Books about Bullying

Life Strategies for Dealing with Bullies by Jay McGraw (AKA Dr. Phil's son) is a good book about bullying to hand your kid. But I bet there's something better...

Life Strategies talks directly to kids - not parents - and the emphasis is on relating some important messages. Chiefly, "you're not alone" and "the situation isn't hopeless." On those accounts, it succeeds. However, I don't think it delivers on its title's promise. It's very short on practical advice about how kids can successfully handle bullying situations.

The primary advice - and it's good advice - is "tell an adult."

I'm happy about that, and I repeat, it's really, really good advice! So, if your kid is reluctant to read much on the subject and this one is palatable to him or her, by all means, grab it!

Still, bullying is a big problem and while "tell an adult" is good advice it's after-the-fact advice.  I'm looking for books on what we (kids AND adults) can do to alleviate, mitigate, reduce, or just plain wipe out the problem. How can we raise kids who don't bully? And raise kids who aren't bully-magnets?

Got recommendations? I'm all ears.

Help Wanted!

Who's reading what out there? What would you like to tell the world about it?

Totally open to guest bloggers... 

Lies We Tell Ourselves: What's Wrong with the Truth?

I'm afraid this review can be summed up as "read that, not this."

"This" is Lies We Tell Ourselves, a historical fiction account of school integration in 1957. The book is fiction (the town in the book is Davisburg, not Little Rock) but the sheer terror of integration was real.

I'll say this first: Lies We Tell Ourselves tells a compelling story, and - this is important - it's fiction. So, it may not be appropriate to ding it for historical accuracy. I repeat - it is fiction, and it has gotten good reviews. (I wasn't captivated, but I'll admit the characters were well-developed and I cared about what happened to them.)

That said, while Robin Talley is an award-winning author, I am underwhelmed with the research (described in the book's chatty afterword) and suspect her bias (age, race, yep, I'm going there) significantly compromised the (real) story.

Sorry, folks. I'm all for imagination, but when it comes to historical fiction, I want to believe the author is a qualified guide. I'm sorry I read this when the nonfiction Warriors Don't Cry probably tells the story better, meaning, more accurately.

Sigh.

My recommendation:  Lies We Tell Ourselves is meant for teens, and may be appropriate for younger readers who aren't ready to deal with the story told in a more direct (gasp) historically accurate way. But for those who are, I think Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals would be reading more worth your time.  Beals' "research" started around 1955 - she was one of the Little Rock Nine. So, I suspect the details in her book would ring true. Not pretty. But true.