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Frankie's older brother, Steve, is his hero and his biggest problem. After Steve starts hanging with the cholos and acting like a tough guy, Frankie has to do damage control at home; but when Frankie becomes the rich white guy's target, brother Steve is ready to protect him. Hyperion, 2008.

This book clearly presents the feelings of the target, Will; the bystander, his friend Kate; and the bully's thug, Devan, as they find a way to become friends. Red Deer Press, 2008.

The lives of three sophmore girls intersect on the day Leticia overhears Dominique threaten to beat up Trina after school. Amistad, 2009.

Bullycide in America: Moms Speak Out About the Bullying/ Suicide Connection compiled by Brenda High

Seven mothers whose children have committed bullycide tell their stories. JBS Publishing, Inc., 2007. EBook:www.bullycide.org

After the bullying of Olivia Gardner made the news, two sisters started a letter writing campaign to show her she was not alone. Nonfiction. HarperCollins, 2008.

Kyle was involved in theater until high school when he switched his passion to basketball. Now as a junior he has made the starting line, but after he earns a lead in the fall production of "Oliver," he comes up against time conflicts, an angry coach, team homophobia and his guilt for abandoning a valued friend because of his own insecurities. This book is good for looking at one's responsibility to doing the right thing, even when that is difficult. For Middle School and High School. Victoria: Orca Sports, 2008.

The book opens with BJ (Barbara Jean) standing at Alex's funeral trying to understand how they got to this place. They had been friends since third grade when the new kid, Alex had rescued her from the bullies. The rest of the book is told through BJ's flashbacks and Alex's journal. BJ is harassed because of the birthmark over one side of her face and Alex because of a homophobic former friend. This is a very strong book, in content, structure and language, the poetry of Alex's journal is beautiful. For Middle School and High School. Calgary, Canada: Red Deer Press, 2006.

Finally a GREAT cyberbullying book!And it's for middle school! After getting frustrated with their newspaper advisor's policy of only happy articles, Zebby Bower and Amr Nasir start an Internet newspaper and give everyone a chance to post the truth about their school. Soon someone decides to use the site to anonymously take down Lilly Clark, one of the popular girls. Lilly is humiliated, her clique friends have abandoned her and several others add anonymous postings to the attack. Of course, the school does not know what is going on until Lilly runs away. There are many great things about this book. All of the components of cyberbullying are displayed, the increased evilness that comes with anonymity, the ignorance of all the adults as well as the issues of freedom of speech and the student press, homophobia, justification for believing in rumors, and responsibility in relationships. Every librarian and middle school teacher should get this book now and then hand it to students! Morton Grover, Illinoi: Albert Whitman Company, 2008.

Both humorous and painful, GENERATION DEAD is unsettling. A strange phenomenon has been added to the usual crazies of high school - some teens who have died, have come back to life, and Oakdale High seems to have more than anywhere else. Previously ignored or called names (zombies, corpsicles, dead heads, worm food, living dead), the dead kids now want to be treated as normal kids. In fact, Tommy Williams has gone out for the football team, and even though the coach has hand picked certain bullying players to take him out, Tommy can't be hurt - he is already dead! The Hunter Foundation steps in to help in acceptance of the "differently biotic." All the prejudices that have existed against minorities are shown in this great discussion book. New York: Hyperion, 2008.

Cameron Grady, fourteen and in ninth grade, used to do well in school, ran track and helped his younger brother with math. Then Rich Patterson and his letter-jacket thugs target Cameron and school becomes a survival mission. Only Charlie Pinon is lower on the social scale. Then Rich and the thugs catch Cameron in the locker room, strip him, take cell phone photos of his genitals and send them out to everyone in school, while Charlie watches from the shower room. Cameron's mind snaps and he does the unthinkable. For High School. New York: Hachette / Little, Brown and Company, 2008

Too often bullying starts with children bullying pets or harming small animals. This very simple picture book warns not to tease these animals and suggests much nicer ways to treat them. New York: Dutton Children's Books / Pengin Young Readers, 2008.

Have you ever read about an accidental shooting between kids who had a gun and were playing Russian roulette? And you wondered - what were they thinking! Ricochet will tell you. Connor, his best friend Daniel, Ryan, and Will, all 15, were on the roof of Will's apartment building. Will pulls out a gun and first challenges them and then shames them into playing Russian roulette. The gun goes around the circle once - they are all safe. And then Will says, "Now let's play idiot's roulette. You spin the chamber and point the gun at the guy next to you." The others agree, NO WAY. Daniel turns to leave. Will spins the chamber, points it at Daniel, and says, "Bang, bang you're dead." He pulls the trigger, the gun fires and Daniel is dead. Connor tells his story of after. How they were all arrested and charged, how he visited Daniel's mother, how he had a probation officer and a curfew, and how terribly he missed Daniel. This is a must read, particularly for young males. MIddle/High School. New York: Delacorte Press, 2007.

In his introduction, Gallo says "...disabled teens are likely to face more obstacles and exclusions by society in general and to be the objects of physical and verbal harassment by their peers." The ten stories that follow show characters challenged by Tourette's syndrome or ADHD or cancer or alcoholism or migraine headaches or several other disabilities. The only way this anthology could have been better is if it had a story about every possible challenge. Cambridge: Candlewick Press, 2008

I don't know how it started but Frank Warren collects hand-made postcards from people who write a secret they need to tell someone. The first collection of cards was published in PostSecret and became a national bestseller. They are amazing, touching, tear-filled, liberating and very human. You can also check out the website www.postsecret.com New York: HarperCollins Publishers. Inc, 2006.

