Books in Houghton Library
Baylor, Byrd and Peter Parnall
The Other Way to Listen
This book helps readers learn about the power of being patient and open-minded and waiting to see and hear the beauty that the natural world has to offer. It is helpful in creating a calming environment.
Berenstain, Stand and Jan
The Berenstain Bears and the Bully
This book is a stepping stone to use to talk about bullying.
Blume, Judy
The Pain and the Great One
Shows unfairness from a child’s perspective…a he said/she said book, it will teacher that there are two sides to every story.
Caple, Kathy
The Wimp
Arnold the pig is being tormented by the school bullies, Clyde and Watson. His older sister, Rose, assures him that if he just stands up to the bullies they will leave him alone. However, Clyde and Watson don’t back down easily and before too long they’re not only picking on Arnold but on Rose as well. Still scared but tired of being picked on, Arnold sets out to defeat his tormentors.
Caseley, Judith
Ada Potato
Ada stops playing the violin because some older children make fun of her.
Cohen, Barbara
Molly’s Pilgrim
Molly has a different view of everything in her new country, including what the word Pilgrim means.
Couric, Katie
The Brand New Kid
Children tease a new boy in school until they get to know him.
Cuyler, Margery
Buddy Bear and the Bad Guys
Shy Buddy Bear is terrorized by three raccoons until he decides to stand up to them.
dePaola, Tomie
Oliver Button is a Sissy
This picture book tells the story of a boy who is teased because he likes to dance. He overcomes the bullying, not by fighting, but by continuing to do what he likes best in spite of the harassment.
Estes, Eleanor
The Hundred Dresses
A girl is teased about her shabby clothes.
Henkes, Kevin
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum loves her name until her classmates make fun of it.
Howe, James
Pinky and Rex and the Bully
Pinky’s favorite color is pink and his best friend, Rex, is a girl. Kevin, the 3rd grade bully, says that Pinky is a sissy. Does Pinky have to give up his favorite things and his best friend?
Joose, Barbara
Mama, Do You Love Me?
This story focuses on one simple question that every child thinks at one point or another. The question is whether their parents will always love them no matter what the child does.
Keats, Ezra Jack
Goggles!
Archie and Peter find a pair of motorcycle goggles that the neighborhood bullies try to take from them. They use their dog, Willie, to help them outsmart the bullies.
Klein, Abby
Talent Show Scaredy-Pants #5 in a Series
Freddy is nervous about the 1st grade talent show especially with Max bullying him, but Freddy’s dad has an idea that might make Freddy a star and get Max to back off, too.
Lester, Helen
Hooway for Wodney Wat
Classmates make fun of Rodney Rat until he helps defeat the class bully.
Lionni, Leo
Swimmy
This book shows children that they can be themselves and care about others at the same time.
Marshall, James
George and Martha: One Fine Day
This is a touching book about friendship.
Mochizuki, Ken
Baseball Saved Us
A Japanese-American boy is teased about his size and ethnicity.
Myers, Christopher
Wings
This is an allegory in which Icarus Jackson suffers the taunts and teasing of his peers because he is different. He is an outcast because he has wings, but his resilient spirit inspires one girl to speak up for him.
Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds
King of the Playground
With his dad’s help, Kevin overcomes his fear of the King of the Playground who has threatened to tie him to the slide, put him in a deep hole, etc.
O’Neill, Alexis
The Recess Queen
Mean Jean bullies her way around the playground until a new girl arrives at school.
Paterson, Katherine
The Field of Dogs
Josh must deal with the bullying of a neighbor boy and discovers that his dog, which he hears talking with other dogs, is also facing a bully of his own.
Penn, Audrey
Chester Raccoon and the Big Bad Bully
When Chester tells his mother about the school bully, she asks him to gather his friends to hear a story about getting along with people who are prickly.
Pinkney, Brian
JoJo’s Flying Side Kick
JoJo is about to test for her yellow belt, and she’s also afraid of the tree “bandit” in her yard. She’s nervous about her test, and receives advice from her family. She puts all their advice together in her own way, earns her belt, but also overcomes her fear of the “bandit.”
