Buddy Bully

“Buddy Bully” by Ayesha Starns (4KidsPublisher.com, 2011)

As the list of books about bullying continues to grow, we came across a recent publication by a 10-year-old girl. “Buddy Bully” is written by Ayesha Starns who also maintains a website that reviews children’s books.

In “Buddy Bully,” Ayesha tells the story of 11-year-old Ayala who experiences a taste of how it feels to be singled out and teased. Ayala sits in a puddle of water on the school bus on her way to school in the morning. She didn’t see what had dripped onto the seat from the leaky roof. The teasing starts immediately about her wetting herself. One student even pokes her with a stick.

The two-minute ride to school “seemed like an hour.” As she gets off the bus, one girl befriends her with a kind word. We don’t want to give too much away, but you will learn how Ayala overcame her reluctance to say anything about the bullying. With encouragement from her true friends, she takes action and turns the situation around to her advantage.

As Ayala says “Bullies are kids just like us: even though they make mistakes, we should give them a second chance.” Final thoughts are offered at the end about friends, courage and trust.

“Buddy Bully” is beautifully illustrated by Sanjana Baijnath and is addressed to children up to 12 years of age.