The Bully of Barkham Street

Barkham Street #2

by Mary Stolz

What made Martin Hastings, the ‘bully’ of A Dog on Barkham Street, behave the way he did? Martin resolves problems of his own in ‘a sensitive study of a lonely, frustrated boy. The [family] relationships are exceptionally well drawn.’ —BL. Boys’ Club of America Junior Book Award 1964

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, School, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Mary Stolz was a noted author for children and adolescents whose novels earned critical praise for the seriousness with which they took the problems of young people. Two of her books ''Belling the Tiger'' (1961) and ''The Noonday Friends'' (1965), were named Newbery Honor books by the ALA but it was her novels for young adults that combined romance with realistic situations that won devotion from her fans. Young men often created more problems and did not always provide happy ever after endings. Her heroines had to cope with complex situations and learn how to take action whether it was working as nurses (The Organdy Cupcakes), living in a housing project (Ready or Not), or escaping from being a social misfit by working for the summer as a waitress (The Sea Gulls Woke Me).

Reviews

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could tell you what it’s like to be an awkward chubby boy in elementary school—what it's like to rely on a rambunctious dog for friendship after school, only to have your parents give the dog away because it’s, well, too rambunctious. Regrettably, I even know what it’s like to transfer all that prepubescent anxiety into bullying other kids. But instead of telling you all that I’ll simply recommend reading this wonderful book. Sorry, mine is not available for resale. I read a school-owned copy in elementary school and never forgot it. On a nostalgic day in college I found a used copy for sale online. It’s a keeper.

I did let my boss borrow it once. She read it to her twin daughters and wound up crying as she read it. Ah, mothers! I share that by way of testimonial.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so curious to know if this sequel was pre-planned. It is a wonderful book on its own, and it enhances A Dog on Barkham Street tremendously, adding so much depth to what was a somewhat mundane tale.

I love how Stolz was able to write one book with a villain and in the next, turn him into a hero. I have to say that Martin resonates with me more than Edward does. He's not a bully in the way that many of today's sociopathic kids are (the ones you hear about on the news). He's got his problems, his challenges, and is frequently misunderstood, but he isn't evil. I like that we get to see how he is not just plain bad, but is provoked. Some might scream "never blame the victim" but I think that parents and teachers have seen enough to agree that it takes two to tango.

The book still feels very much of the early 1960s, with the traditional activities, interests, and relationships that have seen so much change over the decades. The interactions between Martin and his family, however, are still very relevant.

I've already started the third book, and I hope it doesn't fail.

[Richard Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this back in 1966 while in 4th grade from our classroom library. I can remember being glued to it, hoping I had enough time to finish it before school ended, because I might get side-tracked and not be able to finish. I was amazed that an author, Mary Stolz, was able to capture the anger of a young man growing up, trapped in a world where he wasn't able to control his own destiny, wasn't able to make his own decisions, where everyone told him what to do and when to do it. I had a lot of anger back when, but pretty much kept it to myself, until it burst out every now and then, and I thought I was the only one. I recently saw this on Amazon and got a used one for chump change, but it still packs a punch fifty years after its initial release. I don't hear much about it, but I've never forgotten almost breaking out in a sweat while reading it, it was like the author had me pegged.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Stolz sympathetically explained how bullies are made, not born.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

First sentence: Martin Hastings wriggled at his desk.

Premise/plot: Readers perhaps first met Martin Hastings in Stolz’s The Dog on Barkham Street. The Bully of Barkham Street is a companion novel told from a different character’s point of view.

Martin is an unhappy boy who is constantly being picked on by teachers, his sister, his parents. Everyone has a problem with him. Everyone thinks he’s the problem. And that’s a problem. He’s caught in a pattern, a cycle. He doesn’t like it, but doesn’t know how to end it.

Edward Frost, the boy next door, teases him, calls him names, insults him every single time they see each other. There’s no getting away from it. Why can’t Eddie just stop.

Martin hates everything about his life. He decides quite wisely that he can only change himself. He cannot make other people see him differently, treat him differently....but he can change his own behavior and attitude and hope that someone will eventually see that he’s changed.

My thoughts: I loved this one. I just loved it. It made me love Martin. I liked seeing him redeemed. I liked seeing his view of some of the same events. I wanted to yell at his parents a few times, more than a few times. But the truth is, all the characters are human. It would not be much of a stretch to believe that there are reasons they behave the way they do. They may be just as unhappy in their cycle of yelling, fussing, being stressed and frustrated. Perhaps they want to run away from themselves too.

