Even adults and older students appreciate Winter’s books––not only as beautiful works of art but also because they naturally spark a curiosity within us to find out more about the real people featured in each book.   And these days it’s so easy to do that!  A search of Internet websites and Youtube videos immediately produces a wealth of background information and inspiring related visual material.

BIBLIOBURRO

Here’s the true story of a dedicated Columbian teacher who created a mobile library system to serve his students.  He called his outreach program “Biblioburro”––quite literally, “The Donkey Library!”

In 2000, Luis Soriana, began regularly bringing his own books to children and adults living in isolated hilltop areas surrounding his home in La Gloria, Columbia.  With a humble collection of 70 books strapped to two burros and carrying a collapsible table, Luis sets out on weekends to share reading material that he hopes will inspire his students to read for enjoyment and knowledge.  Over a decade later, Luis’ burro library is still going strong.  Through donations, his book collection now numbers in the thousands and he has successfully fulfilled a dream to build a simple library building to store his precious books.

See Luis for yourself:  Biblioburro video

Another video, updating the one above:  Biblioburro Updates

WANGARI’S TREES OF PEACE

This book tells the story of Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan environmentalist who started a grassroots movement to repair the damage done by over-logging in her country.  Wangari was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to inspire fellow Kenyans––mostly women––to one-by-one, take responsibility for planting seedling trees.  Eventually, this “umbrella of green” (over 30 million trees) restored the damaged Kenyan landscape.

A clip from the movie, Taking Root:  The Vision of Wangari Maathai

Wangari Maathai’s Nobel Lecture, 2004

THE LIBRARIAN OF BASRA

In 2003 as war seemed imminent, Alia Muhammad Baker, the woman in charge of the Iraqi library in Basra, worried constantly for the safety of the historic books in her care. Determined to protect this priceless and irreplaceable collection, she asked the government to do something.  When no help was forthcoming from officials, she enlisted the help of friends.  They slowly and quietly smuggled books––30,000 of them!––out of the library, and into private homes with plans to keep them there safely until the time came that the war would be over.  Nine days after completing this monumental task, the library of Basra was burned to the ground.  To Alia, books were “more precious than mountains of gold.”

A 4th grade lesson plan to extend this book

A video of puppet show created by children, based on The Librarian of Basra

Book Study Guide for The Librarian of Basra

Told in just 7 sentences it is the quintessential story of  ”what might have been.”  It will touch your heart and inspire you to reach out to others!

Mr. Duck and Mr. Rabbit are neighbors.

Every day they pass––yet never once does either of them notice the other, let alone smile or say hello.

Day after day, season after season, good weather or bad, happy mood or sad, the two pass without so much as a word or a glance; each lost in his own thoughts.

We witness them…

rushing by,

strolling by,

biking by,

always passing––right by.

Being that this is a picture book housed on the “Easy” shelf  of the library or bookstore, you might predict that the story ends happily for Mr. Duck and Mr. Rabbit. But you’d be wrong. The  two glum looking animals never take advantage of their many opportunities to connect.

Yet, sad as the story is for the main characters, there is an uplifting alternate ending for the reader. Through a series of illustrations the author leads us to imagine a happier ending––one in which Mr. Duck and  Mr. Rabbit form a friendship.  She leaves us with the thought, “What a difference one little word [can] make.”

For older readers, the book prompts immediate self-reflection:  ”How many friendship opportunities have I lost simply because I didn’t take the initiative to strike up a conversation with someone right on my own doorstep?”  For younger children, the adult will likely have to initiate further talk to help them understand the author’s message:

• Why do you think Mr. Duck and Mr. Rabbit never talked to one another, even though they lived nearby and passed shoulders every single day?
• How could their lives have been different if they had connected?
• What do you think the author is trying to tell us with this story?
• Have you ever met a new friend simply by deciding to say hello?
• Do you see any connections between this story and our school playground?
• Why do you think the author wanted to write this book?

For students of any age, this book can lead into a fabulous DWS discussion of Level D.  One descriptor for Level D is the idea that people operating on this highest level of development take initiative in life.  They’re leaders.  They don’t wait for others to direct them––they take responsibility for directing themselves!  This book could set the scene for adding “Shows initiative” as a descriptor to the basic Hierarchy chart.   My personal experience is that when I add information to the chart––describing yet another facet of internal motivation––students become interested in trying new traits on for size!

Friendship is always a topic for conversation and lessons in an elementary school setting, especially as each new school year begins.  So Close by Natalia Colombo would certainly be a great book to include in any such discussions!

With a story line that reflects real life, Lilly, the exciting main character, has some depth to her personality.  In DWS terms, Lilly doesn’t remain on one level, as some more shallow picture book characters do.  She’s up and down and all over the place––just as many intelligent, exuberant and feisty children are.  Being young, Lily’s choices/actions/emotions swing from high to low––to high again!  This story offers the possibility of rich discussion about how our level of operation can vary from moment to moment, and how choice-response thinking fits into the picture.  After the Hierarchy has been introduced, students could assess Lilly’s various levels of operation.

