Leave Me Alone! is a book about bullying. Peter and his family move to a new house, in a new city, where Peter has to start a new school. While getting a feel of the new neighborhood, Peter encounters a boy with spiky hair- Porcupine boy- who stomps all over his favorite stuffed animal. At the new school, Peter doesn't know any of the answers to his new teachers' questions and begins to feel stupid. Here at school he sees Porcupine boy again, who punches Peter. At this point, Peter is very scared and lonely, which is manifested as bedwetting- a detail that I thought was nice to include as many kids can relate to bedwetting. Porcupine boy falls ill, but Peter decides to visit him anyway to give him an invitation to a party. Peter sees that boy is sad and also sees that his room is full of stuffed animals- just like Peter's. While in the boy's room, Peter realizes that he and Porcupine boy aren't so different after all and sees that he is actually quite friendly. Porcupine boy attends Peter's party, bringing him a new stuffed animal like the one he stomped on and the story ends with Peter and Porcupine boy having begun a new friendship. Leave Me Alone is a book that many kids can relate to, however, I would probably look for a better book on the topic of bullying before using this one in a classroom setting. ( )

This book is great for children! Sometimes you feel like the new kid in town and that's okay. It can be hard to be friends but you just have to try.
Ages 4 and up.