What You Can Do About Bullying by Max and Zoey

by Ari Magnusson, Greg Marathas (Illustrator)

This comic-style guide teaches students in grades 3–5 how to prevent and stop bullying on their own or with adult help. Ostensibly written by the two title characters, the guide covers bullying basics, how to respond to aggression to render it ineffective, ways to get bullying to stop, how to help someone who is being bullied, and how to get an adult to help the right way. The title characters explain and demonstrate the concepts, providing students with easy-to-follow examples they can apply to their own bullying problems. The guide also contains a special section for students in grades K–2, designed to be read with an adult, that teaches younger students basic skills that can help them in their daily social interactions involving the types of aggression common at their grade level and prepares them for the aggression they will face in the upper grades. The guide is a core component of the CirclePoint Bullying Prevention Program and is used by healthcare organizations to teach students about bullying prevention. New for the second edition: easier terms and definitions; text updated for Plain Language compliance. Note: black and white interior illustrations.

84 pages, Paperback

Published July 27, 2017

Reviews

[Anusha Narasimhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting, entertaining and informative book on a very important topic. Highly recommended for children. Also recommended for adults who wish to know how to talk about bullying with their kids.

Note - I received a free copy of the book from the publisher. This has not influenced my review in any way.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning starts off with a section for K-2, I originally thought the whole book was written in a format that younger audience could understand however this book is intended for grades 3-6. I like how "Max and Zoey" broke down different concepts and topics such as how to apologize and react when presented with difficult situations. Although the language kept being corrected between the characters, I didn't like that they frequently referred to girl bullying/ boy bullying and translated it to dominance/ relational aggression. This is a handy book to keep in the classroom but it would not be my go to.
*I received this book via NetGalley & Olivander Press in exchange for an honest review.

[Beyond the Pages with Eva K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource for E-M schoolers/families. Great discussion facilitator.

Rating: 4.5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: All
Status: K-NF

Source: NetGalley

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is written as a comic and begins with some of the concepts that are very important to teach young children. First they need to know what bullying is and that every incident of teasing or being mean is not necessarily bullying. It demonstrates what an apology should look like and contain to be meaningful. It talks about the importance of friendship. I really liked this part of the book. The next sections show students how to prevent and stop bullying on their own or with adult help. The book contains sections on bullying basics, ways to get bullying to stop (for both targets and bystanders), what to do if you are being bullied, and how to get an adult to help the right way. Max and Zoey explain and demonstrate the ideas with examples everyone can use when they or a friend are in a bullying situation. The one complaint I have is that the many stereotypes and believed notions are sometimes commented on in this book in a way that leads the reader to belive they are fact when that is not always the case. The graphics are simple black and white which is fine as it does not take away from the content.

This book could be used with young K to grade 2 students as well as older students up to middle grades. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Trudie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received book from NetGalley for an honest review.

This is a fantastic book. I know that there are many books out there that are aimed at teaching children about bullying but this one is by far one of the greatest. Instead of a novel with a bullying theme, this is a comic style book in which Max and Zoe discuss bullying and how it impacts others. I shared a few pages with my 9-10 year olds and they thought it was brilliant and have demanded that I purchase it to have as a class book. They found it engaging and interested and certainly liked the fact that it was a comic. Needless to say this is a rather invaluable resource, and one that I am going to recommend to other educators as well as parents. While it is clearly written for the American education system, there is no reason why this cannon be used is school across the world.

[Katie Zebrowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley so I could provide an honest review.

What YOU Can Do About Bullying is an informative read written in the style of a graphic novel. This book would be good to use specific sections as a read aloud when students are having a problems with their peers. The teacher can facilitate a discussion about what bullying is and how to handle it. Some of the terminology would be harder for children in lower grades. The book is broken up into two sections. The first section is directed at children in kindergarten through second grade. The second section is written for third grade and beyond.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, done in sequential art, is written by an expert in the field, so I'm going to go with what he said was true.

If so, this is an invaluable book. Not that the methods used to overcome bullying sound easy. Kids don't always want to open up to as to why they are bullying, I would think. But, if this prevents bullying, I am all for it.

I doubt most kids can articulate why they do what they do, however. But, better this than nothing at all.

I think it would have been better to make several books, for the various levels of reading that this was aimed for, and used color.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Elle Markov · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I really think parents should pick up not just for their kids, but for themselves as well.

This book covers what children in different age groups should do to address bullying.

It’s a really good book that gives an insight into how to approach your children and how to guide them. Unfortunately we live in a time when bullying has become such a problem and broaching the subject is hard. This book really takes a helpful and instructing approach to bulling.

Rating 5 out of 5
Read@Book

[Donna Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received from the publisher for an honest review. I really liked this graphic novel. The novel is aimed at children k-6 and written for these age groups. The language is plain and when it can't be plain language, the authors explain so it is understood. The graphics are clean and uncluttered and would be appealing to this age group.

[Cynthia Parkhill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two cartoon characters, Max and Zoey, explain bullying to young readers. The book begins with a special overview for the youngest readership (kindergarten to second-grade), but is suitable for a broad spectrum of ages and emotional maturity. Complete review at http://cynthiaparkhill.blogspot.com/2...

[pati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of adult vocabulary; so I think this book would work best with an adult reading/leading a discussion or one-on-one reading session (parent-child) so concepts can be explained as the reading takes place. Overall, a good guide.