The book is a natural choice for a read-aloud in connection with establishing procedures for Show and Tell.  After having firmly established your own procedures with students,  you can read the story of Lilly. Discuss Lilly’s Show and Tell challenges.  What young child can’t relate to having something really fabulous to share––and having to wait for the appropriate time to show it?

• How did ignoring Mr. Slinger’s Show and Tell expectations work out for Lilly?
• What would have been some better choices leading to happier results?

(And here’s a good lesson for us teachers too:  How could Mr. Slinger have been more effective in his teaching?  Although he held some general expectations for kids about Show and Tell, he didn’t seem to have any exact procedures for Show and Tell items.  A more experienced teacher would have had a procedure about where to place Show and Tell treasures until it was Show and Tell time!)

The appealing personality of Lilly  provides a perfect lead-in to a discussion of controlling impulses. After reading the book several times, you might use it to introduce:

1. Dr. Marshall’s suggestions for handling impulsiveness, and;
2. The poster he has created to teach students to deal with impulsive urges.

The class could brainstorm procedures that Lilly could use to curb her wilder side!  Discussing impulse procedures for someone else is non-threatening.  On subsequent days––when a child in the class proves to be impulsive––teaching important understandings about impulsiveness has already been completed, proactively.

This Kevin Henkes’ book also allows us to pleasantly discuss another important DWS concept; the rather startling idea (for young people, at least!) that students can choose the type of teacher they want.  In this case, Lilly actually chooses to have her teacher––her beloved, Level D, Mr. Slinger––become a “Level B teacher.”  She doesn’t realize that it was her choice, or even that she made a choice non-consciously through her own behavior.  She blames Mr. Slinger for her problems––but the kids in your class will be able to recognize that in fact, Lilly had all the control in this situation!

Then on a comical note, I can’t resist offering you this funny youtube clip!  Just as kids can easily relate to the character of Lilly and her plight with a special plastic purse, what primary teacher can’t relate to the following typical school day dilemma?  Enjoy!

Some related postings:

Can you give me examples of procedures for Show and Tell?

Choosing your teacher!

Choose your teacher–just for the day!

Primary/Intermediate Book- “Miss Nelson is Missing”

Using the DWS Impulse Poster

Sound too complicated for little kids?  Actually the concept of choice-response thinking is pretty simple:

As human beings, we always have a choice in how we respond to other people, events, situations––and even to our own impulses.

In his book, Discipline without Stress, Punishments or Rewards, Dr. Marshall explains:

Because we have the freedom to choose our responses, we are responsible for our own choices (behaviors).  By teaching young people that they choose their own behaviors, they begin to become conscious of the fact that no one else chooses their behaviors for them.  Choice-response thinking encourages self-control and responsibility.  In addition, having young people become aware of choice-response thinking can have a liberating effect, especially with those who feel they are helpless or victims.

Recently I found a wonderful picture book that could be used to introduce the concept of choice-response thinking to very young students, PreK-Grade 2.

“Pete the Cat,” is written by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean.

Pete is a happy-go-lucky cat who seems to innately understand the wisdom of choice-response thinking!  Pete really gets it!  He understands that by choosing his responses to seemingly negative situations, he can also choose to live a happy life!  You know the type––Pete’s the guy who makes lemonade when handed a bunch of lemons!

The story begins with Pete proudly walking down the street in his flashy new white shoes.  By the enthusiastic song that he sings, it’s obvious to the reader that Pete LOVES his new white shoes.  What happens next? (and again? and again? and again?)  Pete absent-mindedly and repeatedly manages to step in big MESSES!

To a less conscious cat than Pete, this might spell disaster––new white shoes unexpectedly stained red!  (then blue… then brown… you get the picture!) But Pete never skips a beat in his response to negativity!  He calmly deals with each situation as it occurs.  Every time he encounters a “problem,” he simply decides to change his perception of the situation.  After each “disaster,” we know that Pete has made a decision to remain in a happy state, because immediately he starts singing a new song. “I love my red shoes! I love my brown shoes!” belts out Pete.

By the end of the book, it’s obvious (even to very young people,) that CHOOSING a positive response to a negative situation has a great benefit;  Pete retains control over his own happiness.  A “victimhood thinker,” he is not!  What a great role-model for us all!

Watch the author, Eric Litwin, present Pete the Cat to an audience of enthusiastic youngsters.  (The publisher, Harper Collins offers a free download of the song and video soundtrack on its website.)

