Bullying/Cyber-Bullying Annotated Bibliography By: Allison Rubin

Annotated Bibliography

Bullying/Cyber-Bullying

By: Allison Rubin

Introduction: The issue of bullying has always been a problem in schools but as the years pass bullying has become worse.  The internet including social media and instant messaging has allowed the growth of bullying to all age levels creating cyber bullying.  It changes the game by allowing the bully to be anonymous and lets them be unaware of the pain they are causing their target (Adams). The introduction of social media has shot bullying to an all time high along with the in person bullying that continues today in and out of schools.  As teachers we need to be proactive and teach this issue so students are aware of the issue, the negative effects it has on others, and how to stand up for the victims.  Although cyber bullying has gained people’s attention, according to the article, Helping School Staff Identify and Understand the Effects of Bullying, out of 25,000 students from K-12, 36% of these students stated they were frequently involved in bullying in person (2009).  This is a very high percentage and if students are not involved directly, they do witness the bullying and the negative impacts it has on the victims.  These statistics should raise our concerns as teachers and try to help lower the percentages in schools by teaching and enforcing anti-bullying.  Notar & Padgett state it best by saying, “Without adult leadership and actions required to enforce any anti-bullying prevention/intervention program bullying will continue.  Bullying is not self-regulating, it must have adult buy-in and emphasis” (Notar & Padgett, 2013).  Teachers must create bullying lessons through out the school year to intervene and stop these behaviors.  The direct teaching of this issue will help students realize the negative impact bullying can have on another student, hopefully lowering the percentage of bullying.  Teachers need to explain why it is important to stand up for one another and to seek for help from an adult also in the case that bullying does occur. One of the best ways to do this is through books. It is a positive way to introduce the topic and allows students to see examples to identify bullying, how to prevent it, and how to seek assistance.  Creating a social-emotional unit on bullying through literature is a wonderful way to start the prevention/intervention for this issue going on in every school today. To put it best, “By increasing awareness of the problem of bullying and providing training on skills for effectively handling a bullying situation, teachers and school staff can work collaboratively with students to promote a safe and supportive learning environment” (2009).

Annotated Bibliography Bullying/Cyber-Bullying

Grades 2-4

1. The Bully Blockers Club by Teresa Bateman

Bateman, T., & Urbanovic, J. (2014). The Bully Blockers Club. New York, NY: AV² by         Weigl.

The story involves Lotty a Raccoon (the victim) and Grant a bear (the bully).  Grant is bullying Lotty, who seeks advice from her parents, who tell the teacher.  The bullying continues so she finds other friends who are also being bullied by Grant and they form the bully blockers club and the bullying stops.  This book is high quality as it has great illustrations to evoke emotions and understand the situation.  Also, it is a kid friendly way of using animals to hook young readers into the topic.  This book can be used by teachers to show that if bullying is occurring and does not stop after one attempt, keep trying.  It also is a good way to teach students to seek help from adults, teachers, and peers.  This book introduces students to multiple people to reach out for help and teaches students that they should stand up for themselves.  This can be used with young students in second grade and be used to teach how to seek help and the appropriate way to stand up for yourself.

2. Bad Astrid by Eileen Brennan Genre: Fiction

Brennan, E., & Dunnick, R. (2013). Bad astrid. New York: Random House.

A picture book with dog like cartoon characters, focuses on Astrid who is a bully on the block and has a bad attitude about everything.  Astrid has an accident on her bike and a narrator confronts Astrid on why she is so mean to others.  It comes out that Astrid really needs a friend and is lonely, which cased the bad attitude.  The pictures in this book are very well done, and shown in a kid friendly way with dog characters.  The text shows the opposite side of the bully perspective and why she is acting the way she does.  Teachers/parents can use this book to show this side of the bully and can help students understand a bully.  This can promote a conversation between children and befriend this type of child, another way to stop the bullying.  This story is not always told, but it can be helpful for children to understand the other side of the story.

