Bullies

I wanted to include one more book for National Bully Prevention Month.  The book I am going to share today is about a mean bully who has a change of heart.

In Toestomper and the Caterpillars by Sharleen Callicott, Toestomper is the town bully.  He and his gang of friends are always picking on the little caterpillars.  He and his friends even destroy their homes.  Since the caterpillars have no where else to go, they begin to follow Toestomper around.  He tries everything to get rid of them.  He yells at them and is mean to them but they will not leave.  Eventually, the caterpillars begin to grow on Toestomper.  He notices that they are cold and invites them into his own hut.  He even begins to like them.  Toestomper begins to take care of an help the caterpillars.  He has a total change of heart, but his friends have not.  They do not like this new Toestomper because all "he cares about is those dumb caterpillars."  They decide to tie Toestomper to a tree and feed the caterpillars to the birds.  In the end the caterpillars are saved and everyone learns to get a long and be friends.

Kids love everything from the characters to the pictures to the dialogue and mostly the message that it's okay to stand up for what you believe in and the people that you love, even if your friends might not like it at first!

Take time this month to tell the story of Toestomper to a child in your life.  Then talk about how Toestomper changed and why.   Be sure to emphasize the importance of kindness and treating others with respect!

Happy Reading!
Laura

National Bully Prevention Month

It seems like bulling is becoming a bigger and bigger problem in today's classrooms and on the playgrounds.  Bullying is a topic that we need to take the time to discuss with our own children as well as the students in our classrooms.  One great way to start a conversation is through reading a book first.

The Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill is a great read aloud to start the conversation about bullying with younger kids.  Mean Jean is your stereotypical playground bully.  She controls when everyone plays and if a kid did not listen to Mean Jean she would "push 'em and smoosh 'em," until they do what she wanted them to do, she always got her way.  Then tiny Katie Sue comes to school and she is unaware of Mean Jean's rules on the playground. When Katie Sue ran outside for recess and kicked and jumped and bounced before Mean Jean, Mean Jean made sure to inform Katie Sue of the rules and told her, "Nobody swings until Mean Jean swings.  Nobody bounces until Mean Jean bounces." But Katie Sue did not listen, instead Katie Sue just kept on playing, making Mean Jean madder and madder.   But then Katie Sue did something no one else had ever done, she asked Mean Jean to jump rope with her.  Mean Jean did not know what to do so she jumped with Katie Sue and that was the end of Mean Jean forever.

Not only does this book teach a great lesson about how to respond to bullies but kids love listening to it because of the repetition, rhyming and silly words like "lollapaloosh" and many more.  It is a must read for National Bully Prevention Month.

Here are some questions to start a conversation about bullying:

1) Has anyone treated you like Mean Jean treated her classmate?  What did they do?
2) Have you ever acted like Mean Jean?  What did you do?
3) What made Mean Jean change?
4) What should you do if you see someone being a bully?

Check out the NEA's website for some free resources on preventing bulling by clicking here.

Happy Reading!
Laura