Official Review: The Bully Who Learned to Love

[Juliana_Isabella]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Bully Who Learned to Love" by Claudia Villarreal.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Bully Who Learned to Love is an adorable children’s story by Claudia Villarreal. The town bully takes pleasure in tormenting other people, but one day he begins to feel a little bad about making a young girl unhappy. He goes to the one place he knows he can get answers: a school. After seeking out the advice of a teacher, he learns how to accept others for who they are rather than bullying them for being different.

This book is truly charming. The rhyming lines are effective and have a good rhythm when read out loud. The illustrations, which span two pages, are whimsical and colorful. I especially liked that the bully was represented as a small, orange creature while the other characters were extremely diverse. By doing this, the author has ensured that young readers will identify with the characters who show kindness rather than the bully.

The storyline, though simple, teaches an important lesson. There aren’t unexpected twists and turns, but I don’t think there have to be for a book to be good. This story shows that feeling remorse for hurtful actions is the first step towards making amends, and it demonstrates that the bully can be taught kindness and isn’t stuck being mean forever.

Overall, I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I really enjoyed how expansive the illustrations were, and I only found one grammatical issue in the entire story. I honestly don’t have any complaints about this book.

This story would likely appeal to younger children, especially those who are beginning school and noticing how diverse their community is. Older children probably wouldn’t be captivated by the simple storyline, so I would recommend it for children ages 4-8 to read, although early readers may require the help of a parent.

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The Bully Who Learned to Love
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[Letora]

I think this is a book that should be incorporated into schools. There is so much bullying going on nowadays. Thank you for your review!

[rumik]

All kids should read books like this, I love how it shows that bullies can change once they feel remorseful about their actions. Thanks for the review!

[Wriley]

Ages 4 to 8 is the perfect time to introduce anti-bullying messages. At least 4 is. Kids are taught not to bully in schools but it's always good to reinforce in different ways. This book would be great in a school library or at story time for kindergarten.

[Nisha Ward]

I agree with you that a story doesn't need all sorts of twists and turns to be good, and I think something like this needs to be straightforward. It's a good thing that the bully feels remorse because a lot of times people don't seem to understand that that's truly necessary to make amends and it's a good lesson for kids to learn.

[kandscreeley]

This sounds a bit simplistic to me. However, I'm not sure that's a downfall. It gets the message across in a rhyming way; with children, you can't be too complicated. It's definitely a subject that needs more books. Thanks!

[Meg98]

This sounds like a cute and interesting story with a great message. Thanks for this great review!

[kdstrack]

I like the book's perspective of the bully realizing the need and the ability to change. It turns the table on the message of bullying books. Great review!

[Laila_Hashem]

Great review. I love how you pointed out that stories don't need many plot twists to be good, but just need a good theme, which this one clearly demonstrates.

[Skieler]

I do believe this book is appropriate for students due to the fact its telling bout how he learned to love not becoming a bully.

[MatereF]

I think this is a book that should be incorporated into schools. There is so much bullying going on nowadays. Thank you for your review!

I agree with you since there are some bullying victims who have committed suicide (which could have been avoided) as a result of being bullied.

[MatereF]

I like the fact that the author was able to use illustrations that made it possible for children to identify those who showed kindness to the bully. At the same time, the bully managed to realize his mistake and make amends. Great review.

[jasmine-louise]

Wow I am going to have to get this book. I work in child care, the children love rhyming books and the fact that it has a message about bullying is terrific. Thanks for reviewing this book!!