Talking About Bullying (Talking About...(Raintree))

Rating:
Summary: a great book!!!
Review: I found this book exceptionally useful due to the straightforward text and clear pictures. my child was able to immediately tell what was going on in the pictures and identify the feelings involved, which then led him to figuring out solutions to the situations. It also helped him to be able to identify a bullying situation involving someone else and to help them. The book clearly explains ALL different types of bullying, not just physical abuse like many of the bullying books i have seen. it also clearly explains what to do in the situation, and offers alternatives if the first try doesn't work. my son got alot out of this book, and really benefitted from its messages. he was very curious about why someone would bully someone else, and the book covers this in an easily understandable way. it also emphasizes that bullying is never the victim's fault, and that everyone is different, and difference should not provoke abuse. I would recommend this book to anyone trying to teach their children respect for themselves and others.

Rating:
Summary: a great book!!!
Review: I found this book exceptionally useful due to the straightforward text and clear pictures. my child was able to immediately tell what was going on in the pictures and identify the feelings involved, which then led him to figuring out solutions to the situations. It also helped him to be able to identify a bullying situation involving someone else and to help them. The book clearly explains ALL different types of bullying, not just physical abuse like many of the bullying books i have seen. it also clearly explains what to do in the situation, and offers alternatives if the first try doesn't work. my son got alot out of this book, and really benefitted from its messages. he was very curious about why someone would bully someone else, and the book covers this in an easily understandable way. it also emphasizes that bullying is never the victim's fault, and that everyone is different, and difference should not provoke abuse. I would recommend this book to anyone trying to teach their children respect for themselves and others.

Rating:
Summary: very disappointed in the tone, text, and photo images
Review: I was looking for books to discuss bullying with my 3 year-old who is homeschooled. We encountered bullying when two children we don't know, aggressively physically attacked my three year-old at the playground when I was only 15 feet away and watching the whole thing.

This is a picture book to read to children about bullying. The photos show children with very overly obvious facial features. There are a lot of photos with kids making scary and angry faces. My son said he didn't like the book because of the faces on the children.

I don't like the overall message. First, it focuses on children in school and I don't know their ages but to me they look 7 years or older. It is all focused on school and talking to teachers. It references "tattling" on the bully to the teacher but the text and the picture don't go on to show that the teacher is open to hearing about the injustice done to the child. I also don't like that they don't show follow-through explaining that the teacher is going to do something about the bullying activity. The teacher in the photo also had body language that looked as if she was thinking "what is this kid bugging me about now-I wish he'd go away".

I would prefer text and images that show the bullying, then discussing it with an adult (not labeled "telling on") and then the adult explaining to the bully that what was done was wrong and why. Some text about hurting feelings (for verbal abuse) or more harsh language about physical bullying as being completely intolerable would be better to address.

There are a couple of references to bullying being done at home as well, which are not really explained. It was something like "bullying can be at school but also at home as well". There is a lot of talk about bullying activity but nothing really condemning it. There are references to a bully doing bad things because they are also done to them by other people. That concept isn't taken any further and I don't like the excuse making. I also don't know that getting into this psychology is necessary for young children that would be interested in such a picture book format story.

I was really disappointed with this book.