Willow Finds a Way - Lana Button

Willow Finds a Way by Lana Button
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Willow is thrilled the whole class -- including her! -- is invited to classmate Kristabelle's fantastic birthday party, until the bossy birthday girl starts crossing guests off the list when they dare cross her. There are many books on bullying, but Willow's story offers a unique look at how to handle the situation as a bystander.

I enjoyed this picture book, it covers bullying in a very child friendly way.

Willow is worried about being the only one that wouldn't be invited to the birthday party and because of this she goes along with what Kristabelle wants, as do the other children in the class. This bullying of the whole class continues into another day and is only when one boy stands up to her do things change.

I feel that the bullying wasn't addressed by the teacher, however working in a primary school, I know children don not always mention things and I feel that this picture book is a very good representation of how a child may feel. As a teacher/parent, the issue of Willow not saying anything to an adult could be addressed as a message for after the story has been read.

I think that this story is a good example of bullying not of a physical nature as many smaller children may not be able to identify this as bullying. Children will be able to relate to this story and I feel will generate discussion within the classroom.

The illustrations in the story are a little simple - stick figures, however these would appeal to the children who would be accessing the book.

I would definitely read this story to my class and would recommend it to other teachers, I only wish I had a hard copy sent to me instead of an ebook so I could have shared with my class. 

This was sent to me by the publisher, thank you very much.