Nobody Knew What to Do: A Story about Bullying

By Becky Ray McCain and Todd Leonardo

The Children's Book Sense 76 - Spring/Summer 2001
2002 Best Children's Books of the Year, Bank Street College

Straightforward and simple, this story tells how one child found the courage to tell a teacher about Ray, who was being picked on and bullied by other kids in school.

Faced with the fact that "nobody knows what to do" while Ray is bullied, the children sympathetic to him feel fear and confusion and can only hope that Ray will "fit in some day." Finally, after Ray misses a day of school and the bullies plot mean acts for his return, our narrator goes to a teacher. The children then invite Ray to play with them, and, with adult help, together they stand up to the bullies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
• Release date: Nov 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9780807557129

Becky Ray McCain

Becky Ray McCain is a mother of three who received her M.A. in Special Education from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Being a mom, writing children's books, studying Native American culture, and teaching students with autism are her passion. 

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Reviews for Nobody Knew What to Do

[tamarasmith_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book gets pretty deep. A boy witnesses his classmate being bullied and he wants to help but is afraid to do so. He doesn't like what he sees but no one seems to be doing anything about the situation. He becomes brave to talk to the teacher about what his classmate is going through and the teacher helps out.

[bsalomon_5 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When Ray is bullied in school, the children are too scared to step in and help him. One day, a little boy decided to tell their teacher what was going on. The next day on the playground, the teacher and principal stopped the bullying that was happening to Ray. Todd Leonardo, the illustrator, did a great job with portraying the actions that were going on in the story, by giving real life visuals. The story is very important for children to hear because they might be able to relate. Also, it will help them to know what to do if they ever had to go through a situation like this. I would consider using this as a read aloud for children in Kindergarten and first grade.