Driving Under the Influence: Facts and Stats

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The Invisible Boy

By Trudy Ludwig

Meet Brian, the invisible boy. Nobody ever seems to notice him or think to include him in their group, game, or birthday party . . . until, that is, a new kid comes to class.

When Justin, the new boy, arrives, Brian is the first to make him feel welcome. And when Brian and Justin team up to work on a class project together, Brian finds a way to shine.

From esteemed author and speaker Trudy Ludwig and acclaimed illustrator Patrice Barton, this gentle story shows how small acts of kindness can help children feel included and allow them to flourish. Any parent, teacher, or counselor looking for material that sensitively addresses the needs of quieter children will find The Invisible Boy a valuable and important resource.

Includes backmatter with discussion questions and resources for further reading.

Pre-order or order today on Amazon!

Follow author Trudy Ludwig on Twitter.

Smiley Book: A Child's Book of Optimism

Order today!

By Ruth Kaiser

This unique hardcover, which grew out of the popular website Spontaneous Smiley, will appeal to kids and adults. Who can resist the wacky, cute smiley faces to be spied in photos of colorful found objects? Young readers will enjoy learning their colors as they're identifying what the smileys are made from—an electrical outlet, a hubcap, even a piece of toast—and readers of all ages will appreciate the witty rhyming text, and its inspirational message about choosing happiness.

Ruth Kaiser is a mom, an artist, an actor, and a teacher. Her Internet-based Spontaneous Smiley project is made up of thousands of people photographing and posting smiley faces they find in everyday objects. (This was started long before the recent American Express ad campaign featuring similar images.) In August 2009, Spontaneous Smiley began a partnership with the charity Operation Smile, which funds surgeries for children around the globe with facial deformities. A smiley upload earns a $1 donation to Operation Smile.

Spontaneous Smiley, which has received well over 13 million page requests, has been used in high-school art projects in New Jersey and Washington State, and for a Girl Scout troop in California. It has gotten lots of press globally—including China—and it was recently featured on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. 

Heart of Gold Girls

Explore your dreams ~ Share your vision ~ Design your future....

WHAT IS HEART OF GOLD?

Heart of Gold is a supportive online environment which provides girls with the tools, information, and inspiration to explore and connect with their personal passion, be innovative and creative risk-takers, engage in entrepreneurship, volunteerism and social activism, and design the future of their dreams.

Aimed at girls ages 13 and up, Heart of Gold uses its unique approach, practical girl-focused content, and inventive, interactive environment, to deliver on its mission while focusing on 4 distinct areas:

Entrepreneurship: In our Entrepreneurship channel, girls find in-depth, how-to information on all aspects of starting and building a business; inspiring profiles of successful women and teen entrepreneurs; access to entrepreneurial experts for Q&A; and opportunities for sharing ideas, creating support, and connecting with like-minded girls.

Social Activism: Our  Activism channel provides changemakers with information and resources for promoting their causes from a position of strength and confidence; a place to spread the word about the issues they care about most; profiles of outstanding social change agents; and a supportive environment where the values of social responsibility are fostered and embraced.

Volunteerism: Heart of Gold’s Volunteering channel focuses on generosity and giving back, and offers ideas for helping girls choose volunteer activities that allow them to explore their passions while having a true impact; strategies for translating volunteer experience into real-world goal setting and achievement; an interactive tool for identifying volunteer opportunities in their community; and inspirational profiles of other teen volunteers.

Self-Exploration and Self-Care: Heart of Gold knows that girls who take care of themselves – mind, body, and soul – are more likely to reach for and achieve their dreams. In our Lifestyle section, girls are provided with confidence-building strategies to boost their self-esteem; practical advice on goal-setting and college and career planning; and self-care information with a special focus on health and wellness. Lifestyle also reviews appropriate books, movies, TV shows, and other media.

Learn more at www.heartofgoldgirls.com. 

Bullied: What Every Parent, Teacher, and Kid Needs to Know About Ending the Cycle of Fear

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By Carrie Goldman

With schools opening across the country, this is a perfect book for parents, teachers and students and is now available in paperback.

