The Rat and the Tiger

Author/authors: Keiko Kasza

Type of emotional/crisis issues addressed: Bullying

Year of publication: 2007

Publisher: Puffin

ISBN#: 978-0142409008

Age level: Lower Elementary

# of pages: 32

Quality of illustrations: Beautiful watercolor illustrations

Brief summary: Rat tells how he used to have problems with his best friend, Tiger. Tiger used to bully Rat, making him be the bad guy in their games and leaving him the small pieces of treats. When Tiger kicks over Rat’s castle made of blocks, Rat says that Tiger isn’t his friend.

Activity: Have a class discussion about how Rat and Tiger worked out their problems. Go over what to do when someone is bullying you or another student and do role plays.

The Berenstain Bears and the Bully

Author: Jan and Stan Berenstain

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Bullying

Year of Publication: 1993

Publisher & Location: Random House Books for Young Readers

ISBN#:978-0679848059

Target Age Level: preschool, early elementary

# of Pages: 32 pages

Quality of Illustrations: Good as all BB books are

Brief Summary: When Sister Bear gets beaten up by Tuffy, the new cub in town, Brother huffs off to set this bully straight. But he's in for a surprise--Tuffy's a little girl, and Brother just can't bring himself to fight her.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children:

It uses Violence as a solution to bullying but also talks about reasons why children bully, putting the victim in the bullys shoes. It does end with a visit to the school psychologist which is realistic.

Activity: This would be a good book to start a discussion about what bullies are thinking and why they act the way they do.

Stop Picking on Me

Title: Stop Picking on Me
Author: Pat Thomas

Type or emotional/crisis issue addressed: bullying

Year of Publication: 2000
Publisher and Location: Barron’s Education Series
# ISBN-10: 0764114611
# ISBN-13: 978-0764114618
Target Age Level: 4-8
# of Pages: 32
Quality of Illustrations: very good
Brief Summary:
This book explores the dynamics in relationships among children of preschool through early school age, and encourage kids to understand personal and social problems as a first step toward solving them.
Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children:
A great resource for understand bullying and whatyou could do to protect yourself.

Activity: Ask children to make a list of bullying behavior and write them on the board.

There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom

Author: Louis Sachar

Type or emotional/crisis issue addressed: bullying

Year of Publication: 1987
Publisher and Location: Bullseye Books, New York, NY
# ISBN: 0-394-80572-0
Target Age Level: high school
# of Pages: 195
Quality of Illustrations: no ilustrations

Brief Summary:
Bradley is the oldest kid in the fifth grade. He tells lies, picks fights and has a lot of behavioral problems. No one likes him, except Carla, the new school counselor. She thinks Bradley is sensitive and generous and she even enjoys his stories. Carla knows that Bradley can change when even Bradley is not so sure.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children:
A good example about believing in yourself.

Activity: Class discussion in small groups and reporting the results to the class.
Posted by Nalu de Araujo Nunes

The Skin I'm In

Author: Sharon Flake
Type or emotional/crisis issue addressed: Bullying or Sexual Abuse
Year of Publication: 1998
Publisher and Location:New York : Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children
ISBN# 0786804440
Target Age Level: Junior High, High School
# of Pages: 171
Quality of Illustrations: None
Brief Summary: Maleeka is a 13yr old girl who gets teased a lot because she has very dark skin. In order to raise her status at school, she becomes friends with the school bully who is very mean to her, but also looks out for her. Her situation starts to change when a new teacher comes to school and challenges Maleeka to find out who she really is.
Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: All of the main characters in the book are African-American, so it may be effective in helping students who are a racial minority identify with the characters in this book.
Activity: (1) One of the ways Maleeka is able to cope is by creating a story about a slave named Akeelma. Maleeka is able to work out a lot of her feelings and struggles through her writing. Have the students create their own story or have them add another entry to Maleeka's story. (2) Many of the characters in the book are bullies, victims, and bully-victims. Have the students identify the different situations and how the characters respond.

