Rosenthal Beth, Bullying;
review by teacher Lisa Colahan
Introducing issues with opposing viewpoints, Greenhaven Press 2008 This book feels a little outdated, the pictures seem older and the layout and font of the pages seems less enticing than some of the other available books on this topic. However, the great part about this book is each chapter starts with a debatable question such as “Do videogames cause more bullying?” and then both sides opinions are shared. At the end of the chapter you are asked the same question again now that you have heard the opposing arguments. I like that part because it really promotes thinking and discussion among learners. This text also has some graphs and diagrams that make some of the data/information about bullying more visual. I think it is very beneficial that the chapters each have real stories of interest. For example there are true stories of kids who took their own life because of bullying and the question is should the bullies be tried? There is also important discussion about changes that have happened in different schools such as eliminating recess when kids were being bullied during that time. They question if that is helping or is just a Band-Aid solution to a larger problem. It provides real insight into real situations that students face and real news article reports of how this is impacting students, schools, and families.