3. About Average by Andrew Clements Genre: Fiction

Clements, A. (2014). About average. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

The character Jordan Johnston feels that she is just average.  In her perspective everyone else around her is remarkable and all have some type of talent or are gorgeous and they are all her age. She creates a list of things she is good at, okay at, and sucks at and the bully in the story, Marlea, finds it and sends it out to the school.  Jordan then makes a goal that by the end of the year she will find her talent to make her above average and everyone will see it. This is a book for fourth grade, as it is a chapter book, and it has high quality text that addresses issues children are facing today.  Children see celebrities every day in the news and want to be as perfect as they do, but this text teaches students that they all have some sort of talent that makes them great.  It also addresses the issues of bullying and self-exploration.  Teachers/parents can use this text as a read aloud to discuss the topic of bullying.  It can also be used a literature circle book.  It would provoke a lot of good conversations and connections that students can share in a safe place in school.

4. Bullies Never Win by Margery Cuyler Genre: Fiction

Cuyler, M., & Howard, A. (2010). Bullies never win. New York: Scholastic.

This books revolves around Jessica who is bullied by Brenda for her skinny legs.  In the story the kids are in first grade and it shows all the anxiety and feelings it causes Jessica, as the victim.  Jessica thinks about asking her teacher for help but in the end stands up for herself and stops the bullying.  The story is told in a relevant stand point for students, it is told by first graders/students around their age, and has additional illustrations to relate to children.  This text also is high quality as it goes into all the feelings the victim feels to have the reader connect to the story.  Bullies Never Win is a short book that can be used as an introduction to the topic of bullying.  It should be used with second grade and even first grade, as it is short and sweet.  The story can also be used to show the effects bullying can have on the victim, and why bullying is wrong.

5. Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry Genre: Fiction/Picture Book

Ferry, B., & Lichtenheld, T. (2018). Stick and Stone. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

A picture book that uses rhyming text of just a few words or less per page.  The illustrations are wonderful and portray anti-bullying messages to children, best used for younger students in second grade or younger.  It is about friends Stick and Stone who stick up for each other as Stick did when Pine cone bullied Stone and Stone returning the favor.  The picture book uses simple rhyming text through out the story.  The book is also high quality by the great illustrations that uses visual puns.  Again, this book should be used for younger students as a read aloud.  It would be great to have students turn and talk through out the story to discuss the issues being portrayed in simple texts and pictures.  Parents can also use this at home to approach the topic and start the discussion at home.

6. Dealing with Bullying by Marianne Johnston Genre: Non-Fiction

Johnston, M., & León, M. V. (2008). Dealing with bullying. New York: PowerKids   Press/Editorial Buenas Letras.

This is a great non-fiction option that discusses what bullying is to younger students.  It also explains how to react to bullies, why bullies do what they do, and how to stop being a bully if you go down that path.  This is a high quality book as it discusses bullying in a factual way in all perspectives (victim and bully side).  It also has realistic photographs of students being bullied to help students visualize what is being discussed.  Teachers and parents can use this book to inform students about bullying.  This is a great text to help students build background knowledge of this topic at the beginning of a social/emotional unit about bullying.  It will also help students relate to real life situations and be able to visual the topic.

7. Just Kidding By Trudy Ludwig Genre: Fiction

Ludwig, T., & Gustavson, A. (2012). Just kidding. Toronto: CNIB.

A wonderful story that focuses on bullying between boys.  The main character, D.J., is being teased by friend Vince.  After Vince teases him he will say, “Just kidding!”.  D.J. does not feel like he is kidding and seeks assistance from a teacher, his brother, and his dad.  The story shows the manipulation of relationships to hurt others. This is a high quality text as it focuses on an issue not often discussed, but happens often in schools.  First it focuses on bullying between males who are friends and on equal playing fields.  Second it discusses how saying “Just kidding” does not make up for actions and to be aware of others and their feelings before taking teasing too far.  Teachers can use this book to discuss the dos and don’ts of teasing.  The class can create a list, and it can be an anchor chart that is hung up in the room to reference.  This can also be made as a handout to be sent home to parents to also go over at home to reinforce the lesson.

8. Better Than You by Trudy Ludwig Genre: Realistic Fiction

Ludwig, T., & Gustavson, A. (2012). Better than you. Toronto: CNIB.

