From the Myers Library
Bullying Bibliography
FICTION
Draper, Sharon. Double Dutch
Three eighth-grade friends, preparing for the International Double
Dutch Championship jump rope competition in their home town of Cincinnati, Ohio, cope with Randy's
missing father, Delia's inability to read, and Yo Yo's encounter with the class bullies.
Sharon Flake. The Skin I’m In Narrated by the main character, Maleeka, this well-loved book tells the
story of what her life is like in an urban middle school, where is taunted about her homemade clothes, her
good grades and the darkness of her skin. Enter Ms. Saunders, a new teacher with a skin condition that
makes her appear "different” as well. In her own special way, Ms. Saunders enables Maleeka to learn to
love herself and to view the world in a whole new way.
George, Marion The Difference Between You and Me
School outsider Jesse, a lesbian, is having
secret trysts with Emily, the student council vice president, but they find themselves on opposite sides of a
major issue and are forced to make a difficult decision.
Going, K.L.. Fat Kid Rules the World
Troy Billings is seventeen, 296 pounds, friendless, utterly
miserable, and about to step off a New York subway platform in front of an oncoming train. Until he meets
and befriends Curt MacCrae, an emaciated, semi-homeless, high school dropout guitar genius, the stuff of
which Lower East Side punk rock legends are made . Soon, Curt’s recruited Troy as his new drummer—even
though Troy can’t play the drums. Together, Curt and Troy will change the world of punk, and Troy’s own
life, forever.
Griffin, Adele. The Julian Game
Raye Archer, a scholarship student at the prestigious Fulton School,
can't say no when popular girl Ella Parker approaches her for help with Mandarin. But what starts as peer
tutoring turns into quasi-friendship when Raye offers Ella access to her secret weapon: a Facebook profile
for gorgeous but imaginary Elizabeth Lavenzck, connected to the hot guys at MacArthur school, created
with the help of her friend Natalya. When Ella wields Elizabeth for revenge on MacArthur heartthrob Julian,
using Raye to pose for revealing candid shots of Elizabeth, she doesn't anticipate that Julian might just fall
for Raye. Griffin mines familiar territory–cyberbullying and mean girls–in a novel brimming with deception
and manipulation.
Hall, Megan Kelley, & Jones, Carrie (Eds.). Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories. Sometimes
seeing ourselves in stories leads to change. This wonderful themed collection about bullies is for anyone
who has bullied others, been bullied by others or even stood by helplessly while someone else was being
bullied. It should be mandatory reading for students and teachers since it covers the territory of bullying so
thoroughly. It is likely that each reader will find his/her own experiences mirrored in at least one of the stories
written by the 70 authors, many of whom will be familiar to young readers.
Koja,Kathe. Budda Boy The kids at school call Jinsen “Buddha Boy”—he wears oversize tie-dyed
dragon T- shirts, shaves his head, and always seems to be smiling. He’s clearly a freak. Then Justin is paired
with him for a class project. As he gets to know Jinsen and his incredible artistic talent, Justin questions his
own beliefs. But being friends with Buddha Boy isn’t simple, especially when Justin realizes that he’s going to
have to take sides. What matters more: the high school social order or getting to know someone
extraordinary?
Lee, Harper
To Kill a Mockingbird
Lawyer Atticus Finch defends the real mockingbird of Harper
Lee's classic, Puliter Prize-winning novel—a black man charged with the rape of a white woman. Through
the eyes of Atticus's children, Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with rich humor and unflinching
honesty the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the 1930's.
Mikaelsen, Ben. Touching Spirit Bear
At 15, Cole Matthews has been fighting and stealing for
years. As a punishment for smashing another boy’s head into the sidewalk, Cole chooses Native American
Circle Justice, in which he is banished to a remote Alaskan island. There he is mauled by a mystical white
bear. Will the attack of the spirit bear destroy his life or save his soul?
Myers, Walter Dean. Shooter
Written in the form of interviews, reports, and journal entries, the story of
three troubled teenagers , Cameron, Carla, and Len arefascinated (for different reasons) with guns target
shooting at the Patriots' club range until the day Len brought his Kalashnikov rifle, his AR-18, and his Ruger
pistol to school, and shot and killed football jock Brad Williams, and then himself.