[Luann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This pairs with A Dog on Barkham Street. The story covers the same events, only from a different character's point of view - this time from the "bully's" point of view. Very interesting!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was unsure how to rate this book…I first read it years ago, and the 10 year-old me would easily have given it five stars. But now, many decades later, I find it disturbing and would rate it no higher than three…hence the four-star rating.

To begin with the worst: even as a child, I was outraged at how the parents handled the issue of the dog -- not that they gave it away, but rather that they did it with no warning while MC Martin was at school, leaving him to come home and find the empty dog run and then sit crying alone in the house for hours, with no parents on hand to explain and help him deal with his feelings. I hated the parents for that, and still do.

I was also disturbed that, in the author’s view, everything that Martin’s disturbed family needed to fix itself rested on Martin’s shoulders alone. Despite indications of generally dysfunctional problems and behavior – money issues, non-stop squabbling between the various family members, hints that Martin suffers from dyslexia (he can’t even spell well enough to look up words in the dictionary) – it only took Martin’cleaning up his act, getting a part-time job, and loosing weight to transform the family into the contented 50s sitcom ideal. Too many children already, then and now, struggle with this kind of magical thinking – namely, that they can work miracles like averting a divorce or healing sick family members by simply changing their own behavior.

Interestingly, Stoltz seemingly had become aware of both how unfair and unrealistic this "fix" was by the time she wrote the sequel, The Explorer of Barkham Street -- a sad book but much more realistic.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars -- I did not enjoy this one as much as Stolz' first in the series - A Dog on Barkham Street, but my lesser enjoyment had more to do with the author's interesting choice to tackle a tough character rather than her writing. While the first in the Barkham Street series focuses on Edward Frost (the victim) & his reactions to instances of Martin's bullying, this one focuses on Martin Hastings himself & why he is a bully. Though published three years apart, the two stories occur simultaneously, through the eyes of the 3rd person main character - first Edward & then Martin. And while the author gives some reasons (Martin's parents are inattentive, he feels his sister gets more time & attention, Edward & his friends are rude & snarky about Martin's being overweight, etc.), to me, none of these add up to explain why Martin is as bad as he is. Thankfully, by the end of the story, Martin is consciously changing his actions & reactions, his words, and his way of thinking. A year matures him, and I am glad of that. I am going to read the third & final one of the series before I decide if I am going to purge them or not, because though written 22 years after the second, the third in the series also focuses on Martin. Reflecting on that, I feel that Martin Hastings is Stolz's preferred character in this series, and I am interested to see where she takes him & how the series is concluded.

Favorite Quote: "'Someday, when you're grown, Martin, you'll find that things can't always be as simple as children would like them to be. The human being is extremely complicated, with the good and the bad all mixed up.'" - Edward's father, Mr. Frost

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

No, you don't need to read the companion book; I haven't, and I don't know if I will. This is a true classic that stands alone.

By now it might feel dated to some kids. Which really is too bad, because kids do need to realize that even a bully has his own point of view, his own concerns. And that maybe he's not so bad, if you're not so bad to him. And maybe it's not because his parents are abusive but just because they're rather incompetent.

And that's the thing. The people who need to read this the most are parents. Especially parents who don't understand why the kid they feel that they care for is having trouble getting along in school & with others. Martin's parents love him, but they haven't a clue how to help him.

And that made me actually cry a couple of times. Martin is trying *so* hard, and getting no advice about *how* to deal with being angry, or to be less impulsive, or anything. He's getting very little encouragement, even. And his role models are irritable and impatient, too. They didn't even want to attend his school program, though he was proud & excited to be able to invite them.

Please don't be like the parents here, too busy, too focused on career or self, to actually pay attention to what your kids are trying to share with you, what they need your support for.

[Patsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martin Hastings _is_ the bully of Barkham Street, but not because he wants to be. He feels misunderstood, unfairly treated, and friendless. Until, that is, an assembly at school provides a turning point.
This is an excellent book to provide insight into a so-called bully's behavior. As companion volume to A Dog on Barkham Street, it gives the same story from a different point of view.

[Ann Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, written in 1963, is a sequel to The Dog on Barkham Street, written in 1960. The sequel covers the same events as in the previous book, but is from the point of view of the bully.

[Cindy Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book on bullying

[Benny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Follow up. Not as good as the Dog on Barkham Street.

