Katie’s mean treatment of a classmate results in expectable consequences. She meets with the principal, then weekly with a school counselor to learn more about “bullying behaviors.” To make up for the hurt she caused, she turns her journal of those meetings into a book about bullying, narrated in a believable first-person voice. Borrowing design features from the popular Wimpy Kids series—lined paper, doodles and a typeface that imitates hand printing—this surprisingly useful self-help title is clearly aimed at upper-elementary-school readers. Among the “quick facts” Katie quotes (from studies cited in the backmatter) is that 74 percent of eight to 11-year-olds report that bullying occurs in their schools. While Katie used words, body language and silence to bully her friend Monica, she also describes cyber-bullying and physical bullying. Her counselor’s six “empower tools” offer excellent responses beyond the well-meant but usually ineffective advice to ignore it, and she explains the difference between tattling—to hurt someone—and reporting—when someone is getting hurt. This fictional cure will resonate with its intended audience. (author’s note, recommended resources for adults and children. (Fiction. 8-13)
