Beefy Goes from Bully to Buddy is the third in Dagmara Sitek’s Courage Tales series which, judging by the titles of the previous two, focuses on kindness and empathy – both sorely needed in our complex technological world where human connections can be so hard to find. The titular Beefy is a bully, disliked by all and seemingly unchecked until the Super Buddies and their hero bot intervene with compassion and discover Beefy's troubled home life and hidden talents. Together, the quintet enters a video game to rescue Beefy's neglectful mother and father, being held prisoner inside the program by a goblin who preys upon absentee parents. As Beefy discovers his hidden strengths, employs his ingenious inventions, and bonds with his new friends, he loses his taste for bullying and becomes a confident, capable pre-adolescent.

Apart from being a tremendously entertaining friendship tale for young readers, Beefy Goes from Bully to Buddy by Dagmara Sitek is chock-full of powerful positive messages about self-worth, second chances, the vital importance of parental involvement in the lives of children, and the value of kindness, to name just a few. This book is targeted at an audience of six- to twelve-year-old readers, and illustrator Lau Frank’s colorful, comic-book-style visual support strikes the perfect chord to appeal to this particular audience. The images are vivid, lively, and easy to follow, making the superbly written narrative all the more accessible for young readers. Beefy Goes from Bully to Buddy is an entertaining, thought-provoking, timely, and refreshingly positive adventure for young readers that will pay moral and developmental dividends long after the first reading.