Bullying has always been an issue that kids are confronted with. No matter how much we try to protect them, there are always going to be kids who feel the need to pick on other kids. There are many reasons that kids bully others, but the thing that parents try to do is to help children deal with tough situations and to stand up for themselves. One of the marvelous things about books is that they are a great way for children to see other kids going through situations that might be similar to something that they are facing. There are tons of great books on this subject, but here are a few that I found extra special.
I have a soft place in my heart for Miss Brooks – a school librarian who knows that there is a book out there for everyone. In Miss Brooks’ Story Nook, a companion to Miss Brooks Loves Books (and I don’t), young Missy is tormented by a neighborhood boy when she tries to get to school early for Story Nook. When the lights go out one day, rather than listening to stories, the children are encouraged to tell their own. Stuck with writer’s block, Missy is told to “think of a problem that needs solving.” Through an explanation of what makes a good story, Missy also discovers how to stand up to the bully and face her fears.
In Rosemary Wells’ Felix Stands Tall, young Felix doesn’t think twice when his friend Fiona says that they should be in the talent show together singing and dancing as pixies. The two win first prize, but then a group of bullies begin to make fun of him and call him “Twinkle toes.” His mother tells him that he will have to stand tall, but he doesn’t know how to do that. Luckily, his friend Fiona does. She allows Felix to borrow one of her invisible magic protection suits and suddenly Felix is brave. A great way to show the importance of friendship and believing in yourself.
I wasn’t sure what to think the first time I read Weird! by Erin Frankel, but this book really does a marvelous job of showing multiple sides of the bullying issue. In this story, Luisa changes everything about herself to avoid being called weird by fellow classmate, Sam. Luisa can’t understand why Sam says that everything she does is weird, but as she stops doing the things Sam considers weird, she also stops feeling like herself. She finally talks to her mom about the problem and one of her friends encourages her to go back to doing the things that make her special. As she started to truly believe in herself and to “act like I don’t care what she says, the more I really don’t care.” This shows a great way to take away a bully’s power by not allowing what they say and do to affect you. What is also special about this book is that at the end there are notes from Luisa, Sam, and Jayla (the girl who encouraged Luisa to be herself). This book is a great way to show all sides of bullying and has two companion books that focus on the other two girls – Dare and Tough.
When I wrote about books that teach kindness, I mentioned the book Stick and Stone. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but in this book they actually stand up for each other. When Pinecone tries to use words to hurt them, the two lonely figures learn that standing up for a friend is the best thing you can do to counter-balance a bully. It’s a comical take on the old rhyme that we all grew up hearing and perhaps better than ignoring the taunt, shows kids to stand up for others, even if they are not your friend to start with, you may make a friend in the end. As stick tells stone, “You rock.” And stone replies, “That’s just what stones do. Best friendship rocks too.”
Young children don’t always understand that the things they are doing can be considered bullying and that repeated acts of selfishness can have a lasting impact. Being a bully isn’t just about calling people names and teasing them. In this reverse counting book, Billy Bully arrives at the school playground and starts taking others toys, cutting in line, and chasing others off of the slide, his friends dwindle down to zero. With a little effort, Billy Bully realizes that a real friend doesn’t think only of himself. This is an important take on the bullying theme to show kids how others respond when they are selfish and can’t share properly. Billy Bully gets his act together and brings the whole group back together in the end.
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Mellon, by Patty Lovell, is a book that focuses on believing in yourself as a way to stand up to bullies. Little Molly Lou Mellon is tiny, buck-toothed and clumsy but her grandmother has always taught her to believe in herself. When she moves to a new school the local bully taunts her in various ways but each time she just stands up for herself and turns whatever he has said to her around. If he makes fun of her buck teeth, she wows everyone by balancing pennies on them. She manages to put the bully in his place and gains many friends in the process. In the end, she calls her grandma to let her know that all of the thing she had taught her were true. Sometimes it is really hard to be different, but this book shows how believing in yourself allows your differences to shine.