Pinkwater, Daniel Manus
The Big Orange Splot
One day a seagull with a can of bright orange paint “dropped the can right over Mr. Plumbean’s house.” The resulting big orange splot upsets the neighbors, who all live in identical brown houses with gray roofs and green shutters. When they ask him to paint his house, he paints the house red, yellow, green, and purple. He adds more splots, strikes, and “elephants and lions and pretty girls and steam shovels.” The book is about self-expression and self-actualization.
Shannon, David
A Bad Case of the Stripes
The book presents a lesson of knowing who we are and not following the crowd. Camilla Cream is worried about what to ear the first day of school, as she has so many friends to impress. After trying on forty-two outfits she looks in the mirror and screams. She has broken out with a bad case of stripes.
Yashimi, Taro
Crow Boy
Students tease Chibi when he comes to school. Only a sensitive new teacher recognizes Chibi’s plight and helps him regain some dignity and self-respect.
Yep, Laurence
Cockroach Cooties
Set in Chinatown in San Francisco, this story is about two brothers, ages eight and nine. Bobby feels responsible for getting Teddy involved with a bully at school, so he devises a plan to scare the fiend with a cockroach.
Yolen, Jane
Encounter
The book looks at Columbus’ encounter with Native Americans from both points of view.
Books in the Community
Alexander, Claire
Lucy and the Bully
This is perfect for younger elementary students. It is important for them to know that they should tell a trusted adult when another student is bullying them. The book also reflects a lot of feelings that a bully target might have – uncertainty, fear, and withdrawal.
Amos, Janine
Bully
Stories of young children who get angry and pick on someone else provide questions for a discussion on bullies.
Anzaldua, Gloria
Friends From the Other Side
The book depicts daily struggles of a young Mexican girl, Prietita. Written in Spanish and English it serves as a valuable teaching tool in a bilingual classroom. Nearly all immigrant children face substantial social adjustments and academic learning problems because they do not share the language and the culture.
Bateman, Teresa
The Bully Blockers Club
When Lottie is bothered by a bully at school, she helps start a club where everyone is welcome.
Berenstain, Stan and Jan
The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Teasing
Brother Bear is a master at teasing until the tables are turned and he’s the one being heckled as principal’s pet. When brother understands that teasing isn’t just mean, it’s also dangerous; he decided to stick up for the new kid at school.
Blos, Joan W.
Old Henry
The moral of the story is that you should not judge a person for how he or she looks, dresses, or lives, but how he or she is as a person.
Bottner, Barbara
Bootsie Barker Bites
A story about a nasty little terror who bites. Her playmates eventually help her come up with a better way to have fun.
Bottner, Barbara
Mean Maxine
Ralph works up enough courage to confront Mean Maxine, who has called him names and picked on him repeatedly. The ending of the story takes an interesting and friendly turn.
Browne, Anthony
Willy the Champ
Not very good at sports or fighting, mild-mannered Willy proves he’s a champ when the local bully shows up.
Carlson, Nancy
Arnie and the New Kid
Philip uses a wheelchair and has the additional challenge of being new to town. This combination makes him the target of the bullying Arnie, until Arnie falls, breaks his leg, and finds himself in a similar situation. As Arnie begins to understand the challenges and capabilities of Philip, they become friends.
Caseley, Judith
Bully
Mickey has trouble with Jack, a bully at school, until he decides to try being nice to Jack and make him a friend.
Cole, Joanna
Bully Trouble
Arlo and Robby devise a plan for dealing with a neighborhood bully.
Cuyler, Margery
Bullies Never Win
Jessica is having problems with a mean girl at school who picks on her. Jessica feels conflicted about how to respond to this girl, and ultimately runs through a variety of common reactions: anger, sadness, fear. She tries hiding her feelings from her mom, and, when that doesn’t work, she tries talking to her mom about what she should do.
Farrington, Liz and Sherwood, J.
Painting the Fire
Ryan is a dreamy, unathletic boy who is plagued by the class bully, and responds by hitting and kicking not only that boy, but his other classmates as well. His teacher sends him to the principal’s office, but Ryan slips into the art room where he encounters Mrs. Murgatroyd, who tells him he can use her magic paints to portray anything he wants and that he will always be in control of his creation. Ryan learns to channel his anger through art, and as a result is able to respond to the class bully without fighting, gain friends among the smaller children, and explain to his teacher why he misbehaved.
