''The Ant Bully'' () is a 1999
children's book
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader.
Children's ...
drawn and written by John Nickle. It is about a young boy named Lucas Nickle (also known as Peanut the Destroyer), who is the
title character
The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...
in the book and who likes to torment
ant
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...
s. It was later adapted into a
computer-animated film of the same name by
John A. Davis, produced by
Legendary Pictures and
DNA Productions
DNA Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio and production company founded in 1987 by John A. Davis and Keith Alcorn, which is best known for its comedy films. It also provided directing, script writing, and production to its client ...
for
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...
.
Story
Lucas is a boy who is perceived as "strange" by his peers due to his funny glasses and propeller beanie (hat). Sid, the neighborhood bully, continuously bullies Lucas by spraying him with a water hose and stealing his hat. In an attempt to cope with Sid's actions, Lucas projects his anger onto a local colony of ants by spraying them with water, just as Sid has done to him.
The ants have enough and tackle and shove Lucas into the queen's chamber, and the queen confronts him about all of the trouble he has caused the colony. When Lucas is too shocked to even respond to her, the queen takes it as an insult, and orders an ant wizard to shrink the boy down to the size of an ant and take him to trial, where the judge declares him guilty. His punishment is to work hard like an ant, working in the field, gathering food, defending the colony from wasps and spiders, and taking care of the queen, the worst part of his punishment.
After a while, the queen tells Lucas that he has one last test to be set free: he must go home and bring her a Red Sweet Rock (jelly bean). Lucas brings two ants with him on the journey, and they ask him what it's like being a giant. Lucas tells them that he isn't a giant and gets picked on by Sid, who does all the same things Lucas does to the ants. When they reach his house, they find a box of swell jells, but Lucas's father sees the ants and tries to smash them with a fly swatter. Lucas shouts at his dad to stop, helping the ants to escape. Meanwhile, the queen is upset, fearing that Lucas was killed, but to her surprise he returns, and as promised she gives him the potion to return him to his right size. Lucas falls asleep and wakes up to see Sid, only to his surprise the ants got to him first and shrunk him as revenge.
External links
*
The Ant Bully' at JohnNickle.net
ReadingtoKids.org
1999 children's books
American picture books
Children's fiction books
Children's books adapted into films
Fiction about insects
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de:Lucas, der Ameisenschreck