Diary of a Real Bully
Uniquely told from the bully's perspective, Diary of a Real Bully aims to identify the bully in all of us, then make a change. Standard 8x10 softcover, full color, 32 page children's picture book. Written by Melody Arabo. Illustrated by Olivia Colasanti. All rights reserved. Second edition, copyright 2019.
Author's Note: The lessons in this book are inspired by over a decade of classroom experience. Some of the sweetest, smartest, and most seemingly innocent kids are often the ones that do the most bullying. One thing they all have in common is that they do not see themselves as bullies. They imagine the exaggerated characters they see on TV and in movies. But the bully stereotypes of the big, dumb, mean guy or the self-absorbed, airheaded, mean girl do not exist in real life. No one is a bully all the time, but this misconception makes it hard to understand what real bullying looks like. Because kids do not identify themselves with their perception of bullies, they refuse to accept their actions as bully behavior. It is important for children to understand that TV-type bullies rarely exist, and in reality, we all act like bullies sometimes. The more we recognize and name these behaviors as bullying, the less likely we are to repeat them. Instead of labeling kids as bullies, we need to identify their actions as bullying. With this slight change in language, children are more willing to accept their behavior and take responsibility for it. They begin to realize when their words are hurtful. They become more mindful of the things they say and how they say them. They are more prepared to apologize and change because they understand that their actions do not determine their identity. Kids do not want to be bullies, they are usually just blind to the negative impact their behaviors have on others. Bullying is when you make someone feel bad, no matter how small or insignificant it seems. If we can teach children about real-life bullying early on, we will have less bullies.