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Bullies are a Pain in the Brain (Laugh and Learn) (Paperback) - Common
Excellent Book
104 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
3 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 24, 2016
Kids 8 – 12 will love the tips in this book for dealing with the bullies their lives. Romain includes light humor in his writing to help ease the stressful subject matter. I highly recommend all of Romain’s self-help books for kids.
April 10, 2012
Good book to use to give examples/scenarios to children/teen. I also got a great idea from it for a storytime activity with younger children.
April 28, 2025
Bullies are indeed a pain in the brain. This book gives good tips for kids on how to deal with bullies, but not in a pedantic, heavy way. The author has a good touch, and uses humor, art, and his own blend of self help for kids, to pass on suggestions.
Picked this book up at the Kensington Day of the Book Festival 2025.
Picked this book up at the Kensington Day of the Book Festival 2025.
December 31, 2018
O carticica potrivita pentru copiii care se confrunta cu bullying-ul. ⭐
July 30, 2013
Nonfiction Pairing #2
Pairing and Overview: I paired the television show Glee with Bullies are a Pain in the Brain because bullying is a common theme on this show. The characters are frequently berated by other students in their school for being different and not-so-popular. This book approaches bullies and bullying in a humorous way and gives students a different approach for how to deal with these difficult situations.
Book citation: Romain, Trevor, and Elizabeth Verdick. Bullies Are a Pain in the Brain. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Pub., 1997. Print.
Audience: Students needing advice for coping and dealing with bullies would find this humorous approach to handling situations helpful. This pairing could be used in an advisory program within schools for dealing with situations in non-violent ways. This could also be used within the counseling department to help students cope with bullying and confrontation due to differences.
Selection Criteria:
Accuracy: The information covered in this text approaches bullying in different ways but doesn’t condone violence. There are a few statistics about bullies and bullying and the author isn’t focusing on only opinions.
Authority: Trevor Romain speaks to a lot of kids in his travels and has published multiple articles about working with students. The reader gets the idea that the author was personally bullied and witnessed others being bullied, and offers proven ways to deal with it. This book was also made into a cartoon movie to show to students.
Relevance: Middle school students frequently deal with changes in their bodies, friends and family, school, and life in general. This book adds cartoon illustrations and humor to help students cope with difficult situations. There are also messages included for teachers and parents that could be used in a discussion format with students, rather than just independent reading.
Appropriateness: Since the book is rated for grades 3 and up, some middle school students may find this too “babyish,” but the information is relative. The language is straight-forward and easy to understand, which can be helpful in stressful situations.
Scope: The approach to bullying and coping with bullies is organized and easy to understand. There is a table of contents that allows students to find answers to specific questions to cope. There are also extra resources recommended for further reading and review.
Literary Merit: This book is part of the Laugh & Learn series by Free Spirit Publishing, titles which allow students to approach difficult situations in humorous ways.
Value: Schools tend to have many books that outline specific difficulties school-aged children might have, but most of them don’t approach it in a humorous way. This book covers serious material but allows students to step back and think about things in a different way.
Review source: Jennifer, and Ralston. "Bullies Are A Pain In The Brain." School Library Journal 51.5 (2005): 50. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts. Web. 16 July 2013.
SOL connection: Family 8.3 – The student will become aware of the need to think through decisions and to take responsibility for them.
Family 8.4 - The student will identify the issues associated with friendships.
Family 8.8 – The student will develop the coping skills needed to deal with stress.
Family 8.9 – The student will identify the stresses related to changing relationships in the home, school, and community.
Ordering information: Free Spirit. 1997. Pap. $9.95. ISBN 1-57542-023-6.
Pairing and Overview: I paired the television show Glee with Bullies are a Pain in the Brain because bullying is a common theme on this show. The characters are frequently berated by other students in their school for being different and not-so-popular. This book approaches bullies and bullying in a humorous way and gives students a different approach for how to deal with these difficult situations.
Book citation: Romain, Trevor, and Elizabeth Verdick. Bullies Are a Pain in the Brain. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Pub., 1997. Print.
Audience: Students needing advice for coping and dealing with bullies would find this humorous approach to handling situations helpful. This pairing could be used in an advisory program within schools for dealing with situations in non-violent ways. This could also be used within the counseling department to help students cope with bullying and confrontation due to differences.
Selection Criteria:
Accuracy: The information covered in this text approaches bullying in different ways but doesn’t condone violence. There are a few statistics about bullies and bullying and the author isn’t focusing on only opinions.
Authority: Trevor Romain speaks to a lot of kids in his travels and has published multiple articles about working with students. The reader gets the idea that the author was personally bullied and witnessed others being bullied, and offers proven ways to deal with it. This book was also made into a cartoon movie to show to students.
Relevance: Middle school students frequently deal with changes in their bodies, friends and family, school, and life in general. This book adds cartoon illustrations and humor to help students cope with difficult situations. There are also messages included for teachers and parents that could be used in a discussion format with students, rather than just independent reading.
Appropriateness: Since the book is rated for grades 3 and up, some middle school students may find this too “babyish,” but the information is relative. The language is straight-forward and easy to understand, which can be helpful in stressful situations.
