Bully B.E.A.N.S.

by Julia Cook, Anita DuFalla (Illustrator)

Bullies Everywhere Are Now Stopped! Bully B.E.A.N.S. is a fun story that teaches people of all ages to become proactive when it comes to bullying. This book can help children and adults understand why bullying happens and what they can do to stop it. Finally, a bullying book that speaks to the bystander!

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, School

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

"In order to teach children, you must enter their view of the world."
~ Julia Cook

JULIA COOK, M.S. is a national award winning children’s author, counselor and parenting expert. She has presented in thousands of schools across the country and abroad, regularly speaks at national education and counseling conferences, and has published children’s books on a wide range of character and social development topics. The goal behind Cook’s work is to actively involve young people in fun, memorable stories and teach them to become lifelong problem solvers. Inspiration for her books comes from working with children and carefully listening to counselors, parents, and teachers, in order to stay on top of needs in the classroom and at home. Cook has the innate ability to enter the worldview of a child through storybooks, giving children both the “what to say” and the “how to say it”.

Reviews

[Vonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent tool in teaching young children about bullying. This book gets them to open up more easily. I will be buying this one for my preschool library.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bully B.E.A.N.S. is a good book to start a discussion with your child or class about bullying. It offers advice on how to cope with bullying, specifically about how not to be a bystander when confronted with bullying behaviour. The tangible Bully Beans/Jelly Beans gives something to focus on and the acrostic for Beans - Bullies Everywhere Are Now Stopped, is helpful for younger children. It has experiences that children would really come across at school and speaks to them about finding ways to be strong and have courage. The end pages have recommendations for students /children being bullied, those watching a friend being bullied and aren’t sure what they should do. There are also tips for kids to check themselves and make sure they aren’t being a bully in some way to others. The publisher generously provided a copy of this book upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.

[Inishowen Cailín · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book to start a discussion with your child or class about bullying. It offers advice on how to cope with bullying and how not to be a bystander when confronted with bullying behaviour.
I felt that the story behind why the child was bullying was a little too simplistic and stereotypical. Children bully for many reasons and the behaviour presents in many different ways. Cyberbullying is also a huge issue in today's society. I'm not sure the 'beans' would work for older primary school children but the younger ones might find it helpful. However, any strategy that could help a child build resilience and self-esteem should be considered. I found the story too long to read to a young class in one sitting but it is definitely a book to consider having in your class library and reading over a couple of days.

[Amber/PerpetualReadingFrenzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bully Beans is a great book to have in preschool/elementary classrooms or to be used by counselors as a way to discuss bullying with children. The story includes methods as well as resources on how to handle situations if you are being bullied or even if you are witnessing it happen to someone else.

I thought it was interesting that the book depicted the bully as a petite blonde girl with pigtails. This portrayal is a good way to show children that bullies don’t always look the same, and that words can be just harmful to others as being physical. I also really appreciated that the book discussed what it means to be a bystander in situations like this, and that there can be strength in numbers in order to stand up to a bully.

(*I read the new illustrated edition that was released in 2019)

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you need a book to help open the conversation about bullying, this may be a good choice. A child's mother tells her how to confront a bully, and instructs her to eat special jelly beans to give herself courage: Bullies Everywhere Are Now Stopped. Then she instructs the girls how to respond to a bully. In the story, the bully is successfully confronted and the behavior stops.
These tactics will not always work, and the reasons for bullying vary. The book's message is didactic.
Nevertheless, it can be a place to begin in discussing this persistent problem.

[Natalie Daken · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was amazing

[Alissa Peanasky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like that it gave ideas that could easily be used for our students. I didn't agree with all of the skills that were taught.

[Brandy Small · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to use with school ages students.

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story about self-confience and the power of groups.

[Kim Hampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect book to teach children how to stand up to bullies. Should be required reading in every school.

[Chrystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bully Beans is a cute, child friendly book that uses a well-known candy to create an acrostic helping kids remember how they can stop bullying. Of course the jelly beans/ “Bully Beans” aren’t really magic, but serve as a tangible form of encouragement for a child just learning how to stand up to a bully for the first time. The word “Beans” helps them remember that when they pop a jelly bean in their mouth, they are giving themselves additional courage and suddenly “Bullies Everywhere Are Now Stopped”. Recommendations are given for students being bullied, those watching a friend being bullied and aren’t sure what they should do, and also some tips for kids to personally check themselves and make sure they aren’t being a bully in some way to others, overall, this serves as a valuable starter book for any young child dealing with bullying for the first time. I would recommend it for any Children’s Library.

I was provided a digital copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

[Stephanie T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bully B.E.A.N.S. is a story about Bobbette the bully who constantly threatens the students at her school. It is not until one student goes home to tell her mother about Bobbette that the mother gives her "bully beans" that if she and her classmates eat, they be able to stand up against Bobbette. What I enjoyed most about this book is the idea concept of helping others who are bullied. This book will give students the ability to know what to do as a bystander or someone in the vicinity of bullying. Students will learn how they to can respond and stop bullying which is why I thought it would be a great addition to my bullying text-set because we rarely see stories of how others who are not bullying or being bullied can positively change the situation. I also think the Bullies Everywhere Are Now Stopped acronym involving the beans is a cute way to keep students engaged and not forget what the story is actually about.

