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[CCBC-Net] Bullying in Books for Children and Teens
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From: Patrick Jones <chasingtaillights>
Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:08:29 -0700 (PDT)
I'll do a little BSP here and mention my book Nailed. I can tell you from emails and myspace messages reading it has been a very carthatic moment for several "nails" in high schools I've visited-
"Jones's (Things Change) forthright, message-driven novel explores the relationship between teasing and school violence. Sixteen-year-old Bret's life is becoming intolerable, both at home and school. He's ignored at home for not being just like his older brother (who "does oil changes for a living"), and tormented at school for not being a jock. Bret, who narrates, is not interested in working on cars or playing sports. Instead he'd rather act onstage or make music with his band, Radio-Free Flint (inspired by "hometown antihero Michael Moore"). As he grows frustrated at being harassed by the school's bully, he writes an essay expressing empathy towards the Columbine gunmen: "I... pointed out that how they had been treated at their school was wrong, too. I said they were the first victims." Teens will applaud Bret's spunk as he goes up against the school principal. But life takes a turn for the worse when Bret sees his girlfriend making love with bandmate Sean and reacts
with violence, a response he's been taught to abhor. Eventually, with the aid of his father (who has a rather abrupt change of heart), Bret makes amends with Sean. Through the first-person narrative, readers see Bret's shortcomings and his struggle to fit in where he feels like an outsider.... the author has set up his characters to serve his issues, even if
Tessa Michaelson <tmichaelson at education.wisc.edu> wrote:
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: Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:08:29 -0700 (PDT)
I'll do a little BSP here and mention my book Nailed. I can tell you from emails and myspace messages reading it has been a very carthatic moment for several "nails" in high schools I've visited-
"Jones's (Things Change) forthright, message-driven novel explores the relationship between teasing and school violence. Sixteen-year-old Bret's life is becoming intolerable, both at home and school. He's ignored at home for not being just like his older brother (who "does oil changes for a living"), and tormented at school for not being a jock. Bret, who narrates, is not interested in working on cars or playing sports. Instead he'd rather act onstage or make music with his band, Radio-Free Flint (inspired by "hometown antihero Michael Moore"). As he grows frustrated at being harassed by the school's bully, he writes an essay expressing empathy towards the Columbine gunmen: "I... pointed out that how they had been treated at their school was wrong, too. I said they were the first victims." Teens will applaud Bret's spunk as he goes up against the school principal. But life takes a turn for the worse when Bret sees his girlfriend making love with bandmate Sean and reacts
with violence, a response he's been taught to abhor. Eventually, with the aid of his father (who has a rather abrupt change of heart), Bret makes amends with Sean. Through the first-person narrative, readers see Bret's shortcomings and his struggle to fit in where he feels like an outsider.... the author has set up his characters to serve his issues, even if
Tessa Michaelson <tmichaelson at education.wisc.edu> wrote:
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/ _______________________________________________ CCBC-Net mailing list CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe... http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net PJ Patrick Jones, author of Chasing Tail Lights / Walker Books for Young Readers (July 24, 2007) --------------------------------- Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.Received on Wed 19 Mar 2008 05:08:29 PM CDT