The mother of a bullied first grader, popular blogger Carrie Goldman’s inspiring true story triggered an outpouring of support from online communities around the world. In Bullied, she gives us a guide to the crucial lessons and actionable guidance she’s learned about how to stop bullying before it starts. It is a book born from Goldman’s post about the ridicule her daughter suffered for bringing a Star Wars thermos to school—a story that went viral on Facebook and Twitter before exploding everywhere, from CNN.com and Yahoo.com to sites all around the world. Written in Goldman’s warm, engaging style, Bullied is an important and very necessary read for parents, educators, self-professed “Girl Geeks,” or anyone who has ever felt victimized by a bully, online or in person.

Bullied has been recognized with Gold Awards at the 2013 National Parenting Publications Awards and the 2013 Mom's Choice Awards.

Order on Amazon today!

What Are Kids (Really) Doing Online?

Do you want to know what kids are really doing online? Then you need to watch this video. Then you need to check out this website: www.cyberwise.org.

CyberWise is dedicated to providing state-of-the-art resources for BUSY grownups who want to understand how to use digital media confidently and safely.

The Offenders: Saving the World While Serving Detention!

By Jerry Craft

A freak accident gives five middle school bullies super powers. But instead of transforming into cool super-beings, they take on the characteristics of the kids who they bully. Sure their abilities may be at an all-time high, but do they really have what it takes to save their school when their self-esteem is at an all-time low?
The only thing they know for sure is they're about to learn one "powerful" lesson in compassion!

The 228 page book tackles a prevalent problem facing many of today’s youth, bullying. But instead of the typical tale of childhood bullying, the author decided to take a different approach on the issue. “I wanted to do a book about the kids doing the bullying, those who were bullies and didn’t know it.”   Why are children bullying one another is the ultimate question Craft sought to answer with his book.

Read more about this book and these unsung heroes - click here.

 The Offenders: Saving the World While Serving Detention! is available for advance order at http://jerrycraft.net/offenders.html.

Back to School: Show Your Support to Prevent Bullying This Year at School

It's around the corner!  Schools will be opening.  Parents are already collecting school supplies and getting ready for their child to be back on schedule.

Most know that bullies and cyberbullies never take a break.  While the school yard bullies may have been in the backyard - they will be back at school shortly.

With that let's start school this year with a remind to all our kids that they need to be upstanders! 

Order your STOMP Out Bullying wristbands today and encourage your friends and community to do the same.

Bullying is a choice.  Kindness is also a choice.  Choose to be kind.

STOMP Out Bullying™ focuses on reducing and preventing bullying, cyberbullying, sexting and other digital abuse, educating against homophobia, racism and hatred, decreasing school absenteeism, and deterring violence in schools, online and in communities across the country.

STOMP Out Bullying is a fantastic organization that continues to help thousands of children and families and this is an opportunity be part of their mission in making our world a better place for everyone.

To order your wristbands click here.

Baffle That Bully! The Game That Puts YOU in Control & Makes the Bully Lose Interest

By Chase Anichini, Amy Jones Anichini and Jordan Anichini

"Baffle That Bully!" is a way of maintaining your cool while distracting bullies, throwing them off their game, and putting them in a game where you make the rules. The result: bullies decide for themselves to leave you alone, because it's no longer fun to pick on you.

But the book is about more than overcoming bullying. It's also about being the keeper of your own feelings and not letting other people bring you down, no matter how hard they try. It's about believing in yourself.

"Baffle That Bully!" was written by a family to help other families. Co-written by 9-year-old Chase Anichini, who was the target of emotional bullying for 2 years, and her mother Amy Jones Anichini, "Baffle That Bully!" teaches your child how to stay calm when others are trying their best to upset him/her. Chase's story and characters - some bullying targets and some bullies - are brought to life through the beautiful illustrations of her 12-year-old sister Jordan Anichini.

Scarlett introduces 3 steps to playing "Baffle That Bully!" for your child to follow every single time someone is "mean" to him/her. Then she walks your child through several situations ("The Bully Encounters of Scarlett the Baffler") and explains how she applied the 3 steps to remain calm while throwing the bullies off of their well-rehearsed tactics. Scarlett demonstrates how to successfully Baffle YOUR Bully.

When your child learns how to "Baffle That Bully!", he/she will not only distract the bully from their well-rehearsed tactics but will also gain confidence. That self-confidence and sense of self-esteem could help your child handle just about any unpleasant situation.

