Bully Trouble at the Puppy Park

JoAnna Pettit-Almasude

Jul 2022 · Middle East Publishing

About this ebook

The Adventures of Lucy and Luke: Meet Lucy and Luke, two sweet little pups who are the best of friends ... most of the time. They are always on the lookout for fun. They find excitement and adventure everywhere, and their quest for adventure sometimes gets them into trouble. Along with their best friend Angel, Luke and Lucy go on daily adventures around the house, in the side yard, and when they go on walks around their neighborhood.

In book one, Bully Trouble at the Puppy Park, Luke and Lucy meet their friends Kayla and Poppy to go to the neighborhood puppy park. As they enjoy themselves and have a lot of fun, little Lucy runs into the mean Bully Gang. Things get tricky when Lucy is cornered and bullied by the group. The book explores how to deal with bullying from a "puppy perspective." This book aims to teach children strategies to deal with challenging bully situations. Stand up for what is right ... even if you stand alone!

Ratings and reviews

This charming book tackles a bullying topic in an age-appropriate writing style and striking art that speaks to emotions with a perfect blend of human behavior and the animal world that everyone will enjoy. An adult reading this story to a child will appreciate the problem of bullying presented and solved in an inspiring manner that helps children learn a constructive behavior when faced with adversity while promoting kindness and self-reliance. This is a must-have family read.

This is one of the best children's books I've ever read. The artwork is stunning, colorful and dynamic, and the story is well-written, heartwarming, and uplifting. If you love dogs you'll especially enjoy this lovely book, and its message about how to deal with bullies is spot on. I can't recommend this book highly enough. Kids will love it, and so will adults, especially the amazing artwork.

I started this children's book in January 2021, and life got in the way of completing the project in a timely manner. A major move, and downsize of our family home provided a 6-month hiccup. I also had struggles with character designs and completely redesigned nearly all of the characters when the project was half completed. Anyway, it's complete, and I feel pretty proud of it. I hope parents will enjoy reading it to their children.

About the author

Author and Illustrator, JoAnna Pettit-Almasude was born in 1964 in Marietta, Ohio. She has had a passion for art since she began drawing on her family's living room walls at 18 months. So, it was no surprise when she completed her Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts and her Master's Degree in Fine Arts from Ohio University many years ago. JoAnna taught painting, drawing/illustration, animation, etc., at the university level for 20 years. Her artwork (paintings, drawings, and bronze sculptures) has been exhibited in the USA and internationally for nearly 40 years. JoAnna has a passion for all forms of applied fine and digital arts. However, she has wanted to create illustrated books for children since childhood and her love of children's picture books. She published her first children's book in 2020, My Tamazight (for indigenous Amazigh children). She has a second book for the same market forthcoming.

Kathryn Jane Shaw Pettit prefers to be called Kay Pettit, was born in Marietta, Ohio, in 1942. Her fondest memories of her 1940s childhood are looking after, reading, and telling stories to her little brother and sister. Teaching children was a talent she recognized and loved from a very early age.

Kay married her sweetheart Joe a year after graduating high school … and they soon began their family. It was hard to attend college with little children in the 1960s, so she put aside her plans to become a teacher and focused on her three little girls and their family farm.

Kay and her husband became foster parents from 1969 to 1976, caring for more than 30 foster children. She had as many as five foster children, all under five years old at one time. After resigning as a foster parent, she worked for one year as a teacher’s aide in a country school. This, as well as circumstances (her youngest was old enough to go to school), gave her the push she needed to go to college in the fall of 1977. So, the whole family moved from their farm outside Marietta to Ohio University's family housing apartments in Athens, Ohio!

Kay earned a BS degree in Education (1980) and a Master’s degree in Computers and Technology in Education (1997), both from Ohio University. Kay taught special education at the Marietta School (elementary level) for 27 years. She especially enjoyed helping children learn to read and write, especially with technology in the classroom. Kay feels books promoting good character are very important, so they are her favorite.