Books about Bullying

The topic of bullying has never been more prominent in the media than it is today.  Over the past ten years, young adult literature has exploded with stories of bullies and bullying.  Reading these stories gives adults and teens a way to talk about this problem.  Tune in to hear insights on bullying from bullying expert CJ Bott, author of The Bully in the Book and the Classroom and More Bullies in More Books.  You’ll also hear about a variety of fiction and nonfiction books for teens that explore the problem of bullying.

After listening to this episode, be sure to print out this list of recommended titles to take to the library or book seller.

Books featured in this episode:

• The Misfits by James Howe (Atheneum, 2001)
• Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg (Dutton, 2008)
• Shine by Lauren Myracle (Amulet, April 2011)
• It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living edited by Dan Savage and Terry Miller (Dutton, March 2011)
• Rage: A Love Story by Julie Anne Peters (Knopf, 2009)
• Bitter End by Jennifer Brown (Little Brown, May 2011)
• The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney (Little, Brown, 2010)
• Burn by Suzanne Phillips (Little, Brown, 2008)
• Everybody Sees the Ants by A. S. King (Little, Brown, October 2011)
• Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories edited by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones (HarperTeen, September 2011)

Other highly recommended bully books:

• Give a Boy a Gun by Todd Strasser (Simon & Schuster, 2000)
• Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher (Greenwillow, 2001)
• Shooter by Walter Dean Myers (Amistad, 2004)
• Endgame by Nancy Garden (Harcourt, 2006)
• Hate List by Jennifer Brown (Little, Brown, 2009)
• Project X by Jim Shepard (Knopf, 2004)
• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (Razorbill, 2007)
• By the Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead by Julie Anne Peters (Hyperion, 2010)
• Buddha Boy by Kathe Koja (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003)
• Raiders Night by Robert Lipsyte (HarperCollins, 2006)
• Freak Show by James St. James (Dutton, 2007)

Recommended resources on bullying:

• The Bully in the Book and the Classroom by C.J. Bott (Scarecrow, 2004)
• More Bullies in More Books by C.J. Bott (Scarecrow, 2009)