A realistic fiction picture book that focuses on the character Tyler and Jake.  The two characters are neighbors and Jake always has to one-up Tyler.  Tyler starts to wonder if something is wrong with him until Tyler’s uncle comes along. Uncle Kevin explains how Jake’s bragging does not help him keep friends, and Tyler soon finds a true friend.  The illustrations vary through out the story including double page spreads and follow the story well.  The illustrations and text are very realistic, which makes it relatable to students.  There are many activities that teachers can use with this book.  One activity could be writing positive posters to put up around the school to remind students to do their best at school.  The second activity could be making an ABC book about things that they are good at our make them proud about themselves.  They can share with classmates to increase positive attitudes about oneself.

9. Enemy Pie by Derek Munson Genre: Fiction

Munson, D., & King, T. C. (2015). Enemy pie. Toronto: CNIB.

A wonderful tail about a boy who hates his hew neighbor who just moved in, Jeremy Ross. He does not like Jeremy at all and goes to his dad for advice, where he tells him about making enemy pie to solve the problems.  The key ingredient being that he had to spend the whole day with his enemy.  During the day spent together the boys become friends, and the “enemy pie” recipe worked.  This story has a great sense of humor as the whole idea of enemy pie is to make friends with the bully, but the narrator thought the actual pie was piousness and going to get rid of the Jeremy.  It also portrays a theme of don’t judge a book by the cover, sometimes you have to spend time with someone to really get a better picture.  This promotes a discussion about understanding others and what makes a good friend.  Teachers could create an extension activity where students create a recipe for friendship, to highlight the positives of a good friend.  Students can also use this as a writing assignment to go along with their recipe to explain the importance of their “ingredients” of being a good friend.

10. The Orange Shoes by Trinka Hakes Noble Genre: Fiction

Noble, T. H., & Ettlinger, D. (2013). The orange shoes. Columbus, O.H.: Zaner-Bloser.

Delly is the main character in the book and she does not have a pair of shoes, she walks around barefoot and happy about that.  A schoolmate, Prudy, makes fun of her for not having shoes. The teacher announces there will be a shoebox social right after the bullying incident and Delly becomes creative to enter the contest.  She gets a new pair of shoes for the social, and even though the other students ruin them, she paints them so they are better than ever and raises the most money.  This story has great themes of money isn’t everything and beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Even though it is a picture book with great illustrations there are a lot of words and it reads like a novel, allowing it to be used with older children in 3^rd-4^th grade.  An activity that can be done after the reading is creating their own shoebox that represents themselves to be shared with the class.  This can allow students to be creative and discuss their best qualities to build up their self esteem. This will initiate conversations about how it is not okay to bully others as everyone has different obstacles at home but all have great things to value in each of them.

11. The Recess Queen by Alexis O’Neill Genre: Fiction

ONeill, A., & Huliska-Beith, L. (2006). The Recess Queen. Gosford, N.S.W.: Scholastic.

This story is about the “Recess Queen”-Mean Jean, who would go out to recess and play with everything first, and all the students knew this and did not get in her way.  Then Katie Sue comes as a new student and does not know the rules and starts playing on the playground before Mean Jean.  Mean Jean becomes very upset, but then Katie Sue asks to play together and changes Mean Jean’s perspective.  This is a high quality text as it adds fun phrases like “lollapaloosh’em” which are unique to the story.  The author also uses humor through out the story like, saying “she bounces a child like a ball”.  Teachers can use this fun story to approach the issue of bullying in a light mood.  Many bullying issues occur in unstructured time, recess, and this book pinpoints exactly this time.  Teachers can use this to explain why bullying should not happen in any area of the school, and students should at least try to play with everyone and be fair with others.

12. Bully by Patricia Polacco Genre: Fiction/Picture Book

Polacco, P. (2013). Bully. Toronto: CNIB.

Lyla moves to a new school in San Francisco to start her sixth grade year and makes a friend quickly, Jamie.  Soon Lyla becomes a cheerleader and part of the mean girl’s group but it soon changes when she starts to be bullied by these girls along with others.  The mean girls use Facebook and text messaging as a use of cyberbullying to attack others.  This is a wonderful story that uses social media used in the real world today, which is Facebook.  Students will automatically relate and get hooked to this story due to this aspect.  The story also incorporates wonderful pictures to go along with the relatable text.  A teacher can use this book to discuss the traits of a good friend and how to identify and keep these types of friends.  Also, it can be used at home to discuss the importance of being safe using the internet and identify cyberbullying and report it when it happens.

