Nonfiction+booklist+(breaking+down+bullying)+Leonora+Messier

Nonfiction Book/Website List: Leonora Messier Breaking Down Bullying

Explanation: When I teach Laurie Anderson’s novel Speak, I focus on the theme of bullying, because it is horrible how the protagonist, Melinda, is treated. Pairing this novel with nonfiction texts that help students learn how to cope and solve such situations is extremely beneficial. This booklist contains a collection of books, which are all about bullying, and is intended for young adults. The majority of the books are nonfiction; however, a few of these selections are self-help books. These books could be used for literature circles, read alouds, or independent reading. The collection includes a diverse reading range to accommodate for ELL and struggling readers.

Book List: We Want You to Know: Kids Talk About Bullying Ellis, D. (2011). We want you to know: Kids talk about bullying. Canada: Coteau Books. Recommended for ages ten and up. Lexile 770 This book is comprised of interviews from students ages nine to nineteen. The interviews reveal each student’s experience with bullying. The text is emotional and includes questions to help facilitate discussion.

The Skinny on Bullying: The Legend of Gretchen Cassidy, M. (2010). The skinny on bullying: The legend of gretchen. Westport, CT: Rand Media Co. Appropriate for ages eight and up (an option for ELL or struggling readers). No Lexile. This book is targeting younger students because that is when bullying generally starts to occur in schools. It will help young students learn what bullying is, how to deal with bullies, and how to treat others. The graphic novel style and basic animated drawings will appeal to many students.

Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Stories Jones, C., & Kelley Hall, M. (2011). Dear bully: Seventy authors tell their stories. New York: Harperteen. Recommended for ages thirteen to eighteen. No Lexile. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">This is an anthology that documents seventy teen authors’ experiences with bullying. These personal accounts show varied perspectives, as they range from being silent bystanders, victims, and executors. These powerful stories capture the evils that bullying encompasses that all too commonly pervert schools across the nation.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Each Kindness: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Woodson, Jacqueline <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">A great story about not saying nice things to others and how the words we use have a ripple effect. Great for Elementary Students.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Girls Against Girls: Why We Are Mean to Each Other and How We Can Change <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Burton, B. (2009). Girls against girls: Why we are mean to each other and how we can change. San Francisco, CA: Zest books. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Recommended for ages twelve and up. Lexile 1120. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">This book tackles the cruel gossip, envy, and social shunning that seems to affect many teenage girls. The book poses theories as to why this behavior occurs and offers many methods for managing and dealing with cruel behaviors. The book has good resources for dealing with serious problems.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Girl Wars. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Dellasega, C., & Nixon, C. (2003). Girl Wars. New York: Simon and Schuster. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Recommended for ages fourteen and up. No Lexile available. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">This book is about bullying that occurs between girls. It teaches readers about strategies that can help alleviate bullying. This text focuses on conflict resolution and helps girls understand the difference between firmly stating an opinion to others verses offensively forcing an opinion on to others.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Letters To A Bullied Girl: Messages of Healing and Hope <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Gardner, O., Buder, E., & Buder, S. (2008). Letters to a bullied girl: Messages of healing and hope. New York: Harper. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Recommended for ages ten and up. No Lexile available. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">For about two years, Olivia Gardner was a victim of cyberbullying. When two sisters (Emily and Sarah Buder) in a neighboring town heard of the torment that Gardener was suffering, they reached out in a sincere and compassion gesture. They asked people to send Olivia kind and supportive messages, which transformed into the “Olivia Project.” The sisters received hundreds of letters, and forwarded them to Olivia. These letters were published to create this book.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Odd Girl Speaks Out <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Simmons, R. (2004). Odd girl speaks out. New York: Harcourt, Inc. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Recommended for ages fourteen and up. No Lexile available. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">In this book, girls explain incidents in which they experienced bullying or bullied another. Simmons shares her own experiences and offers advise for eliminating bullying.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Masculinity, Bullying, and Aggression: A Guy’s Guide <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Navarre, S. (2012). Masculinity, bullying, and aggression: A guy’s guide. New York: Rosen Publishing Group. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Recommended for ages fourteen and up. Lexile 1000. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">This book is intended for teenage males. It provides them with advice on how to deal with bullying, cyberbullying, aggression, and other feelings in a nonviolent manner. This is an interesting selection, because it discusses the widely accepted notion from popular culture that suggests that males are suppose to be aggressive and tough. This notion causes many males confusion when confronted by bullying situations.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Schutze, J. (1998). Bully: A true story of high school revenge. New York: Avon. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Recommended for ages sixteen and up (some mature content). No Lexile available. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">This book is about a bully named Bobby Kent; Kent enjoyed teasing and abusing others, especially people with disabilities. He was addicted to steroids and liked to dominate others. But one night, Kent was allured to the swamps in southern Florida where seven of his peers callously achieved their vengeance. Five of the seven peers were found guilty, and some had serious sentences (from death to life).

Bully Polacoo, Patricia This picture book is great for Middle School students. It has Cell Phones, Facebook, Smartbaords. It is a modern book and includes the cyber bullying we now are faced with.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Life at School and in the Community <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Worth, R. (2010). Life at school and in the community. New York: Rosen Publishing Group. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Recommended for ages twelve and up. No Lexile available. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">This book provides information on gender confusion and sexual orientation. It discusses common misconceptions while offering information on how to counteract and handle bullying. Because the text has a lower reading level, it could be used with younger students or students who struggle with reading.

Stand up for Yourself and Your Friends: Dealing with Bullies and Bossiness and Finding a Better Way Criswell, K. (2009). //Stand up for Yourself and Your Friends: Dealing with Bullies and Bossiness and Finding a Better Way.// American Girl. Recommended for ages 8 and up. Lexile level: 740. This book teaches kids (mostly focuses on girls) how to spot bullying and how to stand up and speak out against it. The book includes quizzes, advice from other kids, and how to handle various bullying scenarios. Great visual support!

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Website List:

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">[|__Bullying.org__]

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">This site is determined to increase awareness of bullying, while trying to resolve and prevent it from occurring. The site provides programs and resources to students, families, and schools. There are resources that support victims as well as information on how to eliminate bullying from our schools.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">[|__Dealing with Bullying__]

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">This site is intended for parents, teens, and children. It has a variety of information about cyberbullying and safety as well as information on how to handle cliques.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">[|__National Center for Bullying Prevention.__]

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">This site has resources for children, teens, parents, and school officials. The purpose of the site is to educate and unite people across the nation in bullying prevention.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">[|__Stop Bullying Now__]

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">This is a federal government website that is maintained by the U.S. Department of Health & Human services. It is for children and adults alike. It offers extensive features like knowing the facts about bullying and how to deal with these situations.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">[|__Talk About It: Bullying in School__]

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">This site provides information to teachers, principals, and parents on how to prevent bullying in schools. It discusses zero tolerance and spreads awareness to prevent cruelness and bullying. It also offers a variety of resources that would help someone who is a victim of bullying.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Hello,

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">I know this is a nonfiction list, but when you mentioned Anderson's book, Speak, my mind automatically went to Thirteen Reasons Why and Hate List. Both of those are very powerful (and for mature audiences) books that could be read on the fiction side. I'd never seen all of these nonfiction bullying resources, though, so thank you for sharing!

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Bobbie Dunn