Every October communities nationwide unite to educate and raise awareness of bullying prevention.
As part of National Bullying Prevention Month, we've rounded up 16 books to promote kindness and empathy.
Picture Books
Try a Little Kindness by Henry Cole
In this funny picture book, bestselling illustrator Henry Cole shows kids different ways to be kind with his hysterical cartoon animal characters.
Each page features a different way to be a good person, like using proper manners, telling someone they are special, or sharing a treat! The text is accompanied by two or three related vignettes of different animals giving examples of ways to be good. And in one illustration out of each set, one animal (like a cat peering into a fishbowl!) may not be doing the best job of being kind!
The animal characters and simple text will help readers learn the importance of kindness in a fun way with lots of kid appeal.
The Recess Queen by Alexis O’Neill
In this sassy playground romp the irrepressible new kid dethrones the reigning recess bully by doing the unthinkable — she invites her to be her friend! Not only will kids relate to the all-too-common issue of bullying, but parents and teachers will appreciate the story's deft handling of conflict resolution (achieved without adult intervention).
Mean Jean was Recess Queen and nobody said any different. Nobody swung until Mean Jean swung. Nobody kicked until Mean Jean kicked. Nobody bounced until Mean Jean bounced. If kids ever crossed her, she'd push 'em and smoosh 'lollapaloosh 'em, hammer 'em, slammer 'em kitz and kajammer 'em. 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.
Graphic Novels
The Phantom Bully (Jedi Academy #3) by Jeffrey Brown
It's hard to believe this is Roan's last year at Jedi Academy. He's been busier than ever learning to fly (and wash) starships, swimming in the Lake Country on Naboo, studying for the Jedi obstacle course exam, and tracking down dozens of vorpak clones (don't ask!). But now, someone is setting him up to get in trouble with everyone at school, including Yoda. If he doesn't find out who it is, and fast, he may get kicked out of school! Why can't middle school just be easy?...
Cardboard by Doug TenNapel
When cardboard creatures come magically to life, a boy must save his town from disaster.
Cam's out-of-work father gives him a cardboard box for his birthday and he knows it's the worst present ever. So to make the best of a bad situation, they bend the cardboard into a man, and to their astonishment, it comes magically to life. But the neighborhood bully, Marcus, warps the powerful cardboard into his own evil creations that threaten to destroy them all!
Tommysaurus Rex by Doug TenNapel
When Ely's beloved dog, Tommy, is hit by a car, he goes to his grandpa's house for the summer to get his mind off things. While exploring a nearby cave one day he discovers a full-grown but friendly Tyrannosaurus Rex. As the news of the dinosaur grows around town, so does the friendship between Ely and his Jurassic pet. But Randy, the mean kid down the street, decides he's going to make life miserable for Ely and his dinosaur — to devastating effect.
Middle Grade
A Drop of Hope by Keith Calabrese
A well. A wish. And a little drop of hope. Times are tough. Jobs are scarce and miracles are in short supply. But something strange is happening in Cliffs Donnelly, Ohio An old well has suddenly, impossibly, begun to grant wishes. And three sixth graders are the only ones who know why.
Ernest Wilmette believes a good deed makes magic happen. Ryan Hardy thinks they should just mind their own business. Lizzy MacComber believes in facts, not fairy tales. Of course, you don't have to believe in wishes to make one. As more wishes are made, the well's true secret gets harder and harder to keep. Ernest, Ryan, and Lizzy know they can't fix the world. But in their own little corner of it, they can give everyone a little hope...one wish at a time.
Restart by Gordon Korman
A boy who's been a bully and hanging out with the wrong friends gets a new start after a memory-loss-inducing accident. But can someone really change who he is, or will the old him merely come back over time?
Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan
Joe and Ravi might be from very different places, but they're both stuck in the same place: school.
Joe's lived in the same town all his life, and was doing just fine until his best friends moved away and left him on his own. Ravi's family just moved to America from India, and he's finding it pretty hard to figure out where he fits in.
Joe and Ravi don't think they have anything in common, but soon enough they have a common enemy (the biggest bully in their class) and a common mission: to take control of their lives over the course of a single crazy week.
Reformed by Justin Weinberger
Ian Hart has mastered the art of lying low. He might sometimes space out at the exact moment Mr. Dunford calls on him. And sure, he's a little clueless around the girls in his class. But Ian is nobody's fool. So how'd a kid like him get framed for pranking the new boy?