13. Cyberbullying by Lucia Raatma Genre: Non-Fiction

Raatma, L. (2013). Cyberbullying. Danbury, CT: Childrens Press.

Cyberbullying is a non-fiction book that is very informative about the different types of cyber bullying.  It ranges from discussing posting mean pictures to threatening text messages.  This would be used for students in the 4^th grade, and can be used with older children also.  This is a high quality book as it discusses why this topic is important and what to do if you become a victim of cyber bullying.  It also is a great resource as it is non-fiction text but written in language that younger students can read and understand.  Teachers and parents should use this book to inform children of this important topic.  It can be used to help write an informative piece about cyber bullying and how to help this issue as a child.  These writing pieces can be shared in small group or whole class and can promote discussion about the topic in the classroom.

14. Bullies Are a Pain in the Brain by Trevor Romain Genre: Non-fiction/humor

Romain, T., & Verdick, E. (1997). Bullies are a pain in the brain. Free Spirit Pub.

This book is good for third and fourth graders as it discusses bullying and being a bully in a humors but factual way.  It is a fun read for students with funny illustrations that teaches students what they can do if bullying happens to them.  It also includes resources for parents, teachers, and students.  This is a high quality text as it is written as a handbook for children about bullies.  The text teaches through humor with its illustrations, but also gives factual interventions to stop bullying from happening. This can be used by both parents and teachers to teach about bullying and how to prevent it from happening.  There is also a video that goes along with the book that can be played as a multi-media aspect to this topic.  This is an older text but very informative and students can create their own handbooks to stop bullying just like the book that they can refer to if they face this issue.

15. Stop Bullying Bobby: Helping Children Cope with Teaching and Bullying by Danna Smith Genre: Fiction

Smith-Mansell, D. (2004). Stop Bullying Bobby! Helping Children Cope With Teasing             and Bullying. New Horizon Press.

This story involves the characters Robin and Bobby who are seven years old.  Bobby is the bully and Robin witnesses him bully others and wants to help but does not know how.  She ends up going to her parents to ask for help, who inform the teacher of the issue.  Ms. Wells, the teacher, makes the class participate in an activity to teach how everyone is different and that is a good thing.  The pictures of the students in this book represent all different races, which makes it diverse and relates to all children.  The story also shows a method to help a victim once you witness bullying.  Teachers can use this book to start the conversation about how to stand up for others and report the problem.  The class can make a list of steps to follow if they see bullying, students can post the steps through out the school to help all students in the school.

16. The Juice Box Bully by Bob Sornson and Maria Dismondy Genre: Fiction/Picture Book

Sornson, R., Dismondy, M., & Fay, J. (2017). The juice box bully: Empowering kids to            stand up for others. Brighton, MI: Early Learning Foundation.

Pete is a new student at school and even though everyone is nice to him, he is a bully back to them.  All the students stand up to him as it was a class rule they made together to not accept bad behavior.  At the end of the story the reader finds out the Pete used to get bullied at his old school and just wanted to get ahead of it at his new school before it starts again.  Pete comes around and tries it their way of being kind to others.  This is a high quality text as the illustrations represent a racially diverse classroom including a student in wheelchair.  It also discusses bullying interventions and preventions with additional informative information in the back of the book about these topics.  This book would be good to use with younger age students, like second grade, it can be used to start the conversation of bullying.  Teachers can have their students make the pact that they do in the story and post that pact in the classroom for reference.  A star student can also be recognized through out the year who have been following this pact to promote good behavior in the classroom.

17. Dear Know-It-All: Set the Record Straight! By Rachel Wise Genre: Fiction

Wise, R. (2012). Dear Know-It-All: Set the Record Straight! Simon & Schuster.