In addition to using this book to support the introduction of DWS, here are some other lesson possibilities for Pete the Cat:

• It’s a perfect story to introduce/reinforce the literary concept of a “circular journey.”  The book begins with Pete in white shoes––and then as you might guess––by the end of the story, Pete’s shoes are white once again!  Here is a link to a lesson plan for teaching the concept of a “circle story,” and another link to an example of a graphic organizer that could be used with students as a follow-up activity.
• Another obvious opportunity is to read this book as part of a study of colors or color words.
• Many primary teachers like to take advantage of books with repetitive story lines because they create starting points for students to make take-off pages of their own.  Scroll down on this link from the publisher’s website to a couple of blackline masters of Pete and his shoe.  Although these sheets are intended to be used as part of a game, they could easily be adapted to suit the purpose of creating a class take-off book too.
• A youtube video of Pete driving the school bus, singing “Wheels on the Bus!“
• This website has a large number of printable activities, emergent readers and games based on the story of Pete the Cat.

Have fun with this book!  Perhaps, if you’re like me, you’ll find yourself robustly singing “I love my white shoes!” at odd moments of the day!

Click for some related postings:

I’m hoping to find a list of picture books to introduce the four DWS levels.

What is the correct way to introduce the Hierarchy?

Level A Books – Anarchy

Mean Soup, by Betsy Everitt
Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink, by Diane deGroat
Miss Nelson is Missing, by Harry Allard
We Share Everything, by Robert Munsch
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, by Kevin Henkes
When Sophie Gets Angry Really Really Angry, by Molly G. Bang

Level B Books – Bullying and Bothering

Crickwing, by Janell Cannon
Recess Queen, by Alexis O’Neill
A Weekend With Wendell, by Kevin Henkes
Chester’s Way, by Kevin Henkes
The King of the Playground, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Three Cheers for Tacky, by Helen Lester
The Practically Perfect Pajamas, by Erik Brooks
How to Lose All Your Friends, by Nancy L. Carlson
Big Bad Bruce, by Bill Peet
Bootsie Barker Bites, by Barbara Bottner
Hooway for Wodney Wat, by Helen Lester
The Ant Bully, by John Nickle
Goggles!, by Ezra Jack Keats

Level C Books – Cooperation

Disappearing Ducks, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
The Little Red Hen, by Paul Galdone
The Little Red Hen: (Makes a Pizza), by Philemon Sturges
The Enormous Potato, by Aubrey Davis
It’s My Birthday, by Helen Oxenbury
Swimmy, by Leo Lionni
Whoever You Are, by Mem Fox
The Mitten Tree, by Candace Christiansen
Berenstein Bear’s Lend a Helping Hand, by Stan Berenstain
Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose, by Dr. Seuss
Farmer Duck, by Martin Waddell
Berlioz the Bear, by Jan Brett

The Missing Piece Meets The Big O by Shel Silverstein

Level D Books – Democracy

Brave Irene, by William Steig
The Runaway Rice Cake, by Ying Chang Compestine
The Quiltmaker’s Gift, by Jeff Brumbeau
Little Toot, by Hardie Gramatky
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge, by Mem Fox
The Legend of the Lady Slipper, by Lise Lunge-Larsen and Margi Preus
Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister
Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney
Brave Irene, by William Steig
The Hole in the Dike, by Norma B. Green
Snowflake Bentley, By Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Big Bad Wolf is Good, by Simon Puttock

Inspired by Massachusetts hero, Marion Stoddart, a large group of citizens of all ages, worked diligently for several decades to restore the ecologically-dead Nashua River to its original state. This beautifully illustrated book traces the history of the river––from the days when it was treated respectfully by the First Nations people, through centuries of harmful modern development that eventually resulted in the destruction of the river, the fish and the surrounding watershed.

For more than a century, factories on the banks of the Nashua River poured chemical waste directly into the river, making it officially one of the dirtiest rivers in North America in the mid 1960′s.  At that time the color of the river water varied almost daily, depending upon the the dyes released from paper production.  This link shows a startling image of the Nashua River at the height of its pollution and a more recent photo of the river in a healthy state today.

This book could be used at all grade levels.  For older students especially, it would make a fabulous starting point for the study of many related Science, Social Studies and Social Responsibility topics:  ecological systems, rivers/deltas, water quality, pollution, waste management, land use, mapping, timelines, Industrial Revolution, First Nations Studies, leadership, social activism (just to name a few!)

A quick Google search of the title combined with the phrase, “lesson plans” yielded many good finds.

Here are just a few:

Using “A River Ran Wild” to introduce cause/effect relationships in literature

A series of lessons also featuring cause/effect relationships

Another series of lessons to introduce the life of a river and the effects of pollution

An long list of K-12 lessons related to rivers and their care

A science project for intermediate grades in which students build a mock water treatment facility

As for connections to DWS, this book has many!

Here are just a few that come to mind:

• One person (operating on Level D!) can make a huge difference in the world!

