It’s Anti-Bullying Week from 13–17 November 2023. Here is a look at how bullying is portrayed in some of the books I have in the school library.
What is bullying – and what is a bully?
Bullying can affect anyone of any age, from a young child to an older adult. And anyone can be a bully – age is not a barrier to being unkind!
What is a bully? Well, someone who is deliberately unkind to another person to make them upset. There are many ways in which a person can bully another, through: violence, spoken and written words – in person and online.
These are some of the books we have in the Library that look at bullies and the effects they have on the people they are mistreating. Maybe you can suggest some more to me?
Tyrannosaurus Drip, by Julia Donaldson and David Roberts
Unlike the family who adopted him Drip is a vegetarian dinosaur who like peace and quiet. He doesn’t like anger and violence and, when the other dinosaurs start bullying him, he runs away to find a place where he feels he belongs. There, he discovers a way to stand up to his bullies.
Willy the Wimp, by Anthony Browne
Willy is a lovely, kind and gentle chimp – and a group of bullies just love tormenting him. They’ve even created a special name for him – ‘Willy the Wimp’. Fed up with this name, Willy decides to do something about it and works hard to change his appearance so he won’t look as puny next to the bullies, eating a special diet and doing lots of hard exercise. Will Willy be a wimp forever?
How to Be a Lion, by Ed Vere
‘Some say there’s only one way to be a lion.’ This is the story of Leonard, who chooses to behave a different way to the other lions. While they are fierce and eat anything in their path, he chooses to be gentle and write poetry. He is friends with a duck called Marianne, instead of eating her up. The other lions bully Leonard, saying he needs to change his ways. But does he? Leonard and Marianne turn to their talents to find a solution to their problem.
Beyond the Fence, by Maria Gulemetova
Piggy lives with Thomas, a bossy boy who thinks he knows what Piggy needs. He forces him to play the games he wants to play and do the things he wants to do but is ready to dump him if another friend comes over. Then Piggy meets a wild pig who shows him the possibilities that lie beyond the walls of the large house where he lives. A personal favourite of mine.
Matilda, by Roald Dahl
Young Matilda is different from her family. So different – could she actually be related to her mother, father and brother, who never have any time for her, and tell her off for reading instead of watching the TV? They treat her unkindly and Matilda has to plead with them to let her go to school. They do – where she finds an even worse form of bullying, in the form of the horrific Miss Trunchbull, who should never have been let near children! Matilda is determined to teach this horrible woman a lesson she will never forget. In this book, the adults are very much the bullies and their comeuppance, as always with Roald Dahl, is wonderful.
The Night Bus Hero, by Onjali Q. Rauf
Unusually, this book tells the story from the point of view of the bully – Hector, who is always in trouble at school and is living up to his reputation as a boy who upsets other people. One day, he takes on a dare to steal a homeless man’s possessions and everything goes badly wrong. Hector is forced to look at his behaviour and himself in a way that he has never really done before. Can Hector change for the better?
Millions, by Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Damian doesn’t care so much about football. He loves memorising facts about saints. Regardless of the conversation, he can think of a saint that will represent the topic, which frustrates his teachers and makes him a target for some of the other children. While this book doesn’t focus exclusively on bullying, there are elements of it, particularly at the hands of Barry – the Pringles-snatcher – who relies on other children for his snacks. One thing I really enjoy when I read this book is how Damian is always so true to himself, and while he does give up his crisps, he isn’t embarrassed about his strange interests.
Finding Bear, by Hannah Gold and Levi Penfold
April first met Bear while her father was conducting scientific studies on an Arctic island. Bear had been living in isolation on the island for a long time and was struggling to survive; April helped save him. In this sequel to The Last Bear, April is missing Bear and one day realises that he needs her help. Before she sets off on her mission, though, she has been trying to settle down into ‘normal’ life again in England, though she feels she will never be like the other girls her age, who tease her for her passion about conservation and call her Bear Girl, saying she even smells like an animal. April doesn’t care; she knows where her heart belongs. But living somewhere where she feels a stranger isn’t easy.
All the Pieces of Me, by Libby Scott and Rebecca Westcott
Tally is autistic and sometimes struggles with aspects of school – and home – life. However, one huge problem for her is knowing who is a good friend, and who is just using her for their own benefit. And when her best friend, who knows her better than almost anyone, moves to the USA, she doesn’t know where to turn. Two of the other girls persuade her to start bullying a new girl and Tally agrees, even though she’s not happy about it. Because surely these are her friends and they would never do anything to hurt her – would they? This is a great look at how sometimes we can be drawn into bullying when we normally would never even consider it, just so we feel accepted.