Garcia, Maria
The Adventures of Connie and Diego
Twins have skin that is made up of many colors – they don’t feel that they belong in their family or community. Their friends make fun of them, and the twins run away. They encounter many different looking animals of different colors on their journey. A tiger is able to make them realize that they are humans, regardless of their color; they are valuable to each other because of who they are – not because of what color they are.
Gedig Burnett, Karen
Simon’s Hook: A Story about Teases and Put Downs
Simon experiences a “bad hair day” after his sister cuts out portions of his hair to remove some chewing gum. When his friends tease him, the boy rushes home in tears. He finds consolation when his Grandmother tells him “a fish story” that illustrates the pitfalls of providing an easy target for teasing by “biting the book.” Simon’s self-esteem returns and he rejoins his friends and withstands their comments by following his grandmother’s advice. Burnett concludes with useful information for adults about teasing and instructions for using the book.
Gogoll, Martine
Rosie’s Story
Unhappy because the other students in her class make fun of her red hair and freckles, Rosie writes a story about how she feels and discovers that she is not alone.
Haddix, Margaret Peterson
The Girl with 500 Middle Names
Janie is poor and she doesn’t fit in. When her mother’s business falls apart, she thinks of a way to help her family. But it means she will stand out even more. This is a story of a girl whose belief in her family enables her to risk embarrassment and make new friends.
Havill, Juanita
Jamaica and Brianna
Jamaica’s envy of Brianna’s pink boots gets in the way of their friendship.
Hofmann, Ginnie
The Big Bad Bully Bear
Arthur and his friend, Emmy Bear, invite all the teddy bears in the neighborhood over for cake. They all join together to teach Bully Bear a valuable lesson, and Bully Bear realizes that he would rather have friends than be a bully.
Kasza, Keiko
The Rat and the Tiger
"I'm a rat, just a tiny little rat," says the diminutive narrator of this piquant tale about friendship. Towering above him is his best buddy, Tiger, "a big tough fellow." Rat explains that the two "used to have a little problem." Whenever they played cowboys, Rat always had to be the bad guy. And whenever they shared a doughnut, he was left with a small piece while his buddy received the Tiger's share. But one day the big bully goes too far. When he kicks over the elaborate block castle Rat painstakingly built, the latter declares that Tiger is no longer his friend. And the stubborn little fellow makes sure that his companion has truly mended his selfish ways before he declares them pals once again.
Levy, Janice
Alley-Oops
…explores the painful aftermath of bullying from the perspective of the bully. It’s a story about hurt, anger, empathy, hope, resilience, and ingenuity.
Lovell, Patty
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon
Molly Lou Melon is the shortest girl in the first grade, has buck teeth that stick out so far she can stack pennies on them and has a voice like a bull frog squeezed by a boa constrictor. But she also has a very wise Grandma who has always told her to walk proudly, smile big, sing out loud and clear, and “believe in yourself and the world will believe in you…”
Maguire, Gregory
Three Rotten Eggs
Students in rural Vermont become involved with a bullying new student, a competitive egg hunt and genetically altered chicks.
Marshall, James
George and Martha: Tons of Fun
This book chronicles the stories of two best friends, who just so happens to be hippos. They relate moral messages, but in a far from preachy way.
McCain, Becky Ray
Nobody Knew What To Do: A Story About Bullying
The book presents clear, effective ideas about how bystanders and teacher can work together to make a difference in stopping school bullying.
McKay, Hilary
Indigo’s Star
Indigo Casson had suffered from mononucleosis and has been in the hospital. When he returns to school, he gets picked on by this boy and his gang. His sister is a bystander who eventually becomes a victim herself.
Mobin-Uddin, Asma
My Name is Bilal
When Bilal and his sister transfer to a school where they are the only Muslims, they must learn how to fit in while remaining true to their beliefs and heritage.
Moss, Peggy
Say Something
A child who never says anything when other children are being teased or bullied finds herself in a position one day when jokes are made at her expense and no one speaks up.
Munson, Derek and King, T.