Chico and his migrant family arrive in grape camp for his first day inthird grade. The bullies on the bus and in the lunchroom try to pick onthe new kid, but Chico uses his math talent to even the score. Thisbook gives a voice to kids in migrant families. New York: Lee & Low Books, Inc., 2002

Half fantasy and half real world, this book tells the story of Auggie,a short skinny eleven year old, who tries to be invisible as one of thetwo white kids in a gang-filled part of Camden, New Jersey, where hissingle mom and the landlady look after him. At a special bookstore,Auggie finds a fantasy book that takes him to a magical world and yethelps him to meet some people in his real world. Intermediate / MiddleSchool New York: Random House, 2007

Clay Jensen receives a box of audiotapes, recorded by Hannah Bakerexplaining the 13 reasons why she committed suicide two weeks earlier.Instructions tell him to listen to the tapes and then send them to thenext person mentioned. Clay, whose voice alternates with Hannah intelling the story, is one of the good guys, but came along too late forHannah to changer her decision. Jay Asher gives us a thorough analysisof sexual harassment and its snowball effect through the experiencesHannah suffered since ninth grade. In TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY he has alsowritten one of the first books to deal with bullycide - committingsuicide to escape the bullying. Excellently crafted, humanly conveyed,this is a must read as this type of suicide is happenins morefrequently, and no one seems to notice. New York: Razor Bill / Penguin Group, 2007

Tired of being the "nobody," Tyler Miller sprayed graffiti on the school, did school maintenance for his punishment, and earned a "to-be-noticed-but-avoided" reputation. Add crush on Bethany, daughter of his father's boss and sister of the top elitist bully in the school, to living with his own dysfunctional family, and it is no surprise that Tyler thinks of suicide. Definitely for high school classes.Penguin, 2007

Until her family can afford school shoes, Delly Porter is happy walking barefoot to school, but Prudy Winfield tells Delly her toes will fall off and she is just going to get "dumber and poorer." Then there is a class project that will identify each student by his or her shoes. (I know, another ignorant teacher - heavy sigh). Sleeping Bear Press, 2007

Four Feet, Two Sandals by Karen Lynn William & Khadra Mohammad,
IIlustrated by Doug Chayka

(I found THE ORANGE SHOES and this book at the same time, and though FOUR FEET, TWO SANDALS is not a typical bully book, it will help children gain a greater understanding of the world, which is an important way to build respect which will prevent bullying.) In a refugee camp in Pakistan, the relief workers are handing out clothes and two young girls each find one yellow sandal with a blue flower in the middle. Lina and Feroza believe they can build a friendship by sharing one pair of shoes. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2007

In his senior year, Matt Rydeck is co-captain of the football team and feeling pretty powerful. His future looks bright, the steroids and weight lifting are building up his body, and the school adores him. And then the Raiders go away for a week of intense training and to initiate the new guys on the last night. Ramp, the other co-captain, takes things too far. Matt and the other seniors witness it all and do nothing to stop it.

This is a book that needs to be read, by high school athletes, coaches and teachers. There are two themes, the performance-enhancing drugs and the rape. They don't happen everywhere, but they do happen. Definitely for high school.HarperCollins, 2006

Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of online Social Aggression, Threats, and Distress

Cyberbullying is the fastest growing form of bullying and most school systems do not know how to handle this problem. This book will inform an individual about cyberbullying and a school district about setting up a comprehensive plan to deal with the problem. The twelve reproducible appendixes in the back (ranging from a Review Process to separate Guides for students, parents, and staff) are worth the price alone. Research Press, 2007

The narrator in this picture book sees the kids at school who get bullied and she feels sorry for them, but she never does anything. Then she gets made fun of and others just watch. The next day she reaches out to the girl sitting alone on the bus. Reading this with a class and then brainstorming safe and simple things to do to make everyone feel welcome are very important steps. Children need to practice ways to make friends with the targeted student. Two pages of ideas are in the back of the book. Gardiner, Maine:Tilbury House, Publishers, 2004

This is really two books, one for younger students (grades 2-6) and one for older students and adults. The first part has simple text and drawings that tell a story we can all understand, witnessing someone being bullied. On each page another witness steps forward to define his or her part in the event. Some blame the target, some join in the harassment, others judge. The second part begins with one sentence, white letters on an all black page, "Does it have nothing to do with me?" Following are six black and white photographs taken during times of great suffering around the world, from starving child to soldiers with their captives to an atomic blast. The question, Where is our responsibility? applies throughout the book and will lead easily to discussions. Heryin Books, 2006

Eleven-year-old Whitney is on her way to her twelfth foster home in northern California and arrives with her survival rules in place. "Number one: Aim for immediate high noticeability." She explans "Don't wait for them to sneak up and ambush you. They're going to call you a weirdo anyways, so be THE weirdo. Be it proudly."(50)

Her foster brother nick-names her Termite because of her small size due to an earlier heart condition, and she embraces the name fully. In this logging town in northern California, logging had been stopped because a rare owl had moved in and any environmental reference earned scowls. The men were all out of work and in order to pay their bills, families had taken in foster children. A quarter of Termite's class was foster kids.

I loved this book for a couple reasons, first Termite is an endearing character and second there is a real education presented around the foster care life. Foster kids don't fit in anywhere, not at school and not at home. Termite loves school because there are so many other foster kids. For the first time, she has a place to belong. Great book. Henry Holt, 2006