Drowning Anna

Author: Sue Mayfield
Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Suicide, bullying
Year of Publication: 2001
Publisher & Location: New York: Hyperion Books
ISBN#: 0786809574
Target Age Level: High school
# of Pages: 256
Quality of Illustrations: none
Brief Summary: When brainy and shy Anna Goldmith moves from her posh London school to a small Yorkshire town, everyone starts to gossip. Her accent makes her stick out a mile, while her near-perfect grades set her apart as a teacher’s pet. But when the most popular girl in school, captivating and witty Hayley Parkin, befriends Anna, she couldn’t be more thrilled. Just when it seems Hayley and Anna’s friendship is growing, Hayley begins her cruel games. What starts as innocent teasing leads to mean remarks and even violence, toward frightened Anna. But Hayley’s cunning leaves a deeper impression on Anna than anyone, even her best friend Melanie, could ever anticipate. This compelling novel takes a frank look at the dynamics of teen popularity and the dangerous extremes to which bullying can be taken. Ends with Anna attempting to commit suicide, though you do learn that she survives.
Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children:

British, so some lingo and references may be lost on American teens. Serious themes, so make sure the students are mature enough to handle it.

Activity: Discuss what Anna could have done at various points to address the bullying. What were her alternatives to attempting suicide? What can she & others do after the suicide attempt? Write an alternate ending.

Lucy and the Bully

Author: Claire Alexandrer

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Bullying

Year of Publication: 2008

Publisher & Location: Albert Whitman & Company, Morton Grove, IL

ISBN#: 978087547861

Target Age Level: Lower Elementary

# of Pages: 32

Quality of Illustrations: Good

Brief Summary: Lucy is a good artist. One day Tommy spills paint on her pictures. The teacher is oblivious, even as Tommy becomes more brutal toward Lucy’s artwork and stomps on her clay crow on the way home from school. But instead of telling her mother, Lucy stuffs the bird in her backpack and says nothing. Every day Tommy continues to bully Lucy until Lucy must confide in her mother . . . who calls the teacher . . . who calls Tommy’s mom. The next day Tommy looks sad and alone; Lucy takes it upon herself to be nice to Tommy and they become friends.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children

This is an excellent book that portrays that is is helpful to tell an adult about bullying behavior. A child could talk about times that someone has ruined something they have made and discuss how they could handle the situation in the future.

Thirteen Reasons Why

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why

Author: Jay Asher

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Suicide, bullying, rape, peer pressure

Year of Publication: 2007

Publisher & Location: Penguin Group

ISBN#: 9781595141712

Target Age Level: Young Adult

# of Pages: 320

Quality of Illustrations: none

Brief Summary: Hannah Baker has just committed suicide. Clay Jensen receives a mysterious package that includes 13 cassette tapes. After locating a tape player, he begins to listen and discovers Hannah has made the tapes. Thirteen tapes for thirteen reasons why she chose to committee suicide. Clay is one of those reasons. This compelling novel illuminates some seemingly little events that frequently happen to teenagers that may have serious consequences. Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book: sensitive subject matter

Post Reading Activities: Discuss social issues that teenagers deal with such as peer pressure, bullying, stereotyping, family conflict, friend conflict, substance abuse, rape and suicide. Discuss how different people deal with these social issues. Discuss positive strategies for dealing with these issues and how to help friends dealing with crisis such as rape, substance abuse, depression, mental illness, and suicide.

Crash

Title: Crash

Author: Jerry Spinelli

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Bullying

Year of Publication: 1997

Publisher & Location: Random House Children’s Books

ISBN#: 9780679885504

Target Age Level: upper elementary, middle school

# of Pages: 176

Quality of Illustrations: none

Brief Summary: Crash Coogan is a star athlete, a jock, and in the popular crowd. Crash is also a bully. This humorous story is told from the viewpoint of the bully, offering a unique perspective and insight into why bullies may act as they do. However, Crash realizes that his behavior is not making him into the person he would like to be. He takes some bold and surprising steps to change who he is.Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book: none

Post Reading Activities: Discuss reasons for bullying. Discuss how home issues, like parent-child relationships, can influence bullying behavior. Compare and control how the main character changed throughout the novel and how his behavior affected his happiness.