New Feature: Anyone who has purchased the book can talk to Scarlett via BaffleThatBully.com and ask her questions about handling bullies and/or playing the game! Visit our site to "Ask Scarlett."

Order on Amazon today!

NOBullying.com The Movement Against Bullying

From NOBullying.com About Us:

Nobullying.com is an online forum aimed at educating, advising, counselling and all importantly, helping to stop bullying, in particular, cyber bullying.

Although we at Nobullying.com work closely with and are delighted to gain the insight of many professionals including psychologists, teachers and other experts, we really cherish the input and experiences of parents and children of all ages, on this topic.

Parents, you, your opinions and feedback on points of interest, news and events are so important to Nobullying.com.  You are living the daily struggle, if you have a child who is the victim of cyber bullying.  We don’t make this statement in a flippant way.  Nobullying.com has been established by parents and as such, although we may not have had the exact same experiences as you, we do know where you are coming from.  Like you we worry constantly as to whether our child is the victim of cyber bullying or maybe he/she could be involved in cyber bullying through peer pressure.  Either way, we want to find an answer to an awful problem which has resulted in the death of teenagers and ruined the lives of many more.

Feel free to Contact Us anytime if you want to experience share, or offer up some tips and advice that you found useful.

Children and teenagers, if you have been the victim of cyber bullying please talk to your parents, your teachers or your school psychologist/nurse.  Remember, we all want what’s best for you and truly want to help.  It is not uncommon for kids to bully through peer pressure, especially with cyber bullying. No doubt if you are being bullied, in any way, the bully or bullies have warned you not to tell but guess what, that’s what bullies do.  Talk to your parents, your teachers, or a senior person in your school.  Don’t ever forget you are an amazing young person with a great future ahead of you, so start today and set yourself free from bullying.  There are thousands like you, all anxious about making that first great step, why not inspire them.

We are always looking for people to share their stories – if you want to provide a written article – do contact us via our quick fill in form. Do please note we will need your parents approval first if under 18 years.

Educators, you work with students, parents psychologists, victims, bullies and have good and bad experiences from every angle.  You know the sadness suffered by victims of bullying but you also know the joy and happiness felt, when, in many cases with your help, an awful situation is positively resolved.  Unfortunately, as you know, it can at times, be very difficult to pick up on bullying and even more difficult to truly resolve it.  However, as professionals who see bullying from all sides, please share with us your experiences and knowledge.  We really do want to give you a forum which will allow you help not just those in your school.

If you have some time to share some advice and guidance for others – we would love to take even 15 minutes of your time to answer a few questions by email and we will publish this on the website. Someone maybe looking for an answer you can provide.  Reach us here on our contact us page today.

As a professional psychologist or psychiatrist with knowledge in the area, share with us your experience and we will gladly display your profile and details on our site, which will be visited by thousands of people every week, concerned about their child’s safety, whether or not they are being bullied, whether or not their child actually is a bully and if they should seek counselling for their child.  Your expertise is more than appreciated, for more info click Here.

Please remain connected to our Cyber bullying-proof social media accounts for more information and tips to say no to bullying.

The eGirls Project

The eGirls Project is a 3-year research project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), under its Partnership Development Programme.

The Project is investigating the relationship between gender, privacy and equality in online social networking and is focused on better understanding the perspectives of girls and young women in relation to these issues.

What eGirls Project is interested in:

Girls and young women rely on a vast array of technologies to keep in touch with their friends and family and to explore the world and their place in it.  Participating in the online world certainly lets them share their lives with each other but it also requires a significant amount of self-disclosure to others, simply as the price of admission.  As a result, online social spaces provide opportunities for young women to create, expand and explore their own identities while at the same time constructing anew what it means to “be a girl”.

Learn more at  www.egirlsproject.ca. 

My U.S.A.: Fun and Facts about Our United States

Papersalt Publishing is one of my favorites when it comes unique books and gift ideas!

Newly released in time for July 4th is My U.S.A.

This educational book highlights each state including: population, largest city, when it became a state, state bird/tree/plant, and random facts.

Kids can mark states visited, write in dates and activities, tag where family and friends live.

Order at www.papersalt.com and also visit their Amazon page!