Bullies Are a Pain in the Brain

January 22, 1998
Gr 3-7-A deceptively simple approach to dealing with a difficult issue faced by millions of children every day. The advice throughout is clear, unequivocal, and helpful: "Tell your friends if you're being bullied. A bully is less likely to approach you if you're surrounded by your buddies." The advice for dealing with life-threatening situations is brief: "Run!" Fictional books abound on the topic-one of the most well-known being Mary Stolz's The Bully of Barkham Street (HarperCollins, 1985). Eda LeShan's nonfiction title When Kids Drive Kids Crazy (Dial, 1990; o.p.) deals extensively with the subject and provides excellent coping skills both for the victims of intimidation and abuse and for parents trying to help. However, bullied children are much more likely to pick up Romain's book on their initial foray into self-help, due to the attractive format with cartoon characters and lots of white space on the page. Resources for additional help include books, organizations, and Web sites. This useful, slim volume will have heavy usage.-Susan R. Farber, Ardsley Public Library, NY