Why is He Spreading Rumors about Me

by Jennifer Licate, Suzanne Beaky (Illustrator)

Mateo is at the center of a wild rumor that is swiftly spreading around school.

He’s freaked out and frustrated. He can’t seem to stop it or shut it down. What’s worse, the rumor is a lie started by someone Mateo thought was a friend.

The whispers began, like they so often do in middle school, during the lunch period. Mateo and his longtime friend Lily were laughing and joking with each other. When Harris saw them together, he didn’t see two friends innocently goofing around. He saw a lovey-dovey couple who MUST BE boyfriend and girlfriend. Or at least that’s what he wants everyone else to think.

Harris wastes little time telling his buddies about Mateo and his girlfriend. Soon that rumor is all over school. Mateo gets hassled by his friends. Lily feels disrespected. Both are annoyed and uncomfortable, and eventually stop speaking to each other. Are they going to let the gossip and teasing destroy their friendship?

Why is He Spreading Rumors about Me? is a gripping, fast-paced story that explores the insecurities, fears, obsessions, and anxieties of middle schoolers. As Mateo struggles to salvage his friendship with Lily and put an end to all the gossip, young readers gain an understanding of how hurtful and far reaching a rumor’s ripple effects can be.

Educators and group leaders can supplement this chapter book with a Teacher and Counselor Activity Guide. The guide provides self-reflection questions and group activities to thoughtfully engage readers with the content, encouraging them to think critically about the frustration, embarrassment, and alienation that result when rumors are repeated.

Award-winning author and school counselor Jennifer Licate continues to add to her wildly popular Navigating Friendships series which is great for kids in grades 4 through 8 who are struggling with changing friendships and figuring out how to self-advocate and get along with others. The series







Each chapter book has a corresponding Teacher and Counselor Activity Guide for adults to use with individuals or groups of children who are struggling with friendships.

45 pages, Paperback

Published October 3, 2022

About the author

Jennifer is an award-winning children's book author who has worked as a school counselor for over a decade. She loves writing social and emotional learning books to help children and preteens through challenging times. Her books teach children strategies to work through their issue and the stories give children the comfort of knowing they're not alone in their struggles.

Through working as a school counselor, Jennifer sees the benefits of social emotional learning books firsthand. Children lose themselves as they're immersed within the stories. They're able to understand complex issues from so many different perspectives by seeing the story through the eyes of the characters.

Counseling children of all ages (as well as raising two children of her own) has taught Jennifer a universal truth: all children want to be loved, valued and respected for the unique individuals they are. She channels this truth, the importance of providing support for children as they navigate social and emotional issues and her love for creativity into all her children's books. Her goal is that all children who read one of her books will feel like the stories are speaking directly to them.