Bullying has many components, causes, and broad-range affects on children and families.  Below is a list of books to read with your children and discuss being bullied, or being a bully.  Additionally, this list includes peripheral issues behind bullying such as violence and peer pressure. 

PRESCHOOL BOOKS

Bullying

• Aubrey, Annette – The Rainbow Club
• Emberley, Ed – Ed Emberley’s bye-bye, big bad bullybug!
• Landstr=F – Four hens and a rooster
• Otoshi, Kathryn – One
• Rosen, Michael – I’m number one
• Vernon, Ursula – Dragonbreath

Fighting

• De la Garza, David – The great, great, great chicken war
• Durell, Ann – The Big book for peace
• Helquist, Brett – Roger, the Jolly Pirate
• Hoberman, Mary Ann – And to think that we thought that we’d never be friends
• Kuskin, Karla – The upstairs cat
• Minarik, Else Holmelund – No fighting, no biting! Pictures by Maurice
  Sendak
• Pfister, Marcus – Rainbow fish and the big blue whale

Peer Pressure

• Brumbeau, Jeff – Miss Hunnicut’s hat
• Shaw, Hannah – Sneaky Weasel

Parents in Prison

• Korman, Gordon – Now you see them, now you don’t
• Korman, Gordon – Hunting the hunter
• Korman, Gordon – Chasing the Falconers
• Korman, Gordon – The fugitive factor

GENERAL

Savage Pastimes: A cultural history of violent entertainment by Harold Schechter. Our culture’s gory past and how it compares to today. 303.6 Schechter

Regarding the pain of others by Susan Sontag. A reappraisal of how we view violence, war, and disaster. 303.6 Sontag
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Stories for a Safer Wakefield is a month-long community inquiry during May 2010, intended to provoke thought and discussion about violence and its deterrence. Beebe Library invites you to read from a selection of stories that draw awareness to the effects of violence in a community. Stories for a Safer Wakefield features forums and activities to better understand and mitigate violence in our lives. For more information on Stories for a Safer Wakefield: Brochure or Wakefield Alliance Against Violence.

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The Massachusetts Center for the Book has come up with its short list for the 10th Mass. Book Award. Books were published in 2009. To view the list for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, click here.

The Wakefield High School Guidance Department is hosting a program for all parents on financial planning for college on Tuesday, November 17 at 7:00 p.m.  in the Wakefield Memorial High School cafeteria.  The program includes an overview of the factors that play into saving and paying for college.  Topics to be covered include how colleges determine financial need, how the Expected Family Contribution is determined, how assets are treated and what a financial aid package looks like.  The keynote speaker will be Matt Carpenter.

• Anderson, M. T – Burger Wuss Hoping to lose his loser image, Anthony plans revenge on a bully which results in a war between two competing fast food restaurants, Burger Queen and O’Dermott’s.
• Bateman, Teresa – The Bully Blockers Club When Lottie is bothered by a bully at school, she helps start a club where everyone is welcome. Lotty Raccoon is excited. This year she has a new teacher, new backpack, and new shoes. But her enthusiasm quickly wanes when Grant Grizzly begins bullying her. At the advice of her brother and sister, Lotty tries ignoring Grant and making a joke of it all, but neither approach works. When her parents hear about Grant, Lotty’s dad talks to the teacher. Although the teacher speaks to Grant and Lotty, now Grant just bullies Lotty when no adult is around. After talking to her family again, Lotty comes up with an idea. She notices other kids are being bullied by Grant, too. She gathers her friends together and they form a club-The Bully Blockers Club. Now when Grant tries to bully someone, the other kids speak up. That gets an adult’s attention, and Grant stops his bullying.
• Bottner, Barbara – Bootsie Barker Bites Bootsie Barker only wants to play games in which she bites, until one day her friend comes up with a better game.
• Clements, Andrew – Jake Drake Bully Buster When Jake was three years old at Miss Lulu’s Dainty Diaper Day Care Center, what did he know about bullies? Nothing. But he learned fast–too fast! Why? Because Jake is kind of smart, and he’s not a tattletale, and he doesn’t have a big brother to protect him.
• Egan, Tim – Friday Night at Hodges’ Cafe Hodges and the patrons of his café are frightened when three tigers try to take over, but his crazy duck saves the day.
• Levine, Gail Carson – Ella Enchanted In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.
• Lester, Helen- Hooway for Wodney Wat
• McPhail, David – No! In this almost wordless picture book, a small boy sets out to deliver a letter and experiences acts of violence on his way.  Everything changes when he says “No.”
• O’Neill, Alexis – The Recess Queen Mean Jean is the biggest bully on the school playground until a new girl arrives and challenges Jean’s status as the Recess Queen.
• Roy, James – Max Quigley : Technically Not a Bully After playing a prank on one of his “geeky” classmates, sixth-grader Max Quigley’s punishment is to be tutored by him.
• Spinelli, Jerry- Crash  Football star John “Crash” Coogan enjoys making touchdowns and roughhousing weaker kids for fun.  But until his physical pranks have very real and serious consequences does Crash begin to think of himself and his friend Mike as bullies. 
• Strasser, Todd-The Wave A school experiment that gives and withholds privileges to students based on eye color has tragic and far-reaching lessons for the students. 
• Van Draanen, Wendelin – Secret Identity Fifth-grader Nolan Byrd, tired of being called names by the class bully, has a secret identity–Shredderman!
• Warner, Sally – Super Emma Third-grader Emma becomes a reluctant heroine when she defends a friend from the class bully.
• Willems, Mo- Leonardo the Terrible Monster Young Leonardo, inept as a monster, decides to find success by scaring the “tuna salad” out of the easiest target he can find, and discovers that he can be a far better friend than a bully.