Thomas and the Lily Pond is a book about bullying, and the values of loyalty and friendship. It is directed at children ages 3-6 years old, and can be read by parents as a bedtime story or by teachers in a pre-school or kindergarten setting.
The book is about a group of very happy animals residing in a forest—their world is peaceful and calm, until the day a huge frog, named Bruno, arrives on the scene and their world is turned upside down! Bruno manages to establish his entirely selfish needs through flattery, manipulation, and alienation.
His prime goal is to take over the lily pond—the home of a docile, loyal, and very hard-working turtle, named Thomas. He flatters the birds, Binnie, and Corinna, also Rupert the Rabbit and Princeton the Porcupine. He is very successful in achieving this, as they agree to conduct a night raid—a food heist—under his direction. Bruno encourages more animals to join in what would, of course, match the needed requirements. He engages a skunk named Spike, a quick and savvy squirrel named Sammy, and a masked raccoon named Roman.
Through the frog's manipulation, they have all turned harshly upon their wonderful and loyal friend, Thomas. He is berated and left alone, except for the wise owl, Winston, whom observes all of this conversation from high above, in the old oak tree. They all set off on the specified night, following a map, until they reach their destination and attempt to steal bags of food from a huge garbage can. The skunk's prowess is required immediately, as they run into trouble when Roman inadvertently overturns the whole can and it lands on top of him!
They manage to escape and make it back to the forest and start to feast upon their plundered treasures. The frog eats the most and is sitting a little lower in his lily pad chair upon finishing the meal. They've all eaten so much, they fall asleep and are entirely unaware of an impending storm approaching.
Chaos ensues as they are blown one-by-one by the high winds into the wild, churning water. They cry out for help, and there is only one left on shore—Thomas! He does not hesitate to dive into the churning water and try to rescue his friends from drowning, as they swirl around and around in circles. The last one remaining, and a non-swimmer, is Bruno—crying out in desperation to be saved by the turtle that he had so ruthlessly bullied.
All is well in the end, as the animals recognize how important it is to be loyal to friends and not to be taken in by flattery and peer/group pressure. They recognize the bullying behaviour of the frog and how they were the very willing participants in his scheme. In the end, they have learned to truly value the friendship of their true friend, Thomas.
For more books to help you and your kids talk about bullying, click here.
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