Enemy Pie
What should have been a perfect summer for one young boy is ruined when Jeremy Ross moves in and becomes number one on the narrator's enemy list. Fortunately, his father has a secret recipe for a pie that is guaranteed to help get rid of enemies. While Dad works on mixing the ingredients and baking the pie, he explains his son's role in the plan: "-you need to spend a day with your enemy. Even worse, you have to be nice to him." It sounds tough, but the boy decides to give it a try. Predictably, between throwing water balloons at the girls, playing basketball, and hiding out in the tree house, he decides that Jeremy is not so bad after all. There's still the problem of the pie, however. When his father serves up the dessert, the young protagonist decides to warn Jeremy that it is "poisonous or something." However, it seems that both his father and his new friend are just fine, and what's more, the pie is delicious. This is a clever tale with an effective message about how to handle relationships and conflict.
Nickle, John
The Ant Bully
Lucas learns a lesson about bullying when he is pulled into an ant hole he has been tormenting.
Otoshi, Kathryn
One
Using the metaphor of colors, Otoshi gently creates a group of kids with different personalities. Blue is quiet and contemplative, yellow is sunny, green is bright, purple is regal, orange is outgoing, but red is HOT – a bully, who picks on blue. The other colors are sympathetic and like blue and commiserate, but don’t tell red to stop, and red becomes bigger and stronger until everyone is bullied and afraid and there seems to be nothing they can do.
Potter, Noel Gyro
A Very Sticky Situation
The story helps kids learn that there are positive ways to handle bullies. It reminds us how prevalent bullying is in our schools and kids need ways to learn how to resolve it.
Reider, Katja
Snail Started It!
When Snail insults Pig, he sets off a domino effect of teasing and name-calling among the community of animals.
Sadu, Itah
Name Calling
Students deal with racist name-calling in the yard of an ethnicity diverse school. The illustrations in this short picture book capture a diverse student body.
Scudamore, Beverly
Misconduct
Funny and full of hockey action, the book looks at bullying from the viewpoint of an unlikely target.
Seskin, Steven
Don’t Laugh At Me
The book has an accompanying CD. Both the book and the music draw students into the topic of why teasing and bullying are hurtful.
Shange, Ntozake
Whitewash
Helene-Angel has to wait for her older brother Mauricio to walk her home from school. One day, the Hawks, a group of white thugs, beat up Mauricio and spray white paint on Helene-Angel’s face. Her grandmother’s comforting words are not enough to help the girl handle her fear and humiliation. She closes herself away from her family and friends for a week. When her classmates come to the house to escort her back to school, Helene-Angel realizes that others care about her pain.
Shreve, Susan
Joshua T. Bates Takes Charge
11 year old Joshua, worried about fitting into school, feels awkward when the new student he is supposed to be helping becomes the target of the 5th grades biggest bully.
Surat, Michele Maria
Angel Child, Dragon Child
This book is a wonderful story about a Vietnamese child trying to adjust to life in the USA. Ut has trouble with children at school because she is different.
Thaler, Mike
The Bully from The Black Lagoon
Everyone is talking about the new kid that Hubie is getting in his class. They think the new kid knocked people’s heads off, crashes into people on purpose, kicks people, and gives them wedgies. On Thursday, when Hubie walks around the corner, he bumps into the new kid. Hubie apologizes and the new kid is actually very nice. They make a deal that they will never bump into each other again.
Thomas, Pat
Stop Picking On Me (A First Look At Series)
Written by an experienced psychotherapist and counselor, this picture book explores bullying in simple terms. It explores the fears, worries, and questions surrounding bullying and the dynamics in young children’s relationships. It encourages children to understand personal and social problems as a first step toward solving them.
Torres, Leyla
Subway Sparrow
The depiction of immigrant-types, in this book, is done effortlessly, and there is no suggestion whatsoever that a goal of the books is to teacher “tolerance” to children.
Wells, Rosemary
Timothy Goes To School
Timothy and Violet cope with the challenges they encounter in school.
Wells, Rosemary
Yoko
When a young girl brings her favorite lunch of sushi to school, her classmates make fun of what she eats until one classmate tries it for himself.
Wilheim, Hans
Tyrone the Horrible
The story describes how Boland, a little dinosaur, experienced a series of bullies by a big kid dinosaur, Tyrone. The story is very helpful to show young children how bullying events can happen to them. At the same time, it offers moral support to children who may be going through similar encounters.
Zolotow, Charlotte
The Hating Book
This book takes children through their own feelings when slighted by a friend.