Bully on the Bus
by Kathryn Apel
University of Queensland Press, 2014
review copy purchased for my classroom library
It's hard to know what to do when a bully is making your life miserable. Katheryn Apel captures the emotional upheaval and the unwillingness to tell trusted adults perfectly in her verse novel for younger readers. An older girl is bullying Leroy every day on the bus and he feels wretched. His big sister Ruby tries to help, but ultimately, Leroy is the one who must reach out for help.
This is a book that might help a child who is being bullied have the courage to tell a trusted adult or stand up to a bully. In an interesting parallel, Leroy's teacher gives him a book that contains HIS secret weapon against the bully!
There are just a few Aussie words that might be unknown to a US reader, but nothing that can't be understood with just a bit of inference.
How lovely to find this, Mary Lee. My first American review! Thank-you for taking the time to share your thoughts. You've certainly sparked my curiosity about those unknown Aussie words - though I'm guessing 'ute' will be one of them...?
ReplyDeleteI don't remember ute! There's jumper (which I know is our sweater, but kids might not) and dob, which I think is our tattle. Are the lollies they use on the cupcakes our lollipops/suckers or something different?
DeleteYes to jumper and dob. In terms of the lollies, Smarties are little buttons of chocolates coated with a layer of brightly-coloured candy... like M&Ms. You know jellybeans, yes? (Jelly centre with coloured sugar coating, in the shape of a bean.)
DeleteFor years I thought Oreos were some exotic biscuit, because they were always raved about in American books. I had a fangirl moment when I first spotted them on an Australian supermarket shelf... but they were nothing like I'd imagined! Funnily enough, years later my son had the same awe/excited reaction when he first spotted them. They tasted better in his imagination, too. (We grew up with TimTams - and they ARE divine! :) )
Perfect for October, which is National Stop Bullying Month (also Bullying Prevention Month, or Stomp Out Bullying Month, depending on which organizational website you visit).
ReplyDelete