Published by Schwartz & Wade Books

Summary:  In this wordless book, Vanessa is new at school, and seems to be feeling isolated on her first day.  She sits quietly in class and watches kids playing in the gym without joining in.  As she walks home alone, a boy walks up to her and starts yelling.  Another girl witnesses the incident and is clearly bothered by it, continuing to think about it after she gets home.  The next day she wakes up with an idea.  She saw where Vanessa lives, so she stops by her house and asks to walk to school with her.  As the two girls walk, others join them, first one at a time and then in groups, until there are dozens of kids walking together, Vanessa in their midst.  The bully is shown on the edge of the crowd, his face red and angry.  The happy crowd of kids enters the school, and Vanessa has found a new friend.  The last page has a message for kids about how to help someone who is being bullied and some helpful words for adults to use when talking about the book with children.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  Although there are no words, kids will get this book right away.  There’s a truly feel-good ending, and the story will lend itself easily to discussion afterward.  The cartoon kids are adorable.

Cons:  The issue of bullying is not always as simple as this book makes it out to be.

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