Troll

Summary: A Children’s Book Council Summer 2024 Showcase: Imagination Celebration! PickMeet Troll -- an underground bully who learns the power of words and empathy - in this gently powerful picture book just right for sharing and storytimes. Once, there was a scary troll with a scary voice and the scariest love for trolling the forest creatures that dared to come anywhere near him. Each day, he shouted nasty warnings to passersby, telling them to hurry along. But he never faced his victims, choosing instead to shout the obscenities from inside his cave. Then one day Troll comes face to face with one of those victims: a sweet little rabbit, who can't hear and, therefore, can't understand Troll's bullyish behavior. Suddenly, trolling isn't as fun for Troll when the recipient is real.and defenseless. Join Troll as he learns the power of words to both empower and to harm and relish in his transformation from thug to friend as he embraces a new voice for love. Powerful messages of empathy and working through underlying fears. Troll is a title that adults can use as a conversation with the children in their lives about effective communication, choosing to be kind, and anti-bullying.As such, the book will be perfect for election season as an instrument - during a very heated time - to teach social awareness and how to build and maintain empathy (online and in person).Sing-song rhyme with a warm color palette lends well to storytime read alouds, bedtime reading, and classroom settings.Includes important representation. The Trolls last victim, the one that makes him turn it all around, is a kind bunny with a hearing impairment. Not only does this bring an added layer to a "bully" story but it brings needed representation to the children's book landscape.Features pillars of Social Emotional Learning (SEL): social awareness, relationship skillsThemes for Classroom Learning/ Bookseller and Library Displays/Events:National Make a Friend Day (February 11)National Mental Health Awareness Month (May)World Kindness Day (November 13)National Bullying Prevention Month (October)Disability Awareness Month (October)Author-illustrator location: Frances Stickley is based in the UK.Author Bio: Frances Stickley grew up in Nottingham and Norwich, where she spent much of her time making up poems and dressing up her dog. She is a trained children's literacy specialist and a primary school teacher who is happiest when she is covered in paint or stuck in a book. In 2017, Frances was the winner of the Bloomsbury and National Literacy Trust short story prize. She lives with her family and a big-eared dog called Babbage in the UK. When she is not writing, you'll probably find her in a forest playing dragons with her daughters.