A boy and his dog deal with a sudden influx of bullying and bad-natured animal guests in the charming picture book A Bully-Bad Day.The story's protagonists, a young boy and his dog Stanley, hear strange sounds outside their window. They are then greeted by a fantastic, disturbing sight: a host of exotic creatures invading their home. The insulting, ill-mannered animals quickly take over the den, the bathtub, the kitchen, and play with anything they find, showing little respect for their hosts or their hosts' property.The boy wonders what to do, but after finding an old letter in the attic that offers advice, he asks for his family's help. Soon, a crew from the City Zoo arrives and explains some reasons for bullying behavior, before taking the animals away for a happy, and better behaved, new start. The final page offers parents tips on how to help their children handle bullies.The story is zany and entertaining, but the parallels to human bullies are easy to see, allowing kids to absorb the larger message about how to handle bullying. The book is written in simple, delightful rhyming verse; when the boy considers his options, he thinks: "Should we beg them to be nicer?/ ...take them out to lunch?/ Should we give them gifts to stop this?/ Should we throw a punch?"Although the story and writing are excellent, the book's highlight is the artwork, which incorporates realistic portrayals of the boy, his family, and Stanley, along with enough cartoonish elements for the animals to show recognizable facial expressions. The parrots, rhinos, and other animals are colorful and carefully textured, and every page is packed with fun details, like a kangaroo marking the boy's shirt with a crayon, or a bear using the family's TV remote.Filled with excellent rhythm, composition, and technique, A Bully-Bad Day provides a story and art that children will thoroughly enjoy.

In the instructive picture book A Bully-Bad Day, a boy and his dog run into raucous animals, learning how to confront their behavior with care.

In Diana Kizlauskas’s whimsical picture book A Bully-Bad Day, a boy and his dog face an onslaught of troublesome animals.Stanley is a dog. He and his human hear strange noises from their window. When they go to investigate, they discover chaos. There are pirate parrots sputtering cracker crumbs; a hippopotamus sudsing up in the bath; and a bear watching the game and spilling popcorn across the carpet. Not only are the animals disrespecting Stanley and the boy’s home and possessions, they taunt the boy as well: “‘I look great in stripes,’ he tells me. / ‘Stripes make you look fat.’” In another room, an elephant cheerleader chants in support of the bullies as they exclude Stanley and the boy from their games. When the boy and Stanley tell them to stop and be respectful, the animals scoff and threaten them. Disheartened, Stanley and the boy hide in the attic and think about their options. There, they find an old letter whose content helps them.

Inventive turns like bears in sports gear, predatory cats with painted nails, and a squid lounging in the washer make this a fun take on a serious subject. The illustrations burst with details and color: there’s a the rubber duck by the bathtub and a classic Pfaltzgraff plate in the attic. These features complement the central foci of the images, like the boy’s expressive face; he is shown feeling disgruntled, scared, thoughtful, and inspired.

The solutions that the boy-dog duo arrive at are much less fantastical than the creatures who prompted them: they are able to solve their dilemma with kindness and consideration. They learn about the real-world origins of the bullies’ issues—including the poor treatment of animals in circus shows and in lab settings.

The story is followed by a list of resources for confronting bullying, while the rhyme scheme that runs throughout makes for easy, rhythmic reading.