DARE!

Book:  DARE! (Book Link)
Author: Erin Frankel (Author Link)
Illustrator: Paula Heaphy (Illustrator Link)
Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing
Date of Publication: 2012
Genre: Picture Book, Diverse Protagonists, Informational Text
Lexile Score: 500L
Citation: Ludwig, T. (2013). The Invisible Boy. NY: Random House Children's Books.

Summary:  In this story their is a girl named Jayla who is being bullied by Sam.  Everyday when she goes to school she feels scared of Sam, and never knows how she will bully her next.  No one ever stood up to her, and she felt very alone.  Until one day Sam began to pick on Luisa for a variety of different things.  She would pick on them and suddenly Jayla was the one standing as a bystander being too scared to speak up.  She didn't know what to do or who to go to, because she didin't want the attention to from Sam to be back on her.  She kept going through all the scenarios in her head on how she would deal with Sam, until suddenly instead of feeling scared she felt prepared.  Then she started to talk to her teachers and letting them know what was happening.  Then suddenly other students realized that they could stand up to Sam as well.

Audience:  I would say this book would be targeted at grades first through 6th.  The book has a very realistic story line of bullying.  I think that the book shows that you aren't alone in how you are feeling and how to deal with those feelings.  For example if you were to read this book to your class I think it might bring up conversations that need to be had.  Especially in young grades I think it is important for students to know how to deal with bullies if they encounter them.  They could learn a lot by seeing how Jayla deal with being bullied.  It teaches a lot of techniques on how a student might be scared to say anything but they aren't alone.

Evaluation:  I would consider this to be a high quality picture book.  The author has a very strong focus on theme.  Throughout the story the theme of bullying is clearly depicted.  The story line follows the main character through her everyday life, and her thoughts.  This gives the reader a good understanding of what she is feeling, as well as other character around her.  The illustrations are also a great asset to the book because the reader is able to see the characters facial expression and feel their fear in certain situations.

Activity: 
Shutter Book:  Each fold of the shutter book will have a different feature of the story.  One section would be characters, setting, and summary.  They fill out each section with a heading and then information from the story.  They can decorate it as fun as they'd like.  This way they are applying the different story parts and drawing images that match.