BULLY by Patricia Polacco (and more resources for educators and parents)

  BULLY is the latest book written by one of my all time favorite authors, Patricia Polacco.   I truly believe that Polacco was the original blogger ,as each of her narrative books tells an important story that is based on the life and times of the author.  If you are a lover of children’s books, then you  surely will recognize previous award winners by this writer.  Two of  which continue to hold a place of honor in our home are  THE KEEPING QUILT  and THANK YOU, Mr. FALKER.  And, now I will set BULLY in a place to be easily discovered by guests, as well.

In case you are new to the magic of Patricia Polacco let me give you a recap of my favorites- THE KEEPING QUILT is a family chronology that shows how important our ancestors are to our future.  THANK YOU, MR. FALKER chronicles Polacco’s childhood struggles with learning disabilities and the one teacher who helped her feel worthy and that she could succeed.  As an offshoot, of the latter book, Polacco  now has penned BULLY,  a story set in contemporary times, but one that could resonate with any person of any age who recalls the sting of being bullied.

The main character of  BULLY is Lyla, who could easily be the kid next door, your daughter or your friend.  She is a person who has recently moved to a new community and simply wants to “fit in”.  She has good parents and has been raised to be a loyal friend, but her temptation to be part of  the “in group” sets her up to be bullied.  As an educator, I could appreciate the genuine scenario that Polacco has demonstrated so eloquently.  She has done her homework on writing for her young audience – it shows on every page!

Bullying is a serious problem in the United States.  It is so pandemic that now we offer October as the Anti-Bullying month! It only seems  fitting that counselors and educators will want to add BULLY to their school shelves as part of an anti-bullying curriculum.  Parents also should find this book any easy start for talking points that are so necessary to have in today’s world- cyber bullying.

These resources are on my Anti-Bullying recommendations list. I hope you find them helpful. 

PATRICIA POLACCO online

BUY BULLY on AMAZON

TEACHING KIDS TO BE GOOD PEOPLE by ANNIE FOX

JAYLENS CHALLENGE

BULLYING AT SCHOOL and ONLINE

NEWS ANCHOR JENNIFER LIVINGSTON TALKS ABOUT BEING THE SUBJECT OF CYBER BULLYING

YOU WILL RISE PROJECT

THE BULLY PROJECT (MOVIE)

 

I received as part of this review a copy of BULLY.  No  monetary compensation was awarded. The book will be donated to a local school to be shared and enjoyed by scores of children.  The opinions of this review and blog of that of Louise Masin Sattler.

4 thoughts on “BULLY by Patricia Polacco (and more resources for educators and parents)

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.