Don't Bully - Be A Friend

Book:  El Deafo (Book Link) Author: Cece Bell (Author Link) Illustrator: Cece Bell (Illustrator Link) Publisher: Amulet Books Publishing Date of Publication : 2014 Genre: Graphic Novel, Written in the last 4 years, Diverse Protagonists Lexile Score: Unavailable - Intended for ages 8-12 Citation: Bell, C. (2014). El Deafo . New York, NY: Amulet Books. Online: https://www.overdrive.com/media/1883393/el-deafo Summary: In the book the main character Cece loses her hearing when she gets meningitis.  She has to then wear a visible hearing aid at school, and is very self conscious of it.  When she is at school she has a hard time fitting in, and most characters don't know how to interact with her.  It isn't until she attends a separate class where everyone is like her.  She then comes up with an alter ego named El Deafo, where she is no longer scared of anything.  This alter ego helps her makes friends and stand up to bullies.  She eventual...

Book:  Words Are Not for Hurting / Las palabras no son para lastimar (Book Link) Author: Elizabeth Verdick (Author Link) Illustrator: Marieka Heinlen (Illustrator Link) Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing Date of Publication : 2009 Genre: Picture Book, Diverse Protagonists, Bilingual, Informational Text Lexile Score: AD450L Citation: Verdick, E. (2009). Words are not for hurting = Las palabras no son para lastimar . Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing. Summary:  In the story the characters are taught the importance of thinking before they speak.  They learn that words can hurt people's feelings, and that once things are said it isn't always that easy to take them back.  It also puts a strong focus on saying "I'm Sorry" when we do something wrong, or hurt someones feelings.  Overall learning that our words can be used for good, and that they are meant to be kind. Audience:  This book is targeted at the age range of kindergarten th...

Book:  To This Day (Book Link) Author: Shane Koyczan (Author Link) Illustrator:  Shane Koyczan (Illustrator Link) Publisher: Scholastic Press Date of Publication : 2012 Genre: Middle School Reader, Diverse Protagonist, Informational Text Lexile Score: Unavailable - Intended for ages 9-13 Citation: Koyczan, S. (2014). To this day: For the bullied and beautiful . Toronto: Annick Press. Summary:  This story is written in a poetic manner and follows the life of someone who has been bullied.  It pulls in some of the authors real life experiences of being bullied as a kid, and how he progressed through life.  It also inputs other others around him that were bullied and how somethings that happen to people as it follow them all through their lives.  It shows that when someone is bullied in a young grade they the words stay with you.  They have to hide in the hallways, and fear going to school.  They also have to find ways to deal with th...

Book:  David va al colegio (Book Link) Author: David Shannon (Author Link) Illustrator: David Shannon (Illustrator Link) Publisher: Scholastic Publishing Date of Publication : 1999 Genre: Picture Book, Diverse Protagonists, Bilingual  Lexile Score: BR Citation:  Shannon, D. (1999). David va al colegio / David goes to school . New York, NY: Scholastic. Summary:  In this story David goes to school and causes a lot of problems.  As he goes through the book he has a lot to learn about school rules.  In the beginning of the story he runs wild, and doesn't know how to interact with other students.  He would cut them in line, chew gum loudly, shout out in class, and make big messes.  However after being yelled at multiple times and instructed what to do he was able to make some changes.  He ended up having to clean up after himself and eventually the teacher was happy with him.  He ended up getting a gold start by the end of ...