<h3>Letters to a Bullied Girl</h3>

Gardner, O. & Buder, E. & Buder, S. (2008). Letters to a Bullied Girl. NY: Harper,. ISBN: 9780061544620.

Plot Summary: Olivia Gardner, a fifteen-year old epileptic girl in Northern California, was severely taunted and cyber-bullied by her classmates for more than two years. A newspaper article about her situation was read by sisters, Emily and Sarah Buder, in a neighboring town. The sisters were so moved by Olivia's story that they initiated a letter-writing campaign to help lift her spirits. It was a thoughtful gesture of solidarity that was intended to galvanize the local community, yet as time went on, the campaign began to elicit support from all over the country and even international countries. The letters are filled with words of encouragement, love and apologies.

In Letters to a Bullied Girl, Olivia and the sisters share an inspiring selection of the messages that have received. They include personal, often painful remembrances by former targets, remorseful bullies, and sympathetic bystanders. This book examines our national bullying epidemic from a variety of angles and perspectives, and includes practical guidance from expert Barbara Coloroso, author of The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander. The book also contains a thank you/permission letter from Olivia’s mother, the original solicitation letter from the sisters and their tips for starting your own letter campaign.

Critical Evaluation: This is a really timely book and one that should be read by every bullied child. In addition, it should be available as a teaching tool for schools to better inform the bulliers and their bystanders. This compilation is the first book of it’s kind and it’s powerful. Some of the letters are really heartfelt, uplifting and genuinely apologetic. It’s astonishing and admirable that the idea for this campaign was started by a fellow fourteen and seventeen-year old, who had the forethought to do something within their power to help reverse this social epidemic. The purpose of the campaign was to show victims that others care, recognize their pain and want to stop this cycle of violence. Victims may never forget their experience or fully heal from the trauma of being targeted, but these letters offer support and words of wisdom from those who have survived their own ordeals to become hopeful, productive and forgiving adults. A meaningful book!

Reader’s Annotation:
Ever been bullied or know someone who has? It’s a terrible feeling. Yet what if you got an encouraging letter from someone who has been through it and wants you to know that they care? Letters to a Bullied Girl is a collection of letters that will make you feel differently and better understand the dynamics behind our national bullying epidemic. Don’t wait! Read it now…

Information About the Authors:
Olivia Gardner is a fourteen-year old student in Novato, California, who is currently being home schooled by her mother. Sarah Buder is a high school junior in Mill Valley, California, who has a passion for photography. Emily Buder has just graduated from high school and will be studying filmmaking at New York University.

Genre:
Teen Issues: Physical and Emotional Abuse
Alternative Formats: Epistolary Format
YA non-fiction


Curriculum Ties: English class, Social Studies class, Psychology class, Book clubs, Social clubs, Recommendations for Young Adult Reluctant Readers

Booktalking Ideas:
1.) Bullying as a national epidemic
2.) Why bullying happens: the bullied, the bullier and the bystander's perspective
3.) One way teens did something to help
4.) The power of personal letters
5.) Their process for starting a campaign

Reading Level/Interest Age: Grades 5-12

Challenge Issues/Defenses: Because this is presented as healing book for all children, teens, their parents and teachers, there isn’t much to challenge about the content, except perhaps the issue of teen violence itself.

Potential Challenges:
• Portrayal of violence

Defense Strategy:
• Provide our Collection Development Policy (which includes Young Adult scope): http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/library/collection.asp

• Provide book reviews by actual readers on a publicly accessible website:
http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Bullied-Girl-Messages-Healing/dp/0061544620

• Provide a teacher’s guide that’s been used to address issues or book content:
www.harpercollins.co.nz/docs/teachernotes/9780061544620.pdf

• Provide an interview with the book authors about their experiences:
http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-gardner-buder.asp

Why This Book Was Included: When I came across this book, it immediately caught my attention. Since we learned about the bullying problem during class this term, I'd been looking for a non-fiction book that would be helpful to victimized teens. This book is essential for any YA library collection, teacher’s resource collection, counselor bookshelf and school administrator booklist.