Bully

Bully

Author: Patricia Polacco

Picture Book: 5&6th

                This latest book by Patricia Polacco tackles a really tough subject: cyber-bullying and name-calling. As much as we like to think that our conservative schools are immune to this drama, it still is a problem we face. Ms. Polacco handles this subject with tact, but also clearly stating that bullying in any form is wrong. Also while this is a picture book, it is written for more 5 and 6th grade and higher.

                This story follows Lyla and her friend Jamie. Lyla and her family just moved to the Bay area and Lyla and her brother are entering a new school. Lyla meets Jamie on the first day and they become fast friends. Throughout the next few months, Lyla becomes friends with the popular girls. She starts hanging out with them until one night. On that night, the popular girls post mean comments on people’s Facebook pages. Lyla doesn’t like this, so she stops hanging out with them. When the standardized tests roll around, Lyla scores the highest! But her happiness doesn’t last long. A test is missing. Someone cheated. All the students and even the teachers start to blame Lyla. Will she be able to prove she didn’t do it and stop all the hateful messages?