Author: Thomas Weck and Peter Weck
Illustrator: Len DiSalvo
Publisher: Lima Bear Press, LLC
ISBN: 978-1-933872-05-6

“Oh bad Bully Bean, What makes you so mean? Whenever you’re near. We all run in fear,” is the rhyming chant the bears say whenever they see Bully Bean in Thomas Weck and Peter Weck’s children’s book, Bully Bean.

Part of the Lima Bear Stories by father and son, this over-sized hardbound book has forty full color pages targeted to ages four to eight years old. Promoting an important message to children, this story is about courage, compatibility and forgiveness. Illustrator Len DiSalvo does an expressive job with large, colorful colored pencil and pastel drawings that cover the pages completely. At the end of the book, there are instructions about before, during and after reading suggestions along with activities that include inventing a machine, understanding caves, and learning about homophones, mnemonics and word comparisons for the advanced reader. Also contained is the creation of the story, a blurb on four additional books in the series and praises.

Bully Bean is the tallest and strongest bear around and everyone knows it. For some reason he picks on Lima Bear, mostly because he is the color green. Sometimes Bully Bean throws him into a mud puddle or deep hole, but Lima’s friends always come to the little bear’s rescue.

When Lima Bear hides in a hidden cave to get away from Bully, he notices the beautiful stalactites and stalagmites but is surprised when Bully has found another entrance and tries to attack him.

While chasing the small bear, a large, heavy rock falls on Bully Bean and he is trapped. Later Lima and all his bear friends climb back into the cave to rescue Bully using ropes tied together on a pulley. It takes the total weight of all the bears on the rope to lift the rock and release Bully Bean.

Bully Bean has tears in his eyes when he realizes Lima Bear came back to save him. From then on he stops bullying Lima and his friends and learns how to help them instead and gives rides to Lima on his big shoulders.

Due to the color-coded and bold words in the story that are explained at the end of the book along with more complex words, the book may be geared more toward advanced readers. If read aloud to a young child, this tome has a charming, educational way to remind us not to bully each other, work as a team and forgive when someone hurts your feelings.

This book was furnished by KSB Promotions for review purposes.

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