Palacio, R.J. Wonder. August (Auggie) Pullman is a ten-year-old boy with severe facial deformities. He
sees himself as just like everyone else, but is painfully reminded that he’s different when he returns to public
school after many years of homeschooling. Not only must he endure stares and whispers but is also “it” in a
hurtful school-wide game Auggie learns powerful lessons about friendship, courage, loyalty, and betrayal.
He also learns to overcome unexpected challenges, including bullies, who victimize him because he is
different.
Patterson, James. Middle School – Get Me Outta Here! Seventh-grader Rafe, his mom, and his
sister move in with Grandma after Mom loses her job, thus ending Rafe's opportunity to attend an
alternative arts school. Luckily, a former teacher recommends him to a nearby public arts school, where
he makes a friend and launches Operation: Get a Life, a tempered version of his sixth-grade plan, this
one involving big-city adventures. After Rafe is set up for shoplifting (by his supposed friend) and bullied
for his honesty, he runs away, resulting in a return to his old town, where his alternative art school
awaits.
Spinelli, Jerry. Maniac Magee The winner of the 1991 Newbery Medal, Maniac Magee is a folk story
about a boy, a very excitable boy. One that can outrun dogs, hit a home run off the best pitcher in the
neighborhood, tie a knot no one can undo. "Kid's gotta be a maniac," is what the folks in Two Mills say. It's
also the story of how this boy, Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee, confronts racism in a small town, tries to find a
home where there is none and attempts to soothe tensions between rival factions on the tough side of
town.
Spinelli, Jerry. Stargirl
Newbery award-winning author Spinelli weaves the talke of Stargirl Caraway, a
totally unconventional and unpredictable young woman who turns Mica High in Arizona upside down with
her arrival. At first, everyone is charmed by her offbeat individuality, but with time, she becomes so
threatening to the status quo that she is shunned by her schoolmates. This book will touch the heart of any
student who has ever felt that they don’t quite fit the mold and nonetheless are true to themselves and
exult in their difference
Williams, David. The Boy in the Dress
Dennis is a bit surprised—but not terribly nonplussed—to
discover that he enjoys wearing dresses. The 12-year-old does, however, realize this is not the kind of
revelation he wants to share with his truck-driving dad, his older brother, or his mates on the school football
team, where he is a star player. But these things have a way of getting out, and soon enough Dennis finds
himself both exposed and expelled. Is this the end?
Williams-Garcia, Rita.
Jumped
Each chapter of this novel alternates between the voices of its main
characters as it examines the politics of high school, where a million mini-dramas occur within each
classroom. Taking place within a single day, Jumped tells the story of three young women…one planning
to attack another, and a third who knows when, where and how this is going to happen, but agonizes over
whether or not to become involved. The author invokes the feeling of tension that seems to increase as the
time of the fight comes closer, but still the reader is unprepared for the book’s gut-wrenching conclusion.
Winerip, Michael
Adam Canfield: Watch Your Back
For over-programmed middle-schooler
Adam Canfield, waking up to a snow day is a dream come true — a chance to sleep late, put off planning
the next issue of THE SLASH, and make some quick cash with his shovel. But the dream turns into a
nightmare when some high-school kids mug Adam for his shoveling money. Not only does the media blast
this embarrassing story, but Adam’s own co-editors plan a contest outing bullies at their school. The author
deftly blends kid-friendly humor with some provocative issues, including the subtle effects of class and
racism and the thrill that comes from speaking truth to power.
Wolff, Virginia Euwer
Probably Still Nick Swanson
Nick Swansen hates being in Special Ed.: he
can't drive, even if he’s sixteen and his parents have two cars; the regular kids in school don't talk to him
much; and even if he can memorize every fact about amphibians, it's hard to make sense of all the other
stuff swirling in his mind. What he doesn't know is whether being Special Ed. means you shouldn't go to the
prom. But since no rule says you can't, Nick decides to ask Shana. But the prom doesn't turn out at all the
way he expects it to, and everything bad seems to get all mixed up together: the prom, what Shana does,
and the terrible thing that happened to Nick's sister nine years ago. Nick doesn't want to think about any of
it, but he begins to realize that unless he makes peace with all the memories that trouble him, they will
haunt him forever....
