Andersen Press Andersen Press

6 children’s books to read for Anti-Bullying Week

16/11/2015 08:53:46

Renowned children’s author Michael Rosen recently wrote that ‘there are hundreds of great picture books for children, but one or two are extraordinary because they tackle something big and important in a funny, accessible way.’

Renowned children’s author Michael Rosen recently wrote that ‘there are hundreds of great picture books for children, but one or two are extraordinary because they tackle something big and important in a funny, accessible way.’ For many children, bullying is a big and important problem: the Anti-Bullying Alliance have reported that 46% of children and young people have been bullied whilst they were at school. The Anti-Bullying Week campaign, starting on 16th November, has been established in order to combat the widespread nature of bullying and seek to ‘empower children and young people to make a noise about bullying.’

This got us thinking about whether books have the power to teach young people about bullying and tolerance. Reading can help build our ability to empathise and improves relationships. In fact, there are plenty of children’s books that specifically deal with the topic of bullying, such as Malorie Blackman’s Cloud Busting and Patrick Ness’ A Monster Calls.

When we cast an eye over our own bookshelves in the Andersen Press office, we noticed plenty of books that not only deal with bullying but also the topic of tolerance and how to cope with bullies. Here’s a selection we think would be perfect to read during Anti-Bullying Week:

Bully by Laura Vaccaro Seeger