Weird!: A Story About Dealing with Bullying in Schools (The Weird! Series) - Hardcover

Frankel, Erin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1575423987 ISBN 13: 9781575423982

Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing, 2012

Synopsis

Luisa is repeatedly teased and called "weird" by her classmate Sam, even though she is simply being herself—laughing with her friends, answering questions in class, greeting her father in Spanish, and wearing her favorite polka-dot boots. Luisa initially reacts to the bullying by withdrawing and hiding her colorful nature. But with the support of her teachers, parents, classmates, and one special friend named Jayla, she is able to reclaim her color and resist Sam’s put-downs.

The Weird! Series
These three books tell the story of an ongoing case of bullying from three third graders’ perspectives. Luisa describes being targeted by bullying in Weird! Jayla shares her experience as a bystander to bullying in Dare! And in Tough!, Sam speaks from the point of view of someone initiating bullying. Kids will easily relate to Luisa, Jayla, and Sam, as each girl has her own unique experience, eventually learning how to face her challenges with the help of friends, peers, and caring adults.

Part of the Bully Free Kids™ line

About this title

About the Author

Erin Frankel has an M.A. in English education and is passionate about teaching and writing. Shetaught ESL in Alabama before her recent move to Madrid, Spain, with her husband and threedaughters. Erin knows firsthand what it feels like to be bullied, and she hopes her stories will helpbring smiles back to children who have been involved in bullying. In her free time, Erin loveshiking in the Spanish mountains and kayaking in her hometown of Mays Landing, New Jersey. Paula Heaphy is a print and pattern designer in the fashion industry. She’s an explorer of allartistic mediums from glassblowing to shoemaking, but her biggest love is drawing. She jumpedat the chance to illustrate her friend Erin’s story, having been bullied herself as a child. She livesin Brooklyn, New York.

Reviews

Luisa tells her story: I have a problem. There’s a girl in my class who thinks that everything I do is WEIRD! Whenever Luisa speaks in class, tells a joke, or wears her polka-dot boots, Sam is always around muttering weird. Luisa keeps changing her behavior to appease Sam, but that doesn’t seem to be possible. After talking it over with her mom, Luisa puts on her boots, tells her jokes, and raises her hand. She realizes, The more I act like I don’t care what she says, the more I really don’t care. This book, with its scrawling ink art highlighted with pops of color, does some things very well, especially dealing with the feelings of someone who is not so much bullied in the classical sense, but is bewildered and losing confidence because she thinks she needs to please others. (The book does call this bullying.) The substantive back matter, including tips for coping with bullying, help further push this blend of fiction and information into the nonfiction camp. Grades 1-3. --Ilene Cooper

Edition details

• Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1575423987
• ISBN 13: 9781575423982
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Heaphy Paula
• Number of pages: 48