[BreeAnn (She Just Loves Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bully B.E.A.N.S. tackles the subject of bullying for children. It has experiences that children would really come across at school and speaks to them about finding ways to be strong and have courage. The book also talks about empathy for other people, which I felt was so important in this book. It is something we are currently talking about with our children and this book was a nice way to add to that topic. The end of the book even has some information about handling children that bully, which I loved. Overall, this was a good book, and I would recommend for any children in pre-k through 3rd grade.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, National Center of Youth Issues for providing this book to me in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Jeanine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bobbette is the bully in her school. She orders her classmates to obey her commands or else she threatens to turn them into human pretzels. One student goes home and tells her mom about the bully. Her mother gives her bully beans that she and her classmates should eat and then come together and face Bobbette and tell her to back off and stop bullying. B.E.A.N.S. stands for Bullies Everywhere are Now Stopped. This book can teach students to come together and stand up to bullies. It helps to answer my essential question of "How should we respond to bullying?". It also shows students that they can and should tell their parents when they are bullied.

[Kimberly Tierney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every single elementary school and library needs to have multiple copies of this book. This is a fantastic book about strength in numbers to stand up to bullies. It is important for kids to understand that bullying behavior happens for different reasons, and sometimes having people stand up to them will help adjust that behavior. I appreciated that the book gave multiple ideas of ways to stand up to a bully and not all of those involved an adult. Many of the solutions are one that would help kids to learn problem-solving independently which is an important life skill.

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Bullies Everywhere are Now Stopped (B.E.A.N.S.)" The jellybeans are symbolic, and maybe the gimmick would help kids remember what to do if they encounter a bully.
This book offers explicit ways to stand up to bullies and to not be a bystander and shows why some bullies act the way they do. It would be a good addition to an anti-bullying curriculum, and as a springboard for student conversation.

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book from Julia. I will absolutely be using this one in my classes. One issue I have with this and most books about bullying is that too often the bully is also portrayed as a victim. In Bully B.E.A.N.S. the bully is being treated badly at home by her brother and she is copying his behavior with her classmates at school. While in some cases this may be true I don't agree with always painting the bully as someone we should feel sorry for.

[Leah Horton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great book. Simple and easy to understand and give kids the tools and power to stand up to bullys. I know it isn’t as easy as eating jelly beans to find strength, but to even create a dialogue is enough. I think the Bully’s Everywhere Are Now Stopped was a great message.

The tools at the back are also great to learn how to spot and deal with bullies as well as recognize if you yourself are one.

thank you to netgalley for my digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Nathalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

There should be more books like this one, I may not completely like the idea of using sweets to get courage to stand for yourself and others, but I like the acronym. In all seriousness, bullying is a real problem in schools and I appreciate the efforts to write about it in children-friendly language, giving tips how to stand against bullying and how to cooperate with other children.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awesome children's book! I bought this one for my (future) classroom. There is also a workbook that goes along with the book. (you have to buy it separately) It has so many awesome activities that can be copied and used over and over.

To make it even better, Julia Cook came and spoke to one of classes; she is extremely passionate about what she does and is in it to make a difference.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bully B.E.A.N.S. is an excellent book about bullying. I actually purchased this book after I read it in the library. The pictures in the book shows expressions of students during bullying and getting bullies. The book does a good explanation of why students bully and how to deal with it. I will be reading this book to my class. I highly recommend this book.

[Lori Krausen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book about that takes bullying down to kids’ terms. I like that it also talks about having courage and understanding empathy for others. At the end of the book, there are tips about how to deal with and how to cognizant bullying which is a good addition. I believe this book is good for elementary aged children.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

An educational-use book about bullying. The story touches on where bullying comes from (older brother bullies little sister; sister bullies at school). Great idea on how to have a conversation about bullying and how to solve the problem.

Not a storytime read-aloud book.

[Mrs Royle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool way to teach kids about standing up to a bully
c. genre

[Rachel B]

Wonderful book to use in an elementary classroom to talk to kids about bullying. Added bonus: Jellybeans for all!

[Mary Troyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was read to my first graders this year. It is about standing up against bullying, so I would use this as a read aloud.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used in my bullying lesson with K-2. My first grade class yesterday LOVED it. Julia Cook breaks down some basic strategies for standing up to bullies that work well for younger students.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think every parent, teacher, counselor, and human being needs this book. It is a great story that teachers a lesson and I think the tips at the end are perfect!

[Mckenzie Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so tired of seeing kids getting bullied and no one will do anything about it. Bystanders are just as guilty as those who are doing the bullying. This book introduces kids into doing more than just standing off to the side and shows them that it's better to stand up for someone else even if it makes you unpopular.