Billy Bully

"When Billy Bully comes to play he always takes the fun away."

As Billy Bully does one rotten thing after another, his friends dwindle to zero. With a little effort, Billy Bully realizes that a real friend doesn't think only of himself. Kids will love to count down--and most importantly--back up, as Billy Bully makes it up to his friends and gets the whole gang back together!

"When Billy Bully comes to play

he always takes the fun away."

As Billy Bully does one rotten thing after another, his friends dwindle to zero. With a little effort, Billy Bully realizes that a real friend doesn't think only of himself. Kids will love to count down--and most importantly--back up, as Billy Bully makes it up to his friends and gets the whole gang back together!

Children's Literature

Act like a bully and you will not have any friends. Be a friend if you want to have friends. These are the two simple messages behind this morality/counting tale. Billy is a bull; he is also a bully. He grabs a toy from one friend's hands, cuts in line, pushes, breaks his friend's toy, is a selfish teammate, and plays mean jokes. As each mean act alienates one of his friends, his social circle dwindles from ten to zero. Fortunately, Billy learns his lesson and figures out how to bring his friends back. He says good things, plays nicely, shares his lunch, helps his friends learn new skills—in short, he shows good manners, kindness, and sportsmanship! "When Billy Bull learns how to play," the text concludes, "all his friends come back to play." This book is too brief to be considered brow-beating. Its lessons seem obvious, but they are delivered in a memorable way. It would be a good back-to-school selection for preschool through second grade at the beginning of the year, or as a gentle reminder in classrooms where teachers are observing a pattern of poor behavior. Reviewer: Heidi Hauser Green