Today I welcome Karen Tyrrell on the first stop in her STOP the Bully tour. Karen is an Aussie author who cares passionately about mental health and family well-being. STOP the Bully is a lively, well-paced story for mid-grade readers. Best of all, it's not only an "issues" book. The characters are people we come to care about.
To prepare for Karen's virtual visit, I asked her some questions about Stop the Bully.
Q. Brian is a somewhat unusual name for a 21st Century child. How did you come to choose it for your main character?
A. Brian is an old fashioned kid with old fashioned morals. I named him Brian from the very inception and it just stuck.
Q. There’s an interesting twist in the book. I won’t give it away, but here’s a question; did you begin with the twist in mind or did it come up later?
A. The twist idea and the ending came first for me. Then I wrote the story backwards, giving clues to the mystery, making sure the twist would only be revealed in the final chapter.
Q. STOP the Bully has an arresting and powerful cover design. (See below.) Could you tell us a bit about that?
A. I wanted a cover to be provocative, eye-catching and a tiny bit controversial. So, the teacher or parent would ask the class, what do you think the story is about? Are the characters assertive or aggressive? In reality, the cover depicts two different scenes where Amelia in one scene and Brian in another, save a bullying victim from the bully.
Q. STOP the Bully seems to me to be an excellent book for classroom read-aloud. Is that the way you envisage it being used, or is it more of a novel that just happens to have this particular subject matter?
A. YES, I envisage teachers reading a chapter or two each day leaving the kids wanting to hear more. (Fingers crossed). I would love children to be hooked in until the very end when Brian’s story is solved and resolved. STOP the Bully is perfect for spring-boarding discussions on bullying strategies and resilience.
 |
| STOP the Bully, by Karen Tyrrell |
STOP the Bully Blog Tour & Book Give Away
Empower KIDs with assertive anti-bullying strategies!
WIN: Signed copies and eCopies of STOP the Bully.
Leave a comment on any of the 15 hops June 2- 11
The MORE comments you leave the MORE chances you WIN.
Blog Tour June 2-11
2 June STOP the Bully Release Party & Reviews http:// www.karentyrrell.com
Sally Odgers Interview http://spinningpearls.blogspot.com.au
3 June Jill Smith Review http://authorjillsmith.wordpress.com
Charmaine Clancy Interview http://clancytales.blogspot.com.au
4 June Sally Murphy QUICK Questions http://aussiereviews.com/2014/06/karen-tyrell-blog-tour
5 June Melissa Wray Interview http://www.melissawray.blogspot.com.au
Yvonne Mes Interview http://www.yvonnemes.com
6 June Ali Stegert Interview http://ali-stegert.com
7 June Kids Book Review CURLY Questions http://www.kids-bookreview.com
9 June Bug in a Book Review http://buginabook.org/category/childrens-books
Jackie Hosking Interview http://jackiehoskingpio.wordpress.com/school-magazine
10 June June Perkins Interview http://pearlz.wordpress.com
Robyn Parnell Interview http://www.robynopie.blogspot.com.au
11 June Nicky Johnson Review http://www.nickyjohnston.com.au/blog
Literati Radio Interview 9am AEST http://www.blogtalkradio.com/laliteraticarpelibrum
STOP the Bully is endorsed by Kids Helpline and aligned with Kids Matter, Australian curriculum.
Download FREE children's activities and FREE teacher notes from www.karentyrrell.com
ISBN: 9780987274069
STOP the Bully is now available from Amazon.
0 Comments on STOP the Bully, by Karen Tyrrell as of 6/1/2014 12:17:00 PM
Add a Comment