Thomas the Toadilly Terrible Bully

K-Gr 2—Thomas is new in town, and he tries hard to make new friends. Really hard. He struts his stuff in fancy clothes, and is determined to be the center of attention. Unfortunately, the other toads just ignore him. He hates being ignored, so he decides he'll be a bully instead. Alas, he's not a particularly good one. With his weak voice and flabby abs, he scares no one. Practicing scary faces and telling mean jokes doesn't help much either. Then he meets Gomer, a nerdy-looking toad with large, round glasses. Thomas's tactics make Gomer cry, or so it seems. However, there's a bigger, "baddest-to-the-bone" bully lurking behind Gomer, and he has been after Gomer all day long. Now, the bully has two victims, and Thomas must think fast to save them both. In the end, he learns that he may not be a very effective bad guy, but he is a pretty good friend. The illustrations are done with acrylics on paper prepared with Gesso. This method provides a cracklelike background for the artwork, which is rendered in earth tones of orange, brown, red, and green. This picture book is suitable for an introductory lesson on relationships or against bullying. A satisfactory work but not "toadilly" a knockout.—Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA