Usborne Books has a series for young children called Cautionary Tales. A book in this series addresses a serious issue—bullying. The book, Don’t be a bully, Billy, written by Phil Roxbee Cox, is about a boy named Billy, who is a bully.
Billy goes about his day harassing and terrorizing his schoolmates. He shakes, he hits, he pushes, and he is an all-around jerk. Billy’s classmates continually tell him, “Don’t be a bully, Billy,” but it falls on deaf ears.
Finally Billy meets his match as he harasses a new kid who is walking home alone. Unknown to Billy, this child is not only new to school but is from another world. The school is finally rid of Billy as he gets carted off by spaceship into the great beyond by the new kid’s big brother.
This is a cute book and it brings to light how bullying impacts the children who are victimized without resorting to graphic violence. The illustrations are cartoons, but it is not a cartoon book or graphic novel. Jan McCafferty is the illustrator.
The book is geared to be a read aloud book for preschoolers or emerging readers. It is also a good book for newly fluent readers.
Although bullying is rarely a problem in a homeschool situation, homeschool kids will run into bullies at the playground and other social activities. It is a problem that needs to be addressed early on. The only issue I have with the book is that it does not offer the victims of bullying any tools for resolving their situation. This is where reading the book with your kids can help. Parents can give their input into what kids can do if they find themselves a victim of a bully.
Lynda Altman has homeschooled her 4 children over the last 15 years and has 2 children in homeschool. She believes that homeschooling is a parent’s G-d given right. Lynda writes a blog called Homeschooling When Mom has Cancer. Get notices when this page is updated by clicking on the subscribe link, by email, or contact Lynda @fusgeyer on Twitter.
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