Be A Buddy, Not A Bully With Captain McFinn and Friends

With Broxton getting ready to start school, you know I am getting a bit nervous.

I am all about teaching Broxton right and wrong, but I can not be with him 24/7...

That being said, I was excited to learn about a new series of books, Captain McFinn and Friends.

When I received an email about this book series, I was eager to read them...

"‘Be a Buddy, Not a Bully’ is the underlying theme of this book series.  According to the National Association of Elementary School Principals, bullying has become a national epidemic with an estimated 18 million children in the U.S. being bullied each year; negative feelings from being bullied account for 3 million student absences each month. Educators agree it is critical to educate kids about anti-bullying when they are young to discourage this negative trend.

Captain McFinn and Friends was created by Phyllis Cafaro, with inspiration from her grandchildren.    In 2006, she began her journey to teach important life lessons to children through fictional stories and music.  Her goal is to initiate positive changes in children everywhere."

The Legend of Captain McFinn and Friends: In this story we are introduced to the friendly black tip shark, Captain McFinn, who was once one of the biggest bullies on Sandy Dusty Reef.  He meets the Undersea Friends who teach him, through kindness, that being a friend is always better than being a bully.  Captain McFinn transforms from bully to leader and protector of the Sandy Dusty Reef.

 

Captain McFinn and Friends Meet Coral Rose: Captain McFinn and Friends go on an adventure of discovery when they stumble upon a new paradise where they meet their newest friend, Princess Coral Rose - The Princess Between the Tides.

Captain McFinn and Friends Rock!: The day Captain McFinn and his Undersea Friends start a band, they learn about more than just making great music. When Bella feels left out, it takes some extra Finn Power to get everybody ready for the big contest. Will hard work and friendship win the prize, or will Tox and the Barracuda Brothers ruin the fun?

We really liked the books.

As soon as they arrived, Broxton had to start checking them out...

I particularly liked the size of the books.  They were bigger than average and reminded me a bit of like a coloring book size.  I feel with the story taking place underwater between fish, the size of each page gave plenty of room for illustration, as well as the story telling, without either being crammed into the page.

I also like that the book is a bit more "mature" as far as it isn't a board book, yet it is still "kid friendly" as the pages are more of a card stock thickness, versus pages like the books I read.  

So far, they have held up nicely with Broxton flipping through them.

As for the story line... 

I absolutely LOVE that it is a story with bullying and yet it takes place among fish... I think it is a clever idea and one that still gets the point across.. 

In the first book of the series, The Legend Of Captain McFinn and Friends, we learn that McFinn is a big bully and hangs out with other bullies... He is part of "that crowd," but, when he is in a situation and needs help, his so called "friends" leave him and the ones that he bullies are the ones that are there to help him out.. 

It just goes to show, although he was so mean to them, they saw he was in need and they were nice to him, not treating him how HE treated THEM earlier...   I thought that was a great message.. 

In the second book, we are introduced to Coral Rose.   She is a little princess that lives under the water... In this story, we learn the importance of helping others out (and making friends along the way)  Another side story in this was the fact that the little princess was there to help out the coral reefs in the water... She was helping them against the divers that were down there messing it all up... So, I was able to talk to Broxton about taking care of the area around you...

The third book (and newest one, as it was just released in June) has the gang playing in a band!  It was great to see the bullies back (that were introduced in book one)  and to see that they had maintained their friendship with Coral Rose!  This book was about friendship and how no matter what, friends are there to help and are always going to care about your feelings.  In this story, Bella had her feelings hurt and ran off, after her friends saved her, they realized that they were too busy having fun with each other that they had not noticed she was upset.

Broxton has had a great time looking at these books.  I catch him sprawled across the floor flipping through them often!  

FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.