Bruises

Author: Anke De Vries

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

Year of Publication: 1992

Publisher & Location: Bantam Doubleday Dell Books

ISBN#: 188691009X

Target Age Level: Upper Elementary, Jr. High, High School

# of Pages: 172

Quality of Illustrations: none

Brief Summary: No matter what Judith does, she can’t please her mother. Her mother beats her whenever she is unhappy. Judith has come to expect the beatings. Her teacher gets suspicious due to Judith’s frequent absences and constant excuses for not participating in gym. Judith befriends Michael. She finds strength in their friendship. Judith’s mother moves to a differenty city when Judith’s teacher asks for a parent teacher conference. The story ends optimistic as Judith buys a train ticket back to the city they moved from.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: The beatings are pretty graphic at times.