The Bully Blockers Club

Type of emotional/crisis issues addressed: Bullying

Author/authors: Teresa Bateman

Year of Publication: 2004

Book Title: The Bully Blockers Club

ISBN #: 0807509183

Age level: Lower Elementary

# of pages: 32

Quality of illustrations: Good

Brief summary (a short paragraph is sufficient): A raccoon girl starts a new year at school where a bully starts to tease her. She tries to deal with it with help from her brother and sister, but doesn't want to talk to her parents or teacher. Eventually she does and her brother gives her the idea to start a club where everyone is welcome, but they don't tolerate bullying. It is a very prosocial solution to dealing with teasing and bullying.

Activity: Have the child role-play with dolls or action figures a situation in which a bully is teasing others. Help the child think of prosocial reactions for the other dolls to react. What would they say if they were starting a bully blockers club?

Ugly Fish

Author: Kara LaReau

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: BULLYING

Year of Publication: 2006

Publisher & Location: Harcourt Children's Books

ISBN#: 978-0152-05082-5

Target Age Level: Lower elementary

# of Pages: 40

Quality of Illustrations: Illustrations are good

Brief Summary:
Ugly Fish lives in his own aquarium. However, he is ugly, big and mean. Whenever a new fish comes, Ugly Fish will not share his driftwood tunnel or his special briny flakes. After chasing the new fish around he then eats the fish. After a while, no more new fish come and Ugly Fish becomes lonely. He then wishes that he hadn’t been so mean to the other fish. Then, a big fish joins his aquarium and Ugly Fish tries to be nice. However, this fish is a shark and ends up eating Ugly Fish.

Post reading activity:

1. While reading the book talk point out how the little fish feels about Ugly Fish being mean. Discuss how Ugly Fish eventually feels when he doesn’t share and is a bully (lonely). Ask, “At the end of the story, did Ugly Fish like being bullied back?”
2. Go to http://urbanext.illinois.edu/conflict/index.html and complete the activities to learn about 3 choices you can make when you are being bullied and which one is the best. It also contains a teacher section with activities and worksheets you can use.
3. Using large pieces of butcher paper, break up the children into pairs. Have the children trace each other’s bodies. Then they can color each other’s papers. Then have the children write nice things about the other person inside the drawn bodies.

Just Kidding

Type of emotional/crisis issues addressed: BULLYING

Author/authors: Trudy Ludwig; Illustrations by Adam Gustavson
Year of Publication: 2006

Book Title: Just Kidding

ISBN #: 1582461635

Age Level: Lower Elementary

# of pages: 26

Quality of illustrations: “Retro” style illustrations, very clear and colorful.

Brief Summary: D.J is a young boy who continues to get teased by a boy named Vince who attempts to brush off the bullying by saying, “Just Kidding,” making D.J feel like he is foolish for getting upset over the bullying. D.J’s father then teaches D.J how to keep Vince from humiliating, hurting, or demeaning him and this helps D.J and another kid who also gets teased. The moral of the story is that joking or teasing is not fun when it is intended to demean, hurt or embarrass the other person. Great story for teaching kids that simply saying, “ just kidding” doesn’t get you off the hook.

Post reading activity: At the end of the book, there is a section on “Discussing the story” with a series of follow up questions. Choose 3 questions and have the children answer the questions to get a deeper understanding of the moral of the story, Follow up these questions with examples of the Do’s and Don’ts of teasing found on the very last page of the book.

Just One Flick of a Finger

Author: Marybeth Lorbiecki

Illustrator: David Diaz

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Guns, bullying, violence

Year of Publication: 1996

Publisher & Location: Dial Books, New York

ISBN#: 0803719485

Target Age Level: Late elementary (?)

# of Pages: 32

Quality of Illustrations: unique, colorful

Brief Summary: A young boy takes a gun to school to scare off the bully who has been tormenting him, and the gun is accidentally fired during a scuffle.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: Probably only useful for schools where gun violence is a realistic issue. Upper elementary or later. Violent ending (the main character accidentally shoots his best friend).

Activity: Read the book, then have the children come up with alternative ending(s). How could the boy have resolved the bullying problem without bringing a gun to school? Children can write the alternatives in a journal and/or add pictures to illustrate.

