23+ Books to Spark Conversations About Bullying
Use these books to have discussions with students in all grades about how to identify bullying and how to stand up to it safely.
23+ Books to Spark Conversations About Bullying
Although there are many resources available around bullying, books can be a particularly effective way to help students understand how to deal with this pervasive issue, the serious impacts of it, and how to improve behavior.
The selections in this list reflect all aspects of the bullying experience: cyberbullying, stories told from a bully's perspective, and experiences from kids who were bullied, stories about characters who are bullied, and how to treat others with kindness.
For instance, Say Something! is an uplifting picture book about the power of voice and speaking up for what's right. Students will be inspired by the many ways in which they can use their voice to make a difference for themselves and others.
Meanwhile,The Secret Battle of Evan Pao explores the challenges of a new student as he navigates being the only Chinese American at his middle school. Download this free educator resource guide to spark further discussion about bullying, conflict resolution, and more — and empower students to treat their peers with kindness and compassion.
Use these books to raise awareness around bullying, encourage classroom discussions, teaching friendship, and to enrich your lesson plans during Bullying Prevention Month in October.
Shop books to teach about bullying below! You can find all books and activities at The Teacher Store.
Llama Llama is learning lots of new things at school and making many friends. But when Gilroy Goat starts teasing him and some of their classmates, Llama Llama isn't sure what to do.
As Billy Bully does one rotten thing after another, his friends dwindle to zero. With a little effort, Billy Bully realizes that a real friend doesn't think only of himself.
In this sassy playground romp, the irrepressible new kid dethrones the reigning recess bully by doing the unthinkable—she invites her to be her friend! Not only will kids relate to the all-too-common issue of bullying, but parents and teachers will appreciate the story's deft handling of conflict resolution.
It's a perfect summer. That is, until Jeremy Ross moves into the house down the street and becomes neighborhood enemy number one. Luckily Dad has a surefire way to get rid of enemies: Enemy Pie. But part of the secret recipe is spending an entire day playing with the enemy!
Chrysanthemum loves her name—until she starts kindergarten, which is an unfamiliar world full of short names like Sue, Bill, Max, Sam, and Joe.
The world needs your voice. If you have a brilliant idea...say something! If you see an injustice...say something! In this empowering new picture book, beloved author Peter H. Reynolds explores the many ways that a single voice can make a difference. Each of us, each and every day, have the chance to say something: with our actions, our words, and our voices.
Hubie has heard there's a new kid in school. His name is Butch Pounder, and he's rumored to be a mean bully.
Meet Jake Drake, Bully Buster.
Mia is excited about her first superspeed training class, but a bully on her relay team leads her to lose her shadow and, worse, to snap at her friends.
Last month, Bobby Ellis-Chan got stuck to a tree, had underwear attached to his back, and faced down a whole wolfpack of girls. What could be scarier or more humiliating than that?
My name's Darius James―but everyone calls me DJ. At my old school, I was the go-to guy for all kinds of tricky problems that needed creative solutions. But at my new school, Ella Fitzgerald Middle, I'm just trying to blend in.
Well, I was, anyway, until my best friend, Conor, got himself transferred to the Fitz too. Now Conor owes 100,000 arcade tickets to the biggest bully around―and he only has two weeks to make it happen. Impossible? Not with my head in the game.
Joe and Ravi might be from very different places, but they're both stuck in the same place: school.
In this Newbery Honor Book, a young girl comes to terms with the effect that the teasing of her friends has had on a shy classmate.
A fresh start. That's all Evan Pao wants as he, along with his mother and sister, flee from California to Haddington, Virginia, hoping to keep his father's notoriety a secret.
But Haddington is a southern town steeped in tradition, and moving to a town immersed in the past has its own price. Although Evan quickly makes friends, one boy, Brady Griggs, seems determined to make sure that as a Chinese American, Evan feels that he does not belong. When Evan finds a unique way to make himself part of the school's annual Civil War celebration, the reaction is swift and violent. As all of his choices at home and at school collide, Evan must decide whether he will react with the same cruelty shown to him, or choose a different path.
Sixth grade isn't as great as Rex thought it would be. He's the only kid who hasn't had a growth spurt, and the bullies won't let him forget it. His closest friend is unreliable, at best. And there's a cute girl in his class who he can't stop thinking about. With so much going on, everything is a blur -- including Rex's vision! So when he discovers that he needs glasses, and his family can only afford the ugliest pair in the store, any hope Rex had of fitting in goes completely out of focus.
Full of humor and drama that will ring true for elementary-school children, this brief novel captures the mix of emotions and experiences that accompanies the transition to fourth grade, or any grade.
This brilliant, sensitive story takes an insightful look at how one person's differences can affect the lives of so many others.
In her most personal novel yet, Printz Honor Award-winner Amy Sarig King tells the story of a friendship that could actually save the world.
Chase Ambrose has a lot to learn, and that includes remembering who he is. As the eighth grade football star recovers from amnesia, his former reputation for bullying complicates his second chance.
A wry and powerful novel about friendship, memory, and the joy of rock 'n' roll.
In critically acclaimed author Sarah Darer Littman's gripping novel, what happens online doesn't always stay online...
Maleeka Madison is a strong student who has had enough of being teased about her "too black" skin and handmade clothes. So when she starts seventh grade, she decides to adopt a sassier attitude and a tougher circle of friends. The last thing she expects is to get "messed up" with another "freak," but that's exactly what happens.
After a new teacher, whose face is disfigured from a skin disease, enters her life, will Maleeka be able to learn to love the skin she's in?
When an openly queer Pakistani Muslim student encounters racism, her family faces an unexpected detour on the path to citizenship.