Chester Raccoon and the Big Bad Bully

By Audrey Penn and Barbara Leonard Gibson

In this latest addition to the Kissing Hand book collection, Chester Raccoon must learn to deal with another common problem of childhood: a bully at school.

When Mrs. Raccoon learns that there is a bully problem at school, she decides to investigate the situation. But after seeing the bully for herself, she shares a story about a forest that was full of smooth yellow stones, and how the animals living there changed a pointy stone they found into a smooth stone so that it wouldn't hurt any tender paws.

Chester, Ronny, and Cassy follow the spirit of Mrs. Raccoon's story when they next encounter the Bully. Approaching him as a group, they invite him to play, proving that the best way to get rid of an enemy is to make him or her a friend.

This book encourages children to understand that many child bullies are themselves unhappy and gives readers a good example of settling differences by peaceful means. Educators will embrace this story about a positive strategy for dealing with a bully.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tanglewood
• Release date: Sep 8, 2011
• ISBN: 9781933718422

Audrey Penn

Audrey Penn takes her one-woman educational program, the Writing Penn, into schools, libraries, and children’s hospitals where she shapes and refines her story ideas in partnership with kids. She is also highly sought after as a conference keynote speaker by groups of teachers and other professionals who work with children.

Reviews for Chester Raccoon and the Big Bad Bully

[karizev-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Students are going to learn how to be nice to each other, and they are going to act out different scenarios of how they can do that.

[bissettm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Chester and his friends turn the school bully nice by asking him to play. Teach kids the valuable lesson of "killing with kindness" and conflict resolution.

[novalibrarymom · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In this installment to the Kissing Hand series, Chester encounters a problem relevant to most school age children today: a school bully. This bully, a badger, snatches toys, dominates the playground equipment,and scares Chester and his classmates. Fortunately, Mrs. Raccoon has a plan, and when Chester and his classmates band together to confront the playground bully, they find that maybe they don't know the whole story.

This is definitely one for the elementary classroom, both as a teaching tool and as a pleasure read. As usual, Penn promotes compassion, a skill difficult to learn in a bullying situation. Parents can also use this text in their own homes as a way of opening up conversation.

[olongbourn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Move Over Franklin... There's a new raccoon in town!

Chester, Ronny and Cassie do it again! They come to Mother with a problem they have at school - a bullying badger. She helps them think through the "problem" with a story... I'm beginning to like Chester as much as Franklin (and I really like Franklin) for young elementary aged students!

This would be a fantastic addition to any elementary teacher's room library as well as the main library of any elementary school. Think about contributing a copy to young child's teacher!

I received a copy of Chester Raccoon and the Big Bad Bully from NetGalley.

[jwitt33 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another great Chester Raccoon book, and another great message to impart! Chester and his friends are dealing with a bully at school, and when Chester's mother learns of this, she tells them a story, as only she can do. She explains that maybe if the kids change their perspective and the way they see the bully, maybe they can get to the root of what makes the bully a bully in the first place. As usual, she is right!I love these books because the illustrations are colorful and attention grabbing, and the story is always a good lesson that kids don't even realize they're learning. Highly recommend:5/5 stars.I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.

[smmorris_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Chester and his pals have been getting bullied by a badger and do not know what to do. Mrs. Raccoon sits the kids down and tells them a story. In the story a forest floor is covered with shiny yellow stones that are cherished and collected. One day a blue stone, with sharp points, is found among all the fabulous yellow stones. No one wanted this ugly rock until they were shown how to value it and help the stone become a better stone. So the animals went to work chipping off the points and polishing the rock. Soon they had a shiny rock they could cherish, though it was still blue. Chester and his pals return to school ready to show some yellow rock spirit toward the bully badger. As a group they approached the badger so closely that the badger became scared. When Chester got nose-to-nose with the badger he smiled and invited the bully to play with everyone. Astonished, the badger agreed and soon after he stopped his bully ways and joined the other animal kids. He was even conscience of being gentle so his quils would not bust the toys.This is another cute Chester Raccoon picture book that helps young children understand sometimes difficult concepts. This one on bullies takes a rather benign approach that may work with younger children. The story had the bullied kids be extra nicer to the bully, hoping they can wear down his anger, frustration, loneliness (Mrs. Raccoon’s theory), and whatever causes kids to bully.The illustrations are colorful, expressive and convey the story well. I think any young child would love this book and would learn to be a little nicer to others and to include others despite appearances or defenses. That is a terrific thing to instill in children. The fabric of our society is only as strong as the threads which weave it. A nice message: be nice even to those who treat you badly because you just might help that person change for the better. OK, maybe that is a lot to get from a 32 page young children’s picture book, yet I say what I think in reviews and I think this book is a wonderful way to entertain and teach.Note: received from netgalley, courtesy of the publisher

[alprince_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a book about a little raccoon named Chester who was scared to go to school because of a big bully. The badge bullied everyone at school including all of Chester's friends. That afternoon Mrs. Raccoon got Chester to gather all his friends so she could share with them a story. After the story the animals returned to school the next day feeling like they could conquer the bully. They all walked together in a pack and Chester held a ball. The friends walked closer and closer to the badger who began to get scared. When they got very close to the badger, Chester asked if he wanted to play ball. From then on they were all friends. This is a good book for children in first or second grade. I would read this book if a child was being a bully or being bullied.