Hot Issues, Cool Choices: Facing Bullies, Peer Pressure, Popularity, and Put-downs

Hot Issues, Cool Choices: Facing Bullies, Peer Pressure, Popularity, and Put-downs
by Sandra McLeod Humphrey and Brian Strassburg
Published: 2007
ISBN: 978-1591025696
Non-Fiction

Hot Issues, Cool Choices: Facing Bullies, Peer Pressure, Popularity, and Put-downs is an engaging collection of stories, which demonstrates real life issues kids face today. The stories empower the reader and encourage positive ethical and moral discussions between tweens and adults. The stories involve; peer pressure, bullying, and harassment. This book is great for kids who are on both sides of the “cool” measure, those who are popular and those who aren’t. The stories where gathered from parents, teachers and actual students who shared their own struggles. Although the children are not real and the school is not real, the stories are real and each story depicts “Hot Issues” children encounter every day. At the end of each story the author includes thought provoking questions in questions called; More to Think About and Trading Places. These questions force children to think more deeply about the issue and how they might handle the same issue. These stories can be read by tweens or parents and teachers can use it as a teaching tool. At the end of the book the author concludes the lessons with a section titled; Afterword. This section gives an overall understanding of what Bullying is and how it is changed over time. There are also examples and techniques students can use to help those who are being bullied and how to avoid bullies. This book creates a connection through its stories and further challenges the reader to think about their actions in similar situations. This book is a great tool to have in any library or home.