Social Emotional Books for the Classroom: Bullying

Luisa is repeatedly teased and called "weird" by her classmate Sam, even though she is simply being herself--laughing with her friends, answering questions in class, greeting her father in Spanish, and wearing her favorite polka-dot boots. Luisa initially reacts to the bullying by withdrawing and hiding her colorful nature. But with the support of her teachers, parents, classmates, and one special friend named Jayla, she is able to reclaim her color and resist Sam's put-downs.

Sam is concerned about keeping things orderly and "cool" at school. She thinks people need to have a tough skin in order to fit in and withstand others' meanness and lack of cooperation. Sam teases her free-spirited classmate Luisa and enlists a friend, Jayla, to help. But when Sam is confronted by a concerned teacher about her bullying, and Jayla turns on Sam and befriends Luisa, Sam begins to show some heart and rethink her treatment of others.

Jayla feels threatened by her classmate Sam, who has bullied her in the past for her "nerdy" love of astronomy and stars. Sam is now bullying Jayla's friend Luisa, and she enlists Jayla to participate. Jalya reluctantly joins in but soon realizes it is wrong. With the help of caring adults and friends, Jayla comes to sympathize with Luisa and finds the courage to dare to stand up to Sam and put an end to the bullying.

Lotty Raccoon is excited. This year she has a new teacher, new backpack, and new shoes. But her enthusiasm quickly wanes when Grant Grizzly begins bullying her. With the help of her fellow students, she forms the Bully Blockers Club.

"You used to be a mouse," said Mickey to his ex-friend Jack. "And now you've turned into a great big rat." Maybe Jack wasn't a rat, but he certainly was a bully. And he made life very uncomfortable for Mickey. Mickey's parents had some helpful ideas, but Mickey found that it was easier to talk about loving your enemies than actually to do it, and brave words were often just words. But then something happened that surprised Mickey as much as Jack.

When the class bully, Brenda Bailey, makes fun of Jessica's skinny legs and her boyish lunch box, Jessica doesn't know what to do. She doesn't want to be a tattletale, but she also wants the bullying to stop. Can Jessica find the courage to stand up for herself?

When a new girl in the Barkers' class, Carole Anne, acts like a bully, the students try talking to her and ignoring her until Morgie finally discovers what is wrong and finds a way to fix it.

When Stick rescues Stone from a prickly situation with a Pinecone, the pair becomes fast friends. But when Stick gets stuck, can Stone return the favor? In this funny story about kindness and friendship, Stick and Stone join George and Martha, Frog and Toad, and Elephant and Piggie, as some of the best friend duos in children's literature.

Here is the all-too-familiar story of Monica.  She and Katie have been friends since kindergarten.  Monica loves being around her when she's nice.  But there are times when Katie can be just plain mean.  And Monica doesn't understand why. Monica is a target of relational aggression, emotional bullying among friends who will use name-calling and manipulation to humiliate and exclude.  But with a little help from a supportive adult--her mother--Monica learns to cope and thrive by facing her fears and reclaiming power from her bully.

A fresh and original twist on the common issue of bullying. Mean Jean was Recess Queenand nobody said any different. Nobody swung until Mean Jean swung. Nobody kicked until Mean Jean kicked. Nobody bounced until Mean Jean bounced. Until a new kid came to school! With her irrepressible spirit, the new girl dethrones the reigning recess bully by becoming her friend in this infectious playground romp.

Blue is a quiet color. Red's a hothead who likes to pick on Blue. Yellow, Orange, Green, and Purple don't like what they see, but what can they do? When no one speaks up, things get out of hand -- until One comes along and shows all the colors how to stand up, stand together, and count. As budding young readers learn about numbers, counting, and primary and secondary colors, they also learn about accepting each other's differences and how it sometimes just takes one voice to make everyone count.

Each kindness makes the world a little better This unforgettable book is written and illustrated by the award-winning team that created The Other Side and the Caldecott Honor winner Coming On Home Soon. With its powerful anti-bullying message and striking art, it will resonate with readers long after they've put it down. Chloe and her friends won't play with the new girl, Maya. Every time Maya tries to join Chloe and her friends, they reject her. Eventually Maya stops coming to school. When Chloe's teacher gives a lesson about how even small acts of kindness can change the world, Chloe is stung by the lost opportunity for friendship, and thinks about how much better it could have been if she'd shown a little kindness toward Maya.

Lyla finds a great friend in Jamie on her first day of school, but when Lyla joins the cheerleading squad and a clique of popular girls invites her to join them, Jamie is left behind. Lyla knows bullying when she sees it though and when she sees her new friends viciously teasing classmates on facebook, including Jamie, she realises that she doesn't want to be friends with such people and is smart enough to leave the clique. These girls don't take kindly to anyone rejecting them or their ideas though and they are soon out for revenge.