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. A Dog on Barkham Street
2. The Bully of Barkham Street
3. The Explorer of Barkham Street

By the time I first read The Bully of Barkham Street, I had read quite a few children's books. I had read funny books and thrilling books. I had read realistic books and fantastic books. I had read whimsical books and touching books. I had even read the first book in the Barkham Street series.

The Bully of Barkham Street was the first children's book I read where the protagonist was so lonely and shy that being grudgingly asked to round out the numbers for a football game was not only a cherished opportunity for socializing but was a source of rare pride. The Bully of Barkham Street was the first children's book I read with a relatable protagonist who hurt so much that it was painful to read about it.

Martin has an older sister who sees him primarily as an embarrassment, parents who are too busy working to pay the bills to have much time or energy for their son, a dog that he lost because of that one time he couldn't resist the chance to play football with his classmates, teachers who consider it a punishment to have him in their class, a pesky neighbor boy who taunts him daily, homework he struggles to get done, and no friends at all.

Even worse, the pest who lives next door and who isn't half as responsible as Martin was blessed with a beautiful dog of his own.

Martin's main sources of comfort are playing his bugle and eating, so he has become fat, which is one of his neighbor's favorite things to taunt him about.

And when he feels really awful, bullying the smaller kids in his neighborhood is the only thing that makes Martin feel better. For a little while at least. But it also makes him feel worse.

Judy Blume's It's Not the End of the World is about the only other children's book I can recall reading with the same level of pain, but The Bully of Barkham Street feels more raw. After all Karen was somewhat content until her parents decided to divorce and still has her friends, but at the opening of his story, Martin has clearly been very lonely and unhappy for a very long time.

This is an excellent book for children who are unhappy enough to bully, for those who have been the target of bullying, for those who are alone and friendless, and for those who could use a lesson in what their weird or delinquent classmate might be dealing with every day. It's also an excellent book for adults. In short, it's an excellent book for anyone.

Highly recommended.

[Darrell Reimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martin Hastings is The Bully of Barkham Street, and it should be said at the outset that he is not one of those feral creatures who dominates a pack and torments the weak and wounded. He is a loner, but not by choice. Martin has a vivid imagination, and is prone to eager overcompensation whenever someone offers him friendship. This usually concludes in a comic mishap that squelches the earlier promise.

His older sister is fussing over potential boyfriends, both his parents work — his father until late, his mother right up to the brink of supper-time — and every afternoon he arrives home to a house that seems cavernously empty now that his dog has been taken back to the farm. He feels impelled to take out his frustrations on someone or something, and who better than Edward Frost, the mouthy kid next door?

Martin's feelings of alienation and his impulse to feign indifference on the one hand, or to eagerly, desperately reach out on the other are brought vividly to life by Stolz. Late in the book, after yet another school day when Martin's best intentions collapse in ruin, he stares out his bedroom window and into the Frost's back yard:

Edward and his uncle Josh were sitting on the grass together, talking, looking up now and then at the wren house. Argess [Josh's dog] was lying next to Edward her head on his leg.

Watching them, so peaceful, so friendly, with a dog like Argess theirs to pet and call to and be with, Martin was almost engulfed in pain. There was that terrible sensation of half strangling to keep back childish tears, and another feeling — that of being someone completely alone. It reminded him of the way he felt whenever he went in a place where people already were — a classroom, dancing school, even a public place like a drugstore. It always seemed to him that the people who were already there sort of owned the place, belonged there, and that he was an outsider pushing his way in and not welcomed. After a while, of course, he'd get over it, and when other people came in, it was as if he belonged and they didn't. But he hated that feeling of being outside, unwanted, not part.

Who cannot relate to feelings like Martin's? That Martin comes to understand how he can change — how he is changing — for the better, and that he is justified in feeling some measure of triumph by the novel's end, is a testimony to Stolz's patient labor as a story teller. This is a magnificent work of empathy, perfect for 10-year-old listeners — and adult readers.

[Shanna Gonzalez · Rating 1 out of 5]

Martin is a deeply lonely preadolescent boy who earns a reputation for picking on children smaller than himself. He is self-absorbed, self-pitying, a compulsive liar, and a thief, and constantly justifies himself when challenged. This book follows his muted coming-of-age, as he turns from his destructive behavior and attempts to live down his reputation. His escapades are sometimes funny, but more often embarrassing as his bad behavior brings him humiliation and shame.

