Bully

by Jennifer Sattler

Bully the bullfrog lives in a pond full of lilies. The flowers are beautiful, fragrant, and enjoyed by the many other creatures that also inhabit the pond. The pond is a very pleasant place to live. Or it should be. Instead, Bully decides that only he should be able to enjoy the beautiful lilies. He demands that the other inhabitants of the pond leave. And once Bully has the flowers to himself, his selfish behavior almost destroys them. Can anyone stop Bully and his bullying ways? As it turns out, the answer is YES! Using humor and whimsy, author-illustrator Jennifer Sattler masterfully shows young readers that standing up together can make all the difference in the world.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Storytime, Humor, Friendship

32 pages, ebook

Published July 15, 2018

About the author

Jennifer Sattler is the author and illustrator of several picture books including Sylvie, Chick 'n' Pug, Pig Kahuna, Chick 'n' Pug Meet the Dude, Uh-oh, Dodo!, and her latest, Pig Kahuna Pirates. After several years of teaching college students, she realized that her "inner goofball" needed to come out. Once she started making books for children, she was hooked. "I really am a 5-year old at heart," she says. "These are my people!"

Reviews

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations and the beginning of the story, but the ending was disappointing. I wanted the frog to develop as a character, but he experienced no epiphany about how he ruined his own experience. Had he returned to his old pond, there could have been a realization that a community helps a pond and its plants flourish, and that animals and plants work together to keep the environment a positive and beautiful place. However, he just sat in the mud and stayed grumpy after being chased out of the pond by the other creatures. There was no character arc, so it ended flat.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

His name is Bully and he’s a bullfrog who wants the whole pond of lilies. There are others in the lily pond trying to be nice to the bullfrog, but he’s not having it. He tells them all to leave.

Bullfrog then, has a great time in the pond all by himself. Days past and now, there is only one lily pad left and he just sits there by himself on that single lily pad.

A bee noticed that only one lily pad remains and he talks to the bullfrog about it but the bullfrog doesn’t care what the bee has to say. The bee decides to go talk to the others about the bullfrog. Together, they get their lily pond back and the bullfrog well, he’s still a bully.

I liked how everyone worked together to get something done with the bully and how they were trying to be nice to be bully, even though he was mean to them. I didn’t like how the bully continued to be a bully and didn’t really change at all in the book. He didn’t even take into consideration what happened. It was an okay read, a book to read with children and reflect upon.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was thinking Bully for bullfrog. Apparently Bully is a bit of a bully, which messes up the pond's atmosphere. It is easily fixed, but the frog continues to be a bully rather than learning a lesson.

[Mortisha Cassavetes · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG I loved this story and the illustrations were bright and lovely. This book is about a frog that refuses to share the pond with others. No spoilers. I highly recommend it to kids of all ages.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although some reviewers don't like how this picture book ends, I actually think it mirrors life perfectly. After all, just because someone SHOULD have learned a lesson from the error of his ways doesn't mean that he DOES. In the case of Bully the bullfrog, the beautiful lily pond in which he lives is something he decides he doesn't want to share. In fact, he chases off all the other creatures, including a snail, a dragonfly, and a bee--all because he considers the pond. So greedy is he that he even devours all the lilies but one. Eventually, a bee turns things around on Bully, and he is the one that is chased out of the pond by several other animals. While you might think he'd learn from his past mistakes, that isn't the case. He ends up claiming that his new home--a muddy pond--is his and only his. The brightly-colored illustrations and humorous text will surely amuse young readers and maybe, just maybe, encourage them to be a little more generous and giving toward others. After all, that lily pond was big enough for more than one selfish bullfrog.

[Greg S · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bully is a jerk and gets his comeuppance at the end.

Decent for the most part but the end wasn’t clear enough and went too fast.

I wasn’t excited that the author’s moral lesson was for the animals to get together and chase Bully out.

The resolution was too fast compared to the rest of the book, and my five-year-old didn’t follow it fully.

[Maggie Mattmiller · Rating 1 out of 5]

Would have loved to have seen it end differently, come around, or something. This one had a great start for me, but fell short. I guess I could use it in class and ask students what they think should happen next, what other choices characters could have made, etc. But I think the story needs more.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ending was problematic to me--there was no growth, no development, no resolution, and no chance for things to be made right. If we treated bullies in this fashion, would they ever learn? What would we learn? Would we not be acting like bullies ourselves? *sigh*

[Wynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The message about kindness from the author should have been part of the story. Bully was a drag.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enjoyed the first 3/4ths, but the ending was disappointing. It felt like Bully didn’t learn a lesson.

