Confessions of a Former Bully

By Trudy Ludwig

Tricycle Press; 2010; pp 48

Ages 9 to 12

Tight. That’s how my 10-year-old daughter described this book, which looks like a spiral note book and reads like a girl’s journal. The book is premised on 10-year-old Katie, who lands herself in the principal’s office after being busted bullying a friend on the school playground. Her punishment includes meeting with the school counselor once a week. Katie keeps a diary of her reflections with observations about why kids bully and how to avoid bullies. In the margins are Katie’s doodles and her reflections include quotes and reminders that are pasted in her journal. The section of reporting versus tattling was very useful not only for dealing with bullies, but sibling tensions. This book is just slick in concept and execution. Very useful, very credible. Kids can carry it around AND look cool. Kudos to the illustrator. As an added bonus the writer included loads of Recommended Resources. Tight!