Martin’s bad behavior grows out of his deeper problem: his parents are supremely inattentive to his basic relational needs. Their consistently selfish response toward him at every turn creates a poisonous family dynamic which is the source of his profound loneliness and insecurity. Early in the story, Martin’s parents allow him to adopt a dog when he promises to reform his behavior, but the promise is so sweeping that it is impossible for him to live up to. When the dog becomes inconvenient for them, Martin’s parents return it to its former owner, citing Martin’s bad behavior. Although his father admits that he should not have asked Martin to commit to a standard beyond his abilities, he does not ask for forgiveness but instead urges Martin to be unselfish and think of the dog’s needs. This scene provokes Martin to hate his parents, and he wonders “if goodness and unselfishness were something that adults talked about when what they really meant was Don’t bother us” (61).

Martin himself never takes responsibility for his own behavior, but rather mysteriously outgrows it by the end of the story. While he does attain some reasonably admirable accomplishments (maintaining a newspaper route to save money for a saxophone and walking away from a provocation to fight), he never asks forgiveness or makes restitution to people he has injured. The gradual change in his behavior suggests that all along he has wanted to be good and just couldn’t figure out the right technique. This opposes the biblical doctrine of original sin, which holds that humans are evil by nature. Martin's violent, narcissistic behavior may easily be understood as the natural expression of an evil heart, but the idea that he is merely a good-hearted, misunderstood boy trying to do the right thing falls far short.

While this story might be valuable for helping children cultivate compassion for the local playground bully, the poisonous character of Martin’s family, and the wishy-washy way in which Martin’s sinful behavior is explained, makes it an unsuitable choice for our family library.

[James Vachowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nearly everyone’s had a run-in with a bully at some point in their lives, but how many of us have ever stopped to think about why these kids behave this way? Mary Stolz’ classic book forces the reader to do just that by telling the story of a frustrated boy named Martin Hastings. Beneath the gruff, thoughtless exterior is a chubby boy who’s actually a little bit lonely himself. Acting out is a way for him to get attention, and inevitably Martin comes into conflict with his next-door neighbor, Edward Frost. This book is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, albeit someone that you might not necessarily like…at least not at first!

One great thing about “The Bully of Barkham Street” is that it’s actually a companion novel to another book called “A Dog on Barkham Street”. This book was published a few years earlier, and it tells the same events through Edward Frost’s point of view. I’d recommend reading both books, but no matter which you read first you’ll be able to see the conflict from both boys’ points of view. Apparently, boys will be boys no matter the decade. If you’re looking for some great insight into the way boys think, look no further than the Barkham Street books!

[Christian Guevara · Rating 5 out of 5]

1)I saw this book at a book fair, and the summery seemed interesting so I decided that it would be a good book to read.
2)"The Bully of Barkham Street" is about a boy with a bad reputation, a family that never listens, and a constant bully. He realizes that changes need to be made, but that the biggest change must come from him.
3)My favorite quote, wasn't really a quote, it was the slogan for the book. "Not all bully's want to be bad", I like this quote because it shows that Martin, the main character, only wants fresh start, and that he's not the person everyone thought he was.
4)The writing style is from Martins point of view.
5)I would recommend this book to anyone, Because I feel that this is a relatable book.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Martin is much bigger than the other kids and has gained the reputation of a bully, sometimes with reason, sometimes without. He feels adults are unfair but mostly he feels his parents ignore him and care more about his sister, Marietta. After his parents take his dog away, things seem at their worst, but through a concentrated effort from Martin and renewed understanding between him and his parents, he starts to live down his reputation.

A little outdated at times, but the characters are good and consistent.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martin Hastings is a boy in the 50 s or 60's in suburban America. How he deals with his slightly dysfunctional family, being a bully and why, hormones and moods and crazy ideas that boys of 12 or so have when it comes to life in a neighbourhood when it seems like nothing is going your way. Martin grows up and makes mistakes, pays for them and learns what it means to be a good son, brother, neighbour, student and friend.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this book is a bit dated I wish there were more stories like this. The book followed a bully through his life, at time even he didn't understand why he acted the way he did. I enjoyed this way more than expected!

[Me · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still remember this book from my childhood. I loved how the author was able to show the two different sides to the story - See The Dog of Barkham Street - and allows kids to see the inner problems of bullies.

[Michal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite children's books. Mary truly makes you feel for the bully in the story. One leaves with a good understanding of the psychology behind some bullies.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Martin wasn't a bad egg, but a suffering soul. This is a mirror book to A Dog on Barkham Street--many of the same events, but from Martin's point of view.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Cws]

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