This series is “for all children, young and old, who have been involved in bullying. Do not lose sight of who you are. Know yourself. Be yourself. And remember, your brightest star shines from within.” These stories are honest and brave. The artwork is joyful as well as heart rendering and supplements each story well. The black and white illustrations, with just some parts being colored, focus your eyes on the action of the story. Sam has bullied Jayla and Jayla does not like it. When Sam started to bully a new girl Jaya felt relieved but still scared. She wished for the courage to be brave, to dare to stand up for herself as well as the new girl, Luisa, because she knows how it felt. Even though she is scared she is dared on by Sam to do some mean things and did them. She wants to stand up to Sam and after some self-examination she befriends Luisa and this little move gives her even more courage. She learns to dare to do kind things. At the end of each book are some of the girl’s notes that spell dare, tough, or weird. Each sentence is a nugget of truth such as “acting like I wasn’t scared gave me more courage.” There are notes and sentence starters for parents and teachers as well as ideas to start a courage or friendship club. The “telling vs. tattling bullet” makes it clear when an adult needs to be told. This is one series about bullying that shows real kids with real challenges and choices. I hope this series—“The Weird”—is found in all libraries and even read out loud at story time. Reviewer: RevaBeth Russell; Ages 5 to 10.
