Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this children’s book.about bullying.
Visually this book is very pleasing.
The fonts are soft and elegant.
The Illustrations are very appealing esp Barnaby’s Harry Potterish looks and character.
Bertha and her brother are typical scary looking bullies who really are cowards that needed to be put in their place.
Whilst it’s not the ultimate handbook of how to not fear bullies, it should give the bullied some direction and hope that their problems are not insurmountable nor did it need violence to resolve it.

This children's book is about a very smart boy that's being bullied by other children. He picks up a book about Jiu-Jitsu and learns to defend himself with gentle techniques. I liked this book and it's well written .

Remi Makulec's Barnaby Bumstead and the Gentle Takedown is a hilarious, fresh entry into children's fiction. Instead of magic or swords, Barnaby relies on a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu guidebook to survive a chaotic world. Watching an underdog hero use physical technique, clumsy trial and error, and pure wit over raw size makes for an incredibly fun and relatable story. The quick, punchy chapters maintain excellent momentum that will easily hook younger readers. The only reason it falls just short of five stars is a slightly slow setup in the opening chapters. Once the Jiu-Jitsu training kicks in, the book becomes impossible to put down. It is an energetic story with a ton of heart.

Barnaby Bumstead and the Gentle Takedown
by Remi Makulec
The use of martial arts practices helps many children in bully proofing situations. This book shows its not the physical part of the martial arts practice but the mental part. The idea that you can take down a bully through intelligence instead of force is a better way of handling a situation. This is a good book for SEL learning and bully proofing classrooms, homes, and school yards.