On March 15th run to your local bookstore and pick up a copy of What Happens Next by Susan Hughes and Carey Sookocheff. Better yet head to your favourite bookseller and preorder a copy. This book is an incredibly important book for our young people and in my opinion should be in every home, library, and classroom. What an incredible story to share about bullying. There are no euphemisms, there are no inferences to be made, it is straightforward and such a beautiful way of explaining bullying behaviours and perhaps offering a suggestion about how to stand up for oneself to curb bullying behaviour. Parents: read this book!! I will shout it from the rooftops, READ THIS BOOK! What an excellent example of how we should all respond to disclosures about bullying. I find that it can be an incredibly hard topic to navigate. How do you keep a child safe while also trying to empower them to stand up. How do you teach a child who is the bully to recognize we all have a different way of looking at the world and we all have to share this space together, so we should find a way to coexist together. Finally, how do we empower the bystanders to help and step in when they see someone being hurt.
What Happens Next is the first book I have read that gives straightforward, real life information in a way that is kind, loving, and understanding.
Carey Sookocheff’s art in this book is perfect! I love her use of simple drawings with a muted and simple four main colours to tell the story of the bullier and the bullied. His book is not one that needs incredibly detailed illustrations in many colours. It’s perfectly executed to have the most impact, to help the reader understand the dull and gloomy feelings of being bullied and the lightness and colour that can come once a resolution is found. What Happens Next is not going to be the answer to all of the bullying problems out there but at least it is one place to start, a little light in a terrible and dark time.

This was seriously one of the worst children's books that I have ever read! I hated the layout and the artistry. I thought it was a concept that someone pulled out of their teeth just to make a book. I would never recommend this to anyone! I wish I could give negative stars!

This book is a nice story, told through simple illustrations, about how a child dealt with a bully. I liked that the author showed the difference between what the child thought/felt and what he actually said/did. I think this would be a great classroom read to show that we have more in common than you think.
However, growing up, I am not sure that talking to the bullies and telling them what I thinking would have helped my "weird" status, but it is a nice thought.

*thank you to Netgalley and Owlkids Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

3 stars.

This made me emotional. Angry that this little girl was being bullied. Sad about how it makes her feel. Happy for when she described her time with her Mother and Dog. Then proud for when she spoke up to her Mother. Up until that point I would have given this 4 stars. The way the Mother helps her daughter understand why 'Bully B' is a bully (or at least maybe the reason why) was really good and helpful for all kids to know. The reason I dropped my star rating down to 3 is because I don't believe that what happens next, with the little girl talking to Bully B, is what would actually happen in real life. I was bullied from ages 5-11. Every day, all day, at school. I'd tried talking to my bullies (they usually travel in groups and I had 6 of them). If I'd have said what the little girl had said, it would have made the situation worse. A bully is not going to just stop like that. It's wishful thinking and maybe, just maybe, for some it might actually happen, which I guess is probably what the author was thinking. That this could work in some situations. It is still good advice to teach. That trying to talk to your bully (calmly) is one way to try and solve the abuse.

I still believe that this book could help people at least if it's just the first part of it. Any amount of help this book gives would make it all so worth it. I really hope this book spreads to all the children that need it.