Greg Watkins Reviews

Added September 4, 2006

Brendon Mouse's Big Idea to Save the Bad Bird Bunch

Author: Greg Watkins
Illustrator: Greg Watkins
Publisher: Cute and Cuddly Books
Available At: www.cuteandcuddlybooks.net
Publishing Date: February 2006
Genre: Children: Illustrated
Format: Hardback
Price: $14.95
ISBN: 0-9761318-0-3
Reviewer: Sharyn McGinty
Rating: 7 Gargoyles

When we last saw Brendon Mouse and his friends (A Big Beaked, Big Bellied Bird Named Bill), they had just rescued their new friend Bill from a hungry alligator. Now the alligator is after the Bad Bird Bunch. Although the Bad Bird Bunch are bullies, Brendon Mouse points out, "When somebody's in trouble, you have to help. It's the only thing to do."

Will Brendon's plan work? Will the bullies learn bullying isn't nice and change their ways?

In his second book on bullying, Greg Watkins shows children that bullying isn't a nice thing to do and that we should respect a person's individuality. With gentle illustrations and a good moral storyline Brendon Mouse's Big Idea to Save the Bad Bird Bunch is one book you can feel good about sharing with your children.

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Added September 4, 2006

A Big Beaked, Big Bellied Bird Named Bill

Author: Greg Watkins
Illustrator: Greg Watkins
Publisher: Cute and Cuddly Books
Available At: www.cuteandcuddlybooks.net
Publishing Date: March 2005
Genre: Children: Illustrated
Format: Hardback
Price: $13.95
ISBN: 0-9761318-1-1
Reviewer: Sharyn McGinty
Rating: 7 Gargoyles

Bill is a big beaked, big bellied bird. He's also new to the neighborhood and looking for friends. When a group of birds known as the Bad Bird Bunch make fun of his looks and tell him to go away, he runs into the woods. Here he is befriended by the oddest group of friends he's ever seen: Brendon Mouse, Bartholomew Worm, DJ Dog and Bob Cat. They don't mind his looks and they enjoy his company.

Meanwhile the Bad Bird Bunch meets a hungry alligator who wants to eat them. To avoid being eaten they make a deal with the alligator to bring him a big beaked, big bellied bird instead.

Bill has to choose between being with his own kind or being with friends who respect and value individuality in this charming tale of friendship and bullying.

Greg Watkins tackles something most kids face today in this new series: bullying. Bill is an engaging character whose differences make him relatable to children. His desire to fit in something is something all children (and adults) experience. As a parent, I enjoyed the fact Bill, Brendon and the others resolved their differences without violence or arguing and were even willing to help the Bad Bird Bunch when the alligator turned on them.

Integrity, friendship and cuddly illustrations make A Big Beaked, Big Bellied Bird Named Bill a wonderful tool to introduce and discuss bullying and accepting and respecting others' individuality.

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