Woodson, Jacqueline. From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun
Fourteen-year-old Melanin Sun has a
lot to say…not out loud, but in notebooks he keeps. Named for his dark skin, he knows about being on the
outside of things. "Difference matters," he writes early on. What follows is not the usual identity crisis,
however. His mother, a law student who sometimes acts more like a best friend, tells him she's in love with a
woman, and a white one, at that. His reaction is negative, strong, and hurtful. Nonetheless, at the end,
Melanin seems to have sorted out his feelings, slowly and believably, while he recognizes in his mother and
her lover a vulnerability he feels within himself
NONFICTION
Burton, Bonnie Girls Against Girls: Why We Are Mean to Each Other and How We Can Change
An
accessible guide for girls who are caught up in the malicious gossiping, jealousy, and social shunning that affect so
many adolescents. It neatly outlines the issues and provides common-sense approaches to breaking the cycle of
meanness, envy, and passive-aggressive behaviors. It also addresses both the victims and the mean girls
themselves.. This book is punctuated with quotes from female artists and athletes and also includes a good
resource guide to finding empowering organizations. The real challenge will be getting the book into readers'
hands at the right time.
Metcalf, Dawn, Megan Kelly Hall and Carrie Jones Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Stories
Today’s top authors for teens come together to share their stories about bullying—as silent observers on the
sidelines of high school, as victims, and as perpetrators—in a collection at turns moving and self-effacing,
but always deeply personal.
Desetta, Al (Editor) The Courage to Be Yourself: True Stories By Teens About Cliques, Conflicts,
And Overcoming Peer Pressure
The subtitle says it all. These teens have written their own stories with
all the plodding earnestness of a school report. The format consists of the essays followed by pedantic
questions, e.g., Why do you think some people pick on gays and lesbians? That said, there is certainly some
value in hearing teens of many ethnicities and orientations speaking plainly about being fat, or being from
India in a school full of blond, blue-eyed folk, or being Arab after 9/11. There's even a gently funny
anonymous piece by a black teen who loves musicals but would never admit to his passion for The King
and I or The Sound of Music .
Garden, Nancy Hear Us Out! Lesbian and Gay Stories of Struggle, Progress, and Hope, 1950 to
the Present
What was it like being young and gay during the closeted 1950s, the exuberant
beginnings of the modern gay rights movement in the 1970s, or the frightening outbreak of HIV and AIDS in
the 1980s? Nancy Garden uses both fact and fiction to explore just what it has meant to be young and
gay in America during the last fifty years. For each decade from the 1950s on, she discusses in an essay the
social and political events that shaped the lives of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people
.during that era. Then, in two short stories, she explores the emotional experiences of young gay people
coming of age during those times, giving vivid insight into what it really felt like. It is a comprehensive and
rich account of gay life, both public and private, from one of the pioneers of young adult lesbian and gay
literature.
Beaudoin, Marie-Nathalie (Editor) and Maureen E. Taylor (Editor) Breaking the Cult of Bullying
and Disrespect: New Perspectives on Collaboration, Compassion, and Responsibility The book
gives excellent ways to empower children, to help them solve their own issues, and give them real
strategies that will help them deal with difficult situations in the future.
Miller, Dan and Terry Savage It Only Gets Better Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, And Creating A
Life Worth Living
Growing up isn’t easy. Many young people endure bullying that makes them feel they
have nowhere to turn—especially LGBT kids and teens who often hide their sexuality for fear of being bullied.
After a number of suicides by LGBT students who were bullied in school, syndicated columnist Dan Savage
uploaded a video to YouTube with his partner, Terry Miller, to inspire hope for LGBT youth. The video launched the
It Gets Better Project, initiating a worldwide phenomenon. This is a collection of expanded essays and new
material from celebrities and everyday people who have posted videos of encouragement, as well as new
contributors. Each show LGBT youth the happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will have if they can get
through their teen years. It Gets Better reminds teenagers in the LGBT community that they are not alone—and it
WILL get better.