Too bad Ian won't have the chance to find out. He and his friends Ash and Alva will be sleeping with one eye open at a special reform school for bullies! This is no place for the faint of heart. The hijinks are rougher, the mean girls are meaner, and even the teachers refuse to play by the rules.
It'll take all the schemes and wits these friends can muster if they want to make it out of this nightmare and back to middle school. But they're ready for action, even if it means forging a secret alliance with a world-class hacker. And even if it means wearing a tutu...
On Thin Ice by Michael Northrop
Life for 12-year-old Ked Eakins isn't easy. The school bully is after him, a lump on his back has made him a social outcast, and his last remaining friend recently abandoned him. And then his dad gambles away their rent money.
Though it seems like he should just give up, Ked determines it's time to take his life back. He hatches a scheme to make enough money to save their home, but the plan is risky, and what seemed like a good idea quickly lands him in deeper trouble.
Ked has his determination and creativity, however, and the school's Maker Space provides him with a place to build. Can Ked and the other Makers save his family from going under?
The Secret Sheriff of Sixth Grade by Jordan Sonnenblick
In sixth grade, bad things can happen to good kids. Bullies will find your weakness and jump on it. Teachers will say you did something wrong when really you didn't mean to do anything wrong. The kids who joke the loudest can drown out the quieter, nicer kids. Maverick wants to change all that. One of the last things his father left him was a toy sheriff's badge, back when Maverick was little. Now he likes to carry it around to remind him of his dad — and also to remind him to make school a better place for everyone . . . even if that's a hard thing to do, especially when his own home life is falling apart. The Secret Sheriff of Sixth Grade is a story about standing up for yourself — and being a hero at home and in the halls of your school.
Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
A brilliant, emotionally charged novel about two boys. One is a slow learner, too large for his age, and the other is a tiny, disabled genius. The two pair up to create one formidable human force known as "Freak the Mighty". MAX. FREAK. BEST FRIENDS. FOREVER. I never had a brain until Freak came along. . .That's what Max thought. All his life he'd been called stupid. Dumb. Slow. It didn't help that his body seemed to be growing faster than his mind. It didn't help that people were afraid of him. So Max learned how to be alone. At least until Freak came along. Freak was weird, too. He had a little body, and a really big brain. Together Max and Freak were unstoppable. Together, they were Freak the Mighty.
The Year We Fell From Space by Amy Sarig King
Middle schooler Liberty likes to make her own maps of the stars. In fact, she is obsessed with them, especially since her family is falling apart: Her parents are getting divorced; her nine-year old sister will barely leave the house, and carries a stuffed tiger at all times; her father is suffering from depression, but will not talk about it; and the brothers down the street, once friends, have turned into bullies. So when a tiny meteorite falls in her lap, it is like a sign, but a sign of what?
Young Adult
The Survival Guide to Bullying by Aija Mayrock
Written by a teenager who was bullied throughout middle school and high school, this kid-friendly book offers a fresh and relatable perspective on bullying. Along the way, the author offers guidance as well as different strategies that helped her get through even the toughest of days.
The Survival Guide to Bullying covers everything from cyber bullying to how to deal with fear and how to create the life you dream of having. From inspiring "roems" (rap poems), survival tips, personal stories, and quick quizzes, this book will light the way to a brighter future.
Fake by Donna Cooner
Maisie Fernandez is fed up. Fed up with the bullies who taunt her about her size and her looks. Fed up with being the butt of everyone's jokes.
So, one night, Maisie goes online and creates a fake profile. "Sienna" is beautiful, skinny, and confident, and soon she's messaging the most popular kids in Maisie's school. Maisie doesn't care about being friends with them. She wants to use Sienna to take them down.But as Maisie's web of deception grows, she's in danger of being exposed. And what will happen when the actual Sienna, the girl whose photos Maisie has been using, shows up in real life?
Screenshot by Donna Cooner
Skye's life is perfect, or at least that's what it looks like on her Instagram account. She may be counting down the days until she can get out of her small town, but her social media game is always on point. However, the one time she looks less-than-perfect while she's at a sleepover, her friend Riley catches it all in an embarrassing video. Skye thinks the video is deleted and gone, until someone texts her a screenshot from it. Whoever has the photo is threatening to leak it unless Skye does whatever they say. Skye's perfect image and her privacy are suddenly in jeopardy. What will Skye do to keep the photo under wraps? And who is trying to ruin her life?
