Books with author Bill Handley

If you were big and ugly, had a ton of sharp teeth, and a truly enormous appetite, you wouldn't need the "magic word" either! These stories for kids, from acclaimed storytelling songster Bill Harley, center around the theme of being small. Included are "Dinosaurs Never Say Please," about a Tyrannosaurus and "Master of All Masters," a traditional story Harley found in a book by one of his heroes, Joseph Jacobs. "I'm Busy" is a song about the dangers of not listening. "Bojabi" is based on a traditional African folk tale. These selections are four of Harley's favorites for kids in kindergarten through 3rd grade - but you'll find them delightful at any age.

Charlie is cooking up some wacky plans to keep his friend Hector from returning to Chile, but when he learns that some classmates are bullying Hector, he turns all his energy to solving that problem.When Charlie learns that Hector’s family is moving back to Chile at the end of the year, he is crushed. With Tommy’s help, he immediately starts cooking up schemes to keep Hector here, including a campaign to get him selected as next year’s School Ambassador. (Surely Hector will have to stay, Charlie reasons, if he has such an important job.) As usual, Charlie’s schemes lead to one near-disaster after another. But moving away from his friends turns out to be the least of Hector’s problems. Three mean boys have targeted him for bullying and are making his life miserable. Hector wants to solve the problem by himself, but Charlie and Tommy see that he needs help. They start a campaign to save Hector and to defeat “The Jerzollies of Darkness.” This fun series for young readers from Grammy Award-winning author Bill Harley uses humor to illuminate important values such as learning to live together as a family and making the best of a bad situation. For more on this series, visit the Charlie Bumpers website here.