This book should be used with fourth grade as a read aloud or literature circle book, as it is a chapter book.  It is about a girl, Samantha, who works on the newspaper at her schools.  She writes the “Dear Know-It-All” column in the papers and gives advice to her readers.  She soon falls victim to cyberbullying when bad emails start filling her mailbox about the column and she feels harassed.  Her article was focused on the cafeteria food that she was getting backlash from and the cafeteria staff were also upset with her.  She goes to find help from her adviser and has to make a hard decision of stopping her column or fighting back.  This is a high quality book as it discusses the issue of cyberbullying in a narrative about a student around the same age as the students in your fourth grade class.  Students will be able to relate and follow Samantha’s journey while evoking great conversation.  It also shows students how to fix their problems and get help as Samantha does by the end of the story.  Teachers could use this as a literature circle book, as it is engaging and relevant to students today.  A follow up activity could be to have students create their own news article about the importance of cyberbullying and ways to prevent and get help if you fall victim to cyberbullying.  All articles could be put together in a class newspaper and can be shared with the school and parents.

Teaching Scenario/Example:

All the books that are listed on this annotated bibliography can be used for a social/emotional unit in the classroom.  It is important that teachers incorporate social/emotional lessons in their classrooms to inform students about issues going on everyday and help students recognize right from wrong and how to get help.  Bullying and cyberbullying is a very important topic that all students should be aware of and taught in school.  Many of these books can spark a discussion in the classroom and promote positive activities to help recognize and stop bullying when it is witnessed.  These books help support a unit for teachers in the second-fourth grade range with different reading levels and genres.

Many of these books can be put together to create a unit about Bullying/cyberbullying.  The books Bully, Enemy Pie, Cyberbullying, The Juice Box Bully, and Stop Bullying Bobby can be used together in a third grade classroom to support a lesson on the topic of bullying.  The first book to be presented in this unit would be, Enemy Pie, it is a good introduction to the topic.  A teacher would use this as a hook to the unit and spark the conversation of bullying.  Students will have to create a recipe of a good friend, and discuss how to recognize a friend from a bully.  The class can also make a list of the good traits in a friend they are looking for and the bad traits they want to stay away from.  Then the next book, Cyberbullying, will be introduced.  It will give informative information on bullying on the internet and ways to recognize it and get help.  This will build students background knowledge on the topic.  Bully would than be read as a read aloud to show an example of cyberbullying.  Students will be able to see the pictures in the book to visualize what this may look like and form a knowledge of how to stay safe on the internet and how their words affect others.  It also teaches students that they should report any wrong doing to receive help.  Students then can look back at their good friend traits and add any new ideas to the good/bad list. The next book that will be introduced would be Stop Bullying Bobby as this story goes into how to help others or yourself if you are being bullied or you witnessed bullying.  This is a perfect time to introduce this book as prior to this story the teacher has gone over what bullying/cyberbullying is and how to recognize a bully along with traits of a good/bad friend.  Now it is time to go over what to do if bullying is happening.  It would be wonderful if after this book the students created a list of options for students on how to get help or stand up to a bully to make it stop.  This list can be posted in the classroom and could even be extended to be posted around the school.  The last book the teacher will use is The Juice Box Bully as it is a short and sweet book to end a unit.  At the end of the story it can be discussed that if everyone stands up for each other bullying can be diminished.  It would be fun to have the class make the same pact as they did in the book and put the pact up in the classroom to promote an anti-bullying classroom.  This is just one example of how to put some of the books together to make a unit about bullying, but there are so many good books on this list that can be used in different ways and would be helpful for any teacher.  These books help identify and explain bullying, how to prevent it, and how to get help if it does occur.  All will prompt great discussions in the classroom making students informed on the topic, which will hopefully decrease bullying in your school!

References

Adams, C. (n.d.). Cyberbullying: What Teachers and Schools Can Do. Retrieved April 8, 2018, from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/cyberbullying-whatteachers-and-schools-can-do/

Helping School Staff Identify and Understand the Effects of Bullying. (2009, February 11).  Retrieved April 10, 2018, from https://www.education.com/reference/article/identify  understand-effects-bullying/

Notar, C. E., & Padgett, S. (2013). Adults Role in Bullying. Universal Journal of Education  Research, 1(4), 1-4. doi:10.13189/ ujer.2013.0104 03