My Name is Bilal

Author: Asma Mobin-Uddin

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Bullying, Ethnic diversity

Year of Publication: 2005

Publisher & Location: Boyds Mill Press, Honesdale PA

ISBN#: 1-59078-175-9

Target Age Level: Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary

# of Pages: 28

Quality of Illustrations: Very good

Brief Summary: Bilal and his sister moved from a community where there were many Muslims. Bilal’s sister is bullied because of the way she dresses. At first Bilal doesn’t want anyone to know that he is Muslim but with the guidance of a teacher, realizes how important his religion and diversity is important to him. He helps his sister the next time she is teased and begins to make new friends.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: Religious content

Activities: Have students find something about their culture that is unique and special and share it with everyone else.

Alley Oops

Author: Janice Levy

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Bullying

Year of Publication: 2005

Publisher & Location: Flashlight Press

ISBN#: 0972922547

Target Age Level: Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary

# of Pages: 32

Quality of Illustrations: Good

Brief Summary: JJ Jax is a bully. He’s been bullying an overweight boy named Patrick. JJ’s father talks to him about bullying and relates a story of when he was younger and he was a bully. The kid he bullied later became a cop and Mr. Jax that he now arrests people like him. Mr. Jax felt really bad for what he had done, but it was too late. JJ feels bad about his behavior. He goes to Patrick and apologizes. They become friends, and JJ discovers that Patrick is really good at arm wrestling.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: The resolution is a bit forced, but it’s a good starting point for discussion.

Activity: Often the kids that are bullied have talents that are not seen by others. Challenge the students to look for the hidden talents in others. What can they see in other people that may be shy or insecure?

How I Became a Writer and Oggie Learned to Drive

Author: Janet Taylor Lisle

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Gangs & Violence, Divorce

Year of Publication: 2002

Publisher & Location: Philomel Books, NY

ISBN#: 0-399-23394-6

Target Age Level: Junior High

# of Pages: 155

Quality of Illustrations: NA

Brief Summary: Archie and his little brother Oggie’s parents had recently gotten divorced and due to financial difficulties, moved to the inter-city. These brothers experience both the struggles that come from sharing families, financial poverty and involvement with the local gang, The Night Riders. Archie helps Oggie to escape this world through his stories, however the later learn lessons from it to relate to their own lives.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: This books addresses involvement in gangs without being too graphic.

Activities: Talk with students how they cope with changes in their lives and how they can grow closer to those they love when times are hard. Discuss what secrets are good to keep and what ones we should share with adults. Discuss problems that came because Archie and Oggie kept secrets from their parents and what they should have done.

Touching Spirit Bear

Author: Ben Mikaelsen

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: fighting, stealing, anger, violence

Year of Publication: 2001

Publisher & Location: HarperTeen, NYC, NY

ISBN#: 978-0-380-80560-0

Target Age Level: Junior High, High School

# of Pages: 240

Quality of Illustrations: none

Brief Summary: Cole Matthews is angry. Angry, defiant, smug--in short, a bully. His anger has taken him too far this time, though. After beating up a ninth-grade classmate to the point of brain damage, Cole is facing a prison sentence. But then a Tlingit Indian parole officer named Garvey enters his life, offering an alternative called Circle Justice, based on Native American traditions, in which victim, offender, and community all work together to find a healing solution. Privately, Cole sneers at the concept, but he's no fool--if it gets him out of prison, he'll do anything. Ultimately, Cole ends up banished for one year to a remote Alaskan island, where his arrogance sets him directly in the path of a mysterious, legendary white bear. Mauled almost to death, Cole awaits his fate and begins the transition from anger to humility. Ben Mikaelsen's depiction of a juvenile delinquent's metamorphosis into a caring, thinking individual is exciting and fascinating, if at times heavy-handed. Cole's nastiness and the vivid depictions of the lengths he must go to survive after the (equally vivid) attack by the bear are excruciating at times, but the concept of finding a way to heal a whole community when one individual wrongs another is compelling. (Ages 12 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: This book is useful for use with angry adolescents. Can be used for adolescents with substance abuse problems, aggression, guns/weapons, and any kind of anger problems.

Activity:
Typically discussions about the book are best for this type of book. Assign the adolescent to read only a certain number of chapters, then have them "finish the story" (what they think will happen next). Discuss it, then have them read on. You can do this at different parts in the book.