancewriter.