Taking the Bully by the Horns - Children's Version of ... (ISBN 0937004111)

"Taking the Bully by the Horns" HELPS VICTIMS OF BULLYING:
Take time to read "Taking the Bully by the Horns." As a teacher & child advocate I can tell you it will give you an insight to bullies, victims, & reactions. Physical, Verbal & Mental Bullying are covered. Children who are being bullied mentally are under the *control* of the bully. They are confused & looking for a way out. As the same with Adult Bullying (Dr. Carter's best-seller "Nasty People"), some bullies keep us so wrapped around their finger we don't always recognize it so readily! The book is written for ease in understanding; young people can tackle this book with success, learn why's and how's of bullying, and learn that people who are bullied don't have to be "victims," and actions--not reactions--can be taken to improve situations. This simply written book can be an effective tool against bullying and at the same time provide an insight at to why young people turn to bullying. YES, both Victims AND Bullies have low self-esteem. Arrogance should not be mistaken for a "high self-esteem." Someone who has a "good" self-esteem has no need to CONTROL. - Dr. Jay Carter The book contains chapters to help both the victims and bullies. Anybody who has actually READ the book knows the book does not teach you how to BE a victim. It teaches that people/kids don't *have* to BE victims, while offering helpful insight to both handling/stopping the bullying and improving self-esteem throughout the entire book.

Frankly, I was very disappointed:
The games bullies play are described nicely, presumably so that the reader can recognize when she is being bullied -- in case your child hadn't noticed, I suppose. Some reasons why people act like bullies are listed, which mainly focuses on the disproven hypothesis that most bullys have low self esteme -- actually, most bullys have over inflated self esteme. Oh, yes, and there is a chapter on how to be a victim. Throughout the book, the author promises (repeatedly) that advice on how to actually handle the bully will be forthcoming. However, that is not the case. The only advice given is one brief sentence saying don't get angry, don't hide, do confront the bully. Now, I understand this is a difficult topic to address, but given the title of the book -- Taking the Bully by the Horns -- I expected more than that one weak platitude. The rest of that chapter addresses other topics, like use violence as a last resort, don't transport drugs, and be kind to siblings. Some portions of this book are well written. This book might help your child recognize some subtle forms of teasing. For that, it gets two stars from me instead of one star.

Wonderful tool:
This book is a wonderful tool to help young people cope with fears of bullying. Any help with the bullying problem that young folks are dealing with today is a plus. There is so many new methods of bullying now, not just physical & verbal(email, my space, texting, etc.). I too was a victim of abuse, but I did not have this book to assist me.

The book helps kids with alopecia!:
I am the founder of the Children's Alopecia Project and we help children living with the incurable autoimmune hairloss disease, alopecia. I ordered this fantastic book from the website www.kathynoll.com I think the website shows you a little about the goal that Kathy wants to accomplish, and educating people on what a bully is, is at the top of that list. My daughter has no hair on her entire body, it has been like that since she was 5 years old in 2003 and has never been made fun of at school or bullied by her friends. Is it a coincidence that we read this book back in 2003/2004 and our daughter is doing great. If you get the book here you will miss out on all the other great info at www.kathynoll.com so go to the website, visit the links, buy the book and refer it to others. If you want to learn more about alopecia and why this book has helped so many with alopecia, visit www.childrensalopeciaproject.org.

Extremely Insightful and Outstanding Book:
As a person who has worked with special needs children I know firsthand of what they, as well as able-bodied children go through when they are caught in a bullying situation. It can have terrible consequences if not taken care of properly and swiftly so I say that if you have a child or know of a child who is presently being bullied then please buy this book for the sakes of everyone involved. Both Kathy Noll and Jay Carter did an outstanding job of pinpointing and educating on the important issue of bullying while using a style that speaks directly to the children involved. In the course of doing so they cause the children to feel that being bullied isn't their fault, while giving them the necessary tools with which to empower them to effectively deal with their situations.