[amaya the cactus · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 5-Star for Children
(Review for parents and educators, so spoilers are present)


The artwork is fantastic, and I really like the story.

I'm seeing a lot of complaints here about how Bully doesn't redeem himself in the end - however, I feel that that's what makes this book realistic. Not every bully changes his or her ways; and sometimes, all one can do is surround oneself with positive and supportive influences and try to move on whilst accepting that 'some people never change'.

The post-script is wonderful: it encourages children to do what's right, it offers them suggestions of ways they can promote kindness and understanding, and it emphasises the importance of NOT being a bully.

This book is a wonderful tool to use with children and/or classrooms in order to open up a sincere and realistic dialogue about how the world ultimately works - and how to make it a better place in the future.

[Carol Baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bullfrog named BULLY. Why didn't I think of that? I guess because author illustrator Jennifer Sattler did!

True to his name, Bully takes over a pond full of lovely lilies. He commanders everything from the lily's beautiful fragrance to the blossoms themselves. When a bee comes along and informs him that he's squashing the last remaining flower and Bully dismisses him, the bee has an idea.

Suddenly, the bee, along with his insect friends, out-maneuver Bully.

He's forced to leave his precious lily pad and find a new home.

In a humorous manner Sattler shows what happens when people bully others. Kids--and adults--will get the message.

Sattler closes this book, another great classroom resource for pre-school through second graders, with several suggestions on how children can exercise kindness.

Giving this away on my blog, www.carolbaldwinblog.blogspot.com. Enter by August 17

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Greediness, stinginess and outright meanness fill this bullfrog, so much he seems literally puffed up with his own ugly feelings.

The story progresses as his horrid behavior causes him to shove off everyone who intrudes on his beloved lily-strewn pond. As it culminates in a surprising fashion, you find yourself grinning just a little. Here are no sentimental notions of befriending the bully, sympathizing with him or trying to get him to alter his behavior. No, his victims are more concerned with the suffering environment than whatever twisted mentality is making him so niggardly towards his neighbors. Anybody who’s ever entertained feelings of vengeance against a bully will cheer in their hearts.

Avarice and misanthropy combine to put Bully in his place. So the end for the vicious amphibian seems both pitiful and just. He’s gotten what he wanted and what he deserves.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bully the Frog wants the entire pond of lilies for himself and demands everyone else leaves. Once alone he uses all but one of the lilies till only one is left. This one he sits on. A bee notices and talks to everyone Bully chased away. The come up with a plan that seems to consist of chasing away Bully. Once the frog is gone the lilies begin to regrow and everyone is happy again. Bully relocates to a new pond which he has all to himself, probably because it is mostly mud and no one else wants it.
A solid story about a selfish character, and those they bully standing up to them. Those that stand up regain what they lost and all is great again. The illustrations are cute, with well done facial features on each little critter.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite beautiful artwork, this children's picture book was a major disappointment. I totally disagree with the message Sattler is sending to young children. This story indicates that the best way to deal with bullies is to gang up on them, threaten bodily harm, and drive them away. Isn't that acting like the bully? No effort was made in the story to encourage children to get help from adults, nor was any attempt made to change Bully. This story is so inappropriate for children I did wonder if this was a political satire inspired by our current national politics.

[Ellon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could definitely be used to discuss bullying and being an upstander (likely the point of the book). But it's definitely not my favorite book with this message. It's interesting to see other reviews where people are upset that Bully doesn't learn from his actions and just ends up alone and being a grump because in other books where the 'bully' makes amends, people get upset that the victims are encouraged to just forgive the bully. I'm not sure what the right answer is for these types of books. This one was a decent read for me but not a book I'll be recommending to others.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bullfrog is a bully and demands that all the other bugs and creatures in the pond stay away from his lilies. When his selfishness results in the flowers almost disappearing completely, the other critters unite forces and remove the bullfrog from the pond. I was a little annoyed by the author's note at the end which suggested that bullying is a problem that exists in some people, but not in the people who read this book: "although there are bullies out there, there are a lot more kind people. And you're one of them." Everyone has the capacity to be a bully because everyone is sinful!

[Kat Kezon]

When reading this book, children get practice with "-ous" and "-ious" sounds, as well as past tense verbs. This book contains lots of fun new words to discover, like marvelous, glorious, croaked, and heavenly. The ending does not explain itself, instead children get to infer what it means to be alone and covered in mud, rather than in community and surrounded by lilies, even if that means having to compromise and share. The author includes a note at the end about kindness with actionable suggestions for how the reader can spread kindness in their every day life.

[Krysta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bully chases everyone away from the lily pads so he can have them for himself. Then they get together to chase him away and he ends up sad and alone in a mud pond. All I could think while reading was that the book would probably prove controversial since many parents don't like books where victims fight back instead of finding an authority figure to intervene. And I suppose some won't like that the bully is punished instead of redeemed.

[Brianna Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I definitely like the idea of how this book shows what can happen when a bully takes over and ruins the environment for everyone. However, I do wish that the author had input a way for the bully to change his ways or to end up making friends. In the end, he ends up by himself in mud.

Maybe the idea is to show what happens when you are mean and rude to others?

I do like her message at the end of the book about being kind to others and how easy it can be!

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bully is a bullfrog who lives in a pond full of lilies. He wants to keep all of the lilies to himself. So he scares all of the other critters away. Finally he has all the lilies he want to eat, sleep on and admire. Soon there is only one lily left. Bee has an idea. He gets all of the other critters together and they scare off Bully to another pond. There is nothing in this other pond except mud. But it's Bully's mud.

A rather obvious tale. Could be useful with the youngest preschoolers.

[Miss Leinbach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantasy picture book
K-3

I liked this book overall. The bully comes in and takes over things, but in the end he's left all alone in a muddy not very pleasant pond while all the other animals have a lovely pond and are together.

It is a simple and clear story with fun pictures. Definitely able to start conversations about what kind of actions would be considered bullying.

Text that ideas: emotional awareness; bullying; pond ecosystem

[Shabooyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

i agree with 50% of the reviewers and then agree with the other 50%. i like that this book shows that Bully doesn't learn anything because he refuses too; it's a lot like people we encounter in real life. there isn't always a happy ending.

but also it kinda sucks that the kids don't see the change Bully could go through; as someone who read this aloud for storytime however, i like it because it allowed us to discuss what Bully might have to do to be reaccepted into his community

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A frog (toad?) lives in a pond and is determined to have all of the flowers for himself so he chases off all the other insects and snails and proceeds to eat/destroy all the lilies. Then all the other animals gang up on him and bully him out of the nice pond over to a flowerless mud pond with no flowers.

Illustrations are ok.

[Ashley Adkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun idea of using a bullfrog as the main character of a bully. The illustrations are fun and the bullfrog is given a lot of personality throughout his portraits. It was disappointing to see a lack of growth in character from Bully - he stayed mean the entire story. Though, this is also realistic as some individuals are just bullies.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author picked the perfect animal to be the main character in this story. Bully the bullfrog does take over the lily pond. This frog is not a good sharer and reminds me of a 2 year old I know. But proving even the smallest creatures who come to the pond can work together to persuade a bully to share or move on, the story leads us to a good outcome.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bully is a delightful story with the universal message of how bullying can be confronted and the effects of a lesson unlearned by the bully. The illustrations are bright and whimsical and the dialogue is written in various fonts and sizes and colors- this makes for a great read aloud!
A fun story to pair with Swimmy - working together can make the difference!

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would make a good read aloud to start a conversation about bullying. The focus is not on getting the bully to change, but how others can respond. The author include a note about kindness at the end of the book. Interest level is probably K-2 but could be used for higher elementary grades as part of a bullying unit.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frog is greedy with the lilies in his pond. Bee doesn't think the other animals should stand for that behavior. So they get together to do something about it.

I kind of liked that Frog didn't really learn his lesson, but I think it teaches an important lesson that sometimes the bully doesn't have a come to light moment. The note about kindness at the end was lovely.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can almost see the motion in this colorfully-illustrated book about bullies and sticking together to stand up to one. I liked the big-eyed bugs. I went through a period in which all of my cartoon characters had big, googly eyes, so they reminded me of that style.