Just how bad can a bad day get? BULLY-bad!

A young boy and his dog Stanley suddenly find themselves dealing with a band of comical animal bullies who have invaded their home. There’s a rude hippo in the bathroom, a boorish bear in the den and pesky parrots everywhere. The duo is excluded from games by a team of chimps and hippos, taunted by a cocky kangaroo, insulted by an armadillo and assailed by a jam-slinging tortoise. When a scary lion brings the mayhem to a fur-raising climax, the two buddies resort to hiding in the attic. How will these unlikely heroes win their battle with the bullies?

Follow their struggle and its happy resolution in a zany tall tale designed to help children identify and handle bullying. Resources for parents and teachers are included at the back of the book.

Some Reviews

Editorial Reviews
“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 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.

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.”

“Chaos rules as an entire zoo full of animals decides to take over a boy's house and do whatever they please.

A boy and his dog can't believe their eyes when they look out of the window to find all sorts of animals headed to their front door. And these animals mean business. They take over everything, creating mayhem in every corner of the house. While the boy tries to convince them to, at least, calm down, they turn on him and make fun of him instead. Everything is turning into a disaster, and the boy has no idea how to stop it.

While this is a book about bullying, it brings across the message in a very unique...and hilarious manner. The animals do all sorts of things, which will have readers smiling and giggling the entire way through. There are so many details in the illustrations, that there are all sorts of silly things to discover.. Imagination runs free with everything from lions to exotic birds and much, much more.

The text is written in well-flowing rhyme and makes for a nice read aloud. While the text describes the basis, it's the illustrations which carry the zaniness to the next level. These are a mix of realistic images and art, creating unique scenes. The animals are easy to identify and in the oddest situations, which makes it fun to flip through the pages.

At the end of the book, there are several websites and materials listed, where guardians can turn to when helping children dealing with bullying. The message is very direct by the end of the read, but the fun isn't forgotten, either.”

“In Diana Kizlauskas’s whimsical picture book A Bully-Bad Day, a boy and his dog face an onslaught of troublesome animals.

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…

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