By Phoebe Vreeland, The Children’s Book Review
Published: September 27, 2010
by Trudy Ludwig (Author), Beth Adams (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 8-12
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Tricycle Press (August 24, 2010)
Source: Author
Ten-year old Katie has hung up her bully hat. With gentle nudges from parents, principal and school counselor, she is now sharing her secrets with you and your child so that the bullying can stop.
Katie is a creation of author Trudy Ludwig in her latest offering to tweens, Confessions of a Former Bully. After five books, Ludwig has become much beloved by kids, parents and teachers. This award winning author has truly become an advocate for children in the area of social justice. Her former books deal with a variety of issues helping kids navigate the perils of social situations. In 2005, her first book My Secret Bully, disarmed the frenemy. In Just Kidding, Ludwig tackled teasing. Sorry exposed the insincere apology and Trouble Talk illuminated the problems of gossiping. Her fifth book, Too Perfect (read review), shed light on the problems of perfectionism. The latest book builds on this body of work and offers a new perspective—that of the reformed aggressor. Now with the help of Katie, we can pull the curtain on the bully once and for all.
Confessions of a Former Bully is written in the guise of a journal. The school principal has asked Katie to meet with the school counselor Mrs. Petrowski once a week as consequence for her unkind actions, in order to learn more about bullying behavior and how to be a better friend. Her parents have asked her to keep a journal about what she has learned.
Illustrator Beth Adams’ child-like drawings and margin doodles help create an authentic tween journal feel. While it is written in the voice of a tween, Katie is clearly smart and there is no annoying tween jargon. The handwritten type-face and faux taped-in snippets help create the journal feel. But lest you judge this book by its cover, beware—Katie’s journal is in no way jejune. It is chock-full of helpful information, charts, “Quick Facts”, reflections and revelations. Knowledge comes in many ways, like Mrs. Petrowski’s “Think-About It” cards. These bright yellow quote cards offer gems from the greats: Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Te
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