Heres a new resource we really like. Face 2 Face: A book created by young people (Caroline Ster, author, and Emily Jones, illustrator) to help other young people learn how to handle bullying, cyberbullying, and peer abuse in a proactive, positive manner. With expert adult guidance (including Alison Trachtman Hill, MPA, and Lynn Dubenko, Ph.D.) and contributions, these two young women have created an easy-to-read, engaging story and subsequent 4114U advice section, which packs a powerful punch into a relatively short space (100 pages).
Beginning with a useful How to Read and Use this Book designed to help young people engage with the text on a variety of levels, the book tells the realistic story of a seventh grade girl, Alice Smith, who dreads going to school because she cannot seem to escape being the target of another girls aggression. The authors invite readers to join Alice as she navigates through the terrain of homework, bullying, and early adolescence. And maybe with a little help from friends, teachers, and parents she can come out the other side. The story addresses both online and offline bullying, highlights motivations for bullying and the emotions which these behaviors can evoke, touches on power issues, impulsivity, the importance of friendships, and more.
The book also contains a very helpful information section for kids and parents written by adult experts:
- Alison Trachtman Hill
- 4114U (Information for You! [Kids and Parents])
- Action Steps to Help Families Emotionally
- Social Roles (Aggressor, Target, Witness)
- Navigating Peer Abuse
- Managing Your Digital Footprint
- Being Respectful
- 10 Simple Steps to Practicing Good Netiquette
- Be Safe on the Internet
- Tips for Parents
- Conclusion, including an area to brainstorm ideas to change the culture in your community
- Michelle Brashears, 6th Grade Teacher
- Action Steps to Help Families Socially
- How to Report Peer Abuse Parent-to-Teacher Communication (separate sections for kids and parents)
- Witness Plan of Action: Tips and Tools for how kids can be a good witness
- Tips and Tools to Shield Peer Abuse
- Lynn Dubenko, Ph.D.
- How to Build Your Shield two scripts explore the roles of the aggressor, target, and witness (with two further blank scripts to help you work through scenarios specific to what you and others may be experiencing at your school or in your community)
- How to Process Peer Abuse
- Jamie Nelson, Religious Scholar: Action Steps to Help Families Spiritually
There is also a list of helpful web links, together with reading suggestions for adults, reading suggestions for kids (by grade level), suggested workbooks, and page references for in-depth 4114U concepts. Finally, there are book club discussion questions.
The book can be purchased direct from the publisher – www.reflectionspublishing.com (use code CI4G at checkout).
Our Editorial: We told you that this book packs a punch, and it does. We highly recommend you take the time to check it out, both for yourself and the young people in your life. The resources, strategies, and talking points provided in the book are very helpful. It would make a great book club choice for young people as it actively engages them in the text and encourages and guides them to become a part of the solution as it relates to their own circumstances, a strategy which we know works well with young people. Bravo, Caroline and Emily (and their team of adults) for leading the way and showing us how young people can so effectively be proactive, informed participants in addressing the issues of online/offline bullying and peer abuse.