Tony Baloney is a macaroni penguin. He loves fish tacos, Little Green Walrus Guys, his stuffed animal, Dandelion, and anything with wheels. He does not love trouble . . . but trouble loves him. Sometimes, when he is tired of Bossy Big Sister Baloney and exasperated with the Bothersome Babies Baloney, Dandelion behaves badly. And then, Tony must say he is sorry, which is not always easy for him.

I really wanted to love this book, and it was nice, but I didn't quite connect with it. The illustrations are bright and charming. It's easy to fall in love with the cuteness of Tony and his entire family. The story covers the frustrations of a middle child, causing trouble when you lose control, and calming yourself down for an apology. These would be great lessons for pre-K/early elementary kids as a kind of "social story." I felt like some of the language was really great for communicating frustration. "I am not feeling nicely in my heart. How long does it take for nicely to creep in?" That was the part that I felt was a great social story. But some of the humor and wordplay seemed targeted more for the adult reading the book. I usually appreciate that, but in this case I just felt I never got a good, cohesive feeling about Tony. I didn't connect with his predicament like I did with, say, the little girl chicken in the Interrupting Chicken. I'm a middle child so it's not that I didn't understand it, I just never quite related to the story.

this story tells about how a middle child is often frustrated by the actions of the older sibling and the younger sibling, an dhow sometimes being stuck in the middle stinks.

I love this book partially because of the fact I am bias to it as I myself am a middle child. And partly because it is so well illustrated. I love how the illustrations really match the emotion of the narrator. I think this is great to share with younger students because it is so fun and interactive. I think all students can relate to the story in some way. ( )

The middle child syndrome can be frustrating. I like the way the author used an animal to tell the story. This problem occurs quite often and Tony is like most of our children in the classrooms. Acting out because someone acted up towards them. The readers will definitely connect to Tony's frustrations, thinking, apologies, and reasoning for his actions. ( )

The big idea of this book is to show how a middle child deals with frustrations from his older and younger siblings and how being a middle child can sometimes be very frustrating. It also explains why children sometimes act out in improper ways and how children can work those issues out within themselves. I like this book for two reasons. First, I think the book teaches a valuable lesson to readers. Tony is known for misbehaving sometimes, but readers get an insight into what Tony is thinking and the reasons he acts out. The book also shows how Tony deals with his frustration and that he knows the right thing to do, but has to go to his safe-space to calm himself down. Many readers, especially those with siblings, can connect to the way Tony feels. Secondly, I like the illustrations. They are very fun and silly, making Tony feel like a very fun character to be around. The fact that he is not a human character helps any type of reader connect with him, regardless of race, gender or culture. ( )