Scope: The approach to bullying and coping with bullies is organized and easy to understand. There is a table of contents that allows students to find answers to specific questions to cope. There are also extra resources recommended for further reading and review.
Literary Merit: This book is part of the Laugh & Learn series by Free Spirit Publishing, titles which allow students to approach difficult situations in humorous ways.
Value: Schools tend to have many books that outline specific difficulties school-aged children might have, but most of them don’t approach it in a humorous way. This book covers serious material but allows students to step back and think about things in a different way.
Review source: Jennifer, and Ralston. "Bullies Are A Pain In The Brain." School Library Journal 51.5 (2005): 50. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts. Web. 16 July 2013.
SOL connection: Family 8.3 – The student will become aware of the need to think through decisions and to take responsibility for them.
Family 8.4 - The student will identify the issues associated with friendships.
Family 8.8 – The student will develop the coping skills needed to deal with stress.
Family 8.9 – The student will identify the stresses related to changing relationships in the home, school, and community.
Ordering information: Free Spirit. 1997. Pap. $9.95. ISBN 1-57542-023-6.
November 19, 2010
Dealing with bullies is never easy, and each person’s experience is going to be different, but this book offers a place to start the conversation on how you or your child can manage their own particular situation. Even if your child has never been bullied, this information will help them be more prepared should the situation arise or even just make them more aware of appropriate behavior. It explains what bullying is, and let’s kids know that they’re not the only ones to encounter it and that it is never their fault. From there, it goes on to address why people are bullies and how to deal with them. Some of the strategies Romain suggests are sticking up for yourself, following your instincts, ignoring the name calling and removing yourself from the situation.
There are plenty of pictures and only a few concepts on each page so it is easy to move through the book pretty quickly. There are questions and examples throughout and at the end it includes resources for kids and a message to parents and teachers. Romain uses humor to make a difficult topic somewhat more comfortable. He does briefly bring up some serious issues, though, like gangs and weapons. In the end, hopefully readers will find some ideas or even just confirmation of different ways to feel stronger and more powerful when faced with the cruelty of a bully. While this book was important when it was written, it is probably even more relevant today as we see incidents of bullying increasing as technology advances. Bullies are no longer at school or on the playground, but now they can reach their targets at home 24/7 with cell phones and computers. It is extremely important to start talking about these issues at a young age so that our kids will have as many tools as possible to cope, if and when they need to. Even if your kid’s not being bullied, talking about it might give them the confidence to help a friend or be more aware of their own behavior.
There are plenty of pictures and only a few concepts on each page so it is easy to move through the book pretty quickly. There are questions and examples throughout and at the end it includes resources for kids and a message to parents and teachers. Romain uses humor to make a difficult topic somewhat more comfortable. He does briefly bring up some serious issues, though, like gangs and weapons. In the end, hopefully readers will find some ideas or even just confirmation of different ways to feel stronger and more powerful when faced with the cruelty of a bully. While this book was important when it was written, it is probably even more relevant today as we see incidents of bullying increasing as technology advances. Bullies are no longer at school or on the playground, but now they can reach their targets at home 24/7 with cell phones and computers. It is extremely important to start talking about these issues at a young age so that our kids will have as many tools as possible to cope, if and when they need to. Even if your kid’s not being bullied, talking about it might give them the confidence to help a friend or be more aware of their own behavior.
April 1, 2008
I really like this book and I wish I had read it a long time ago. This book explains why bullies do what they do. It gives specific suggestions for what to do if you are being bothered by a bully, or if you see someone being bothered by a bully.
This book says that every person has been bullied at least a little bit in their life. That information is really good to think about, too.
The book is easy to read with a lot of pictures.
If you have ever thought about bullies and didn't know what to do, I think you will like this book.
This book says that every person has been bullied at least a little bit in their life. That information is really good to think about, too.
The book is easy to read with a lot of pictures.
If you have ever thought about bullies and didn't know what to do, I think you will like this book.
December 5, 2013
This book is for bullies as well as the victims. This book teaches victims how to handle bullies and what to do if you ever encounter one in your life. this book teaches bullies how to find ways to change their behavior. There are myths about bullies, Do and Don'ts about bullies and a checklist of personalities of bullies if you want to see if you are a bully.
November 20, 2008
Great book going over bullies and what to do in a bullying situation. Great layout and presentation. Very easy to go through and understand and it is full of great information for kids to use. Great teaching tool!
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August 4, 2012Most students will be confronted with bullies. In this light hearted and slightly humorous story suggestions & tools are provided for how to become "bully-proof". Bullies will also find this book useful in the event they're looking for an out.
September 22, 2012
This book was really good for my English level. I understood almost everything it said and also it was interesting. It was simple, but had a lot of information about bullies. I learned a lot of things from this book.
August 23, 2011
Funny Book
June 9, 2013
The movie is great too!
January 26, 2016
This book has good info for children and adults.
December 30, 2016
very helpful in explaining why bullies bully and how to be bully-proof.
September 19, 2012
It's funny and helpful
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February 7, 2019assigned reading for my Bully Nation: Psychological or Sociological-Political class.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews