This book by Dr. Elana Ashley, about a detective character solving a serious problem faced by kids every day, had my interest immediately. I have loved children’s literature and own an extensive collection that grew with each child. Our shelves are filled with animal stories of all sorts and we have lived through more than one bullying situation in our home.
It’s an important story about bullies. Sadly, many children encounter this situation regardless of whether they are the person being bullied, the person doing the bullying or the person observing the situation. It’s a realistic thought provoking explanation of potential reasons behind why people bully others.
Dr. Ashley examines all sides of the issue and suggests that the person trying hardest to hurt others is often the person feeling most hurt and rejected. It also offers the rare but lovely idea that those being bullied rather than retaliate, have the power to fix a negative situation by practicing patience and kindness.
The author uses an interesting presentation of the characters. The book calls them illustrations and depending upon your definition of illustration, it can be a little confusing. She uses actual photographs of a “puppet team” that appear to be more stuffed animals combined with people in animal costumes. It can be downright frightening to a young child as it was to my Kindergarten neighbor, Graham. He took one look at the cover and cowered behind his sister. Sadly, it detracts from the important message of understanding about how people who are hurting sometimes hurt others. Our detective Splunkunio Splunkey has a difficult name to say, leaving young children, the target audience, feeling frustrated. The multicolored Splunkey, appears to be a version of a sock monkey and children may find him endearing, if only they could pronounce his name.
Dr. Ashley’s story is important and a wonderful read, avoid the “illustrations” with a young child as those I read it to seemed to lose interest in the meaning when they saw the photographs. People dressed in animal costumes may frighten some children, so readers beware before sharing the pictures that accompany the valuable lesson. Save it for a book on tape with some adorable voices or a classroom read where you can address the meaning and focus less on the visuals. I would love to see a version of this book with adorable cartoon illustrations because young audiences rely on visualizing their favorite characters.
Laurie B.
Laurie is a full-time mom; optimist; science cheerleader; big fan, collector and connoisseur of children’s literature.
