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[CCBC-Net] Bullying in Books for Children and Teens
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From: Tessa Michaelson <tmichaelson>
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 09:57:22 -0500
Schools and communities are looking for ways to address bullying and relational aggression among youth, while children, teens, and caring adults deal with the day-to-day fear and misery caused by such behavior. Books for children and teens about bullying, teasing, and other aggressive behavior range from purposeful and pointed to highly literary in style, while the offerings span the spectrum from lighthearted to grave. During the second half of March, we?ll look at the depiction of bullying (in many forms) in literature for youth, with an eye to how well individual books, and the body of youth literature as a whole, address this challenging reality of many children?s lives.
What titles come to mind that deal with these issues? Are books on this topic helpful to children and teens?
An older book that comes to my mind is /Daring to Be Abigail/ by Rachel Vail (Orchard Books, 1996). At summer camp, eleven-year-old Abigail tries to re-invent herself and eventually performs a cruel prank on a fellow camper as a way of fitting in with her bunkmates. To me, this book authentically captures a young girl's struggle with self-acceptance and peer approval. While the prank Abigail pulls is troubling, I feel that this climactic episode portrays the particular kinds of teasing and aggression experienced in female friendships.
Just as powerful, but with a more light-hearted and humorous take, is Jerry Spinelli's /Loser /(Joanna Cotler Books, 2002). Readers follow Donald Zinkoff through school from first grade through sixth grade and observe how his individuality is initially appreciated, but later rejected, by his peers. After sharing this book as a read-aloud in a third and fourth grade classroom, my students had an interesting discussion on the title of the book--did the name apply to Zinkoff or to his classmates?
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 09:57:22 -0500
Schools and communities are looking for ways to address bullying and relational aggression among youth, while children, teens, and caring adults deal with the day-to-day fear and misery caused by such behavior. Books for children and teens about bullying, teasing, and other aggressive behavior range from purposeful and pointed to highly literary in style, while the offerings span the spectrum from lighthearted to grave. During the second half of March, we?ll look at the depiction of bullying (in many forms) in literature for youth, with an eye to how well individual books, and the body of youth literature as a whole, address this challenging reality of many children?s lives.
What titles come to mind that deal with these issues? Are books on this topic helpful to children and teens?
An older book that comes to my mind is /Daring to Be Abigail/ by Rachel Vail (Orchard Books, 1996). At summer camp, eleven-year-old Abigail tries to re-invent herself and eventually performs a cruel prank on a fellow camper as a way of fitting in with her bunkmates. To me, this book authentically captures a young girl's struggle with self-acceptance and peer approval. While the prank Abigail pulls is troubling, I feel that this climactic episode portrays the particular kinds of teasing and aggression experienced in female friendships.
Just as powerful, but with a more light-hearted and humorous take, is Jerry Spinelli's /Loser /(Joanna Cotler Books, 2002). Readers follow Donald Zinkoff through school from first grade through sixth grade and observe how his individuality is initially appreciated, but later rejected, by his peers. After sharing this book as a read-aloud in a third and fourth grade classroom, my students had an interesting discussion on the title of the book--did the name apply to Zinkoff or to his classmates?
-- Tessa Michaelson, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education University of Wisconsin-Madison 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 N. Park St Madison, WI 53706 Phone: 608-890-1332 FAX: 608-262-4933 tmichaelson at education.wisc.edu http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/Received on Mon 17 Mar 2008 09:57:22 AM CDT
