The Bully Brothers
Written by Mike Thaler
Illustrated by Jared Lee
Reviewed by Joseph J. (age 11)
The book that I'm about to tell you about is The Bully Brothers by Mike Thalor. This story is not what you might think it is. It's about two brothers named Bubba and Bumpo, who always get bad grades on their report cards. They get F's but change them into A+'s. The problem in this story is when it is Teacher's Night and the two brothers Bubba and Bumpo keep their mom and their teacher away from each other. Read the book to find out what crazy things they do to keep their mom and teacher away from each other.
I liked some of the drawings because they were silly and goofy. If I can say which color he uses a lot of, I would say green because of all the plants. This illustrator also uses many weird animals in his book as class pets. Would you think of having a chicken, a crab, or a horse all in the same classroom? I think the illustrator used marker to color the pictures because it shows up better. When I read the book, it made me wonder about whether or not I would try to change my report card like Bubba and Bumpo. I also wondered if I would ever dress up as someone who takes care of me. I was thinking about how I would look silly or goofy. I would not do that because I would be afraid to be caught. I think this book is fun because it is an easy read. My favorite part in this book is when Bubba and Bumpo dress up as their mom and wear a wig, makeup and a dress to parent's night to fool their teacher. This is my favorite part because they look very silly, looking like a woman. I think the genre of this book was realistic fiction because people can act out if they are really mad. A person can change a report card that they do not get in trouble. I do not think that a person should do this though. They should ask the teacher for help if they are struggling and deal with their problems that way.
I would recommend this book to a second grader. I bet it will make them have a giggle or two. I'm sure the part when Bubba and Bumpo try to keep their mom and teacher apart will surprise them.