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Friday
March 19, 2010 Since 1922 |
Just say something
By JoAn Martin
Baytown Sun Published August 29, 2004 Moss, Peggy. “Say Something.” Illustrated by Lea Lyon. Gardiner, Maine. Tilbury House Publishers. 32 pages. 2004 Hardcover. $16.95. ISBN 0-88448-261-8. Grades 3-6
This beautiful picture book is based on the African proverb,”If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a room with a mosquito.”
Peggy Moss writes about a girl in a school who notices a boy in the hall who is sad all the time. He is picked on by the other students. Pervasive in all schools, everyday meanness has become the norm.
She only watches kids pushing the boy and telling him he is slow. She doesn’t actually do or say hateful things.
But one day when she has to sit in the cafeteria without her friends, her greatest wish is to disappear.
Then she realizes how uncomfortable it is to be the butt of the jokes. She is angry that others watched, sympathized, but did nothing.
The author has made a powerful contribution to show what one person can do to stop bullying. “Say Something” should alert teachers and students alike and serves as a lesson in humane responsibility.
Each person can choose to be a caring, responsible citizen and make a difference in our world.
Reminiscent of Peter Yarrow’s Operation “Respect/Don’t Laugh at Me,” the last pages offer the tools and confidence for students to speak up and make bullying un-cool. Resources for many new and different programs are available and free to schools that want to change their world.
Peggy Moss was Maine’s former assistant attorney general prosecuting hate crimes. She wrote this book because she had seen that hate violence starts with hateful words.
Lea Lyon’s watercolors show a school with lots of diversity.
Her illustration portfolio
has won awards at the Society of Children’s Book Writers
and Illustrators (SCBWI)
conferences.
JoAn Martin reviews children’s books for The Baytown Sun. She is a retired teacher. She may be reached at josbook(at)mindspring.com.
Baytown Sun Published August 29, 2004 Moss, Peggy. “Say Something.” Illustrated by Lea Lyon. Gardiner, Maine. Tilbury House Publishers. 32 pages. 2004 Hardcover. $16.95. ISBN 0-88448-261-8. Grades 3-6
This beautiful picture book is based on the African proverb,”If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a room with a mosquito.”
Peggy Moss writes about a girl in a school who notices a boy in the hall who is sad all the time. He is picked on by the other students. Pervasive in all schools, everyday meanness has become the norm.
She only watches kids pushing the boy and telling him he is slow. She doesn’t actually do or say hateful things.
But one day when she has to sit in the cafeteria without her friends, her greatest wish is to disappear.
Then she realizes how uncomfortable it is to be the butt of the jokes. She is angry that others watched, sympathized, but did nothing.
The author has made a powerful contribution to show what one person can do to stop bullying. “Say Something” should alert teachers and students alike and serves as a lesson in humane responsibility.
Each person can choose to be a caring, responsible citizen and make a difference in our world.
Reminiscent of Peter Yarrow’s Operation “Respect/Don’t Laugh at Me,” the last pages offer the tools and confidence for students to speak up and make bullying un-cool. Resources for many new and different programs are available and free to schools that want to change their world.
Peggy Moss was Maine’s former assistant attorney general prosecuting hate crimes. She wrote this book because she had seen that hate violence starts with hateful words.
Lea Lyon’s watercolors show a school with lots of diversity.
Her illustration portfolio
has won awards at the Society of Children’s Book Writers
and Illustrators (SCBWI)
conferences.
JoAn Martin reviews children’s books for The Baytown Sun. She is a retired teacher. She may be reached at josbook(at)mindspring.com.