• People like Marion are an inspiration to others; enthusiasm and dreams are infectious!

• It requires determination and long term persistence to restore a river; both Level D character traits!

• Worthwhile goals sometimes take years to accomplish; it’s important not to lose sight of your goal.

• Imagine the sense of satisfaction Marion and others must have, knowing the enormity of what they have accomplished!  Strong feelings of satisfaction comes from operation at only one of the developmental levels – Level D!

• Standing up for what you believe takes courage.  Once one individual speaks up though, others will often add their support!

• Even if a situation looks hopeless, there may be a solution.  Don’t give up on your dreams!

Any of the above discussion topics could be followed with DWS reflective questions designed to get kids to think more deeply about their own behavior, or inspire them to pursue dreams of their own:

Here are just a few examples:

• In our own area, are there any ecological systems or wildlife species that are currently endangered?

• What would a person like Marion do about these problems?

• Is there anything we could do to help?

• Why is it important to think carefully about how we treat our planet?

• Why is a book like “A River Ran Wild” important for people to read?

• Have you ever had the courage to speak up for what was right?  How did you feel?  Were you glad you did?

• Throughout the past century there have been other individuals like Marion Stoddart who are enviornmental activists.  Do you know any of their stories?  How could we learn about them?  Are there any people in our own area that are helping to protect the environment/animals in some way?

• What special character traits did Marion possess?  Which do you admire most?  Do you ever demonstrate any of those same traits?

A new documentary is soon to be released sharing the parallel stories of Marion Stoddart’s life and the Nashua River.  The advertising trailer of  ”The Work of 1000″ can be found here.

One thing I always admire about this friend is her ability to take an idea and run with it in the classroom.  She  inspires, elevates and motivates her students!  Teresa often bases interesting lessons for her grade sixes on some little item she’s found in the newspaper, something she’s heard on a radio talk show or something that comes from a good book she is reading herself.  She has a knack for recognizing something small that is full of potential.  She often takes one of these small ideas and then develops it into an in-depth theme that continues to grow over weeks in her classroom.  I’m always amazed at how she is able to do this so creatively and (yet, it seems to me!) so effortlessly.

Once, years ago––1996, I think––she heard about a boy from Ontario who had just started a social activist campaign called “Free the Children.” When she learned that Craig Kielburger was 12 years old, her ears perked up; that was the same age as the students she taught.  Very quickly she had her class researching and learning about Craig and his valiant (Level D) crusade to eradicate child labor across the world.  Eventually, when she learned that Craig was planning a fundraising trip to our province, she and the class invited him to speak and join their families for dinner, thus making learning come alive in the truest sense!

This past year she had another good spur-of-the-moment “back to school” idea that I thought I’d share, for others who teach older students and might like to kick off their school year in a meaningful and exciting way.  (It would also provide a way in which to reinforce Level D concepts––taking initiative, taking personal responsibility for happiness, character traits of perseverance, determination etc. etc.)

Teresa is an avid reader.  Last summer, when she finished reading The Last Lecture:  Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams by Randy Pausch, she saw  great potential for using this book with her grade sixes as a way to encourage goal-setting at the beginning of the school year.  After sharing parts of the book with the class and having them watch the following presentation of Pausch’s incredible speech, she had the kids go home and interview their parents.

She had them ask their parents about their childhood dreams: Which ones had they achieved?  Which ones had slipped away? Naturally, after all this discussion and thinking, the kids were really well prepared and primed to do a thoughtful job of writing their own goals––for the school year and beyond.

When Teresa and I were in university together, we had a Social Studies Ed. teacher who often recommended, “Whenever you learn something interesting yourself, share it with kids.”  I think that Teresa learned that lesson well from our prof!

The book is called “Everyday Greatness–Inspiration for a Meaningful Life.”  It’s actually a book of excerpts from Reader’s Digest that have been organized into various themes.  The Table of Contents looks like a list of virtues.  In each theme there is commentary by Stephen Covey and then some related quotes.

I find that I can more easily motivate my students when I feel motivated myself!  Reading stories about individuals who have acted from a place of internal motivation encourages me to think deeply about the value of such behavior.  In turn, this inspires me to talk about Level D to my students more often.

I’ve copied a section from this book to pass on to a friend of mine.  She just started working as a teaching assistant and recently attended a morning workshop introducing the PBS/PBIS approach.  Although she thought the workshop was upbeat, she said that she had her doubts about the program.  Her concerns were based on the reactions of her own children to a similar rewards/awards program at their schools.

She explained that her own two boys motivate themselves to do well in school and go out of their way to be good citizens; putting in hours and hours of school service. Sometimes her sons express resentment because they feel that their school isn’t truly interested in rewarding effort or ability as they say they are.  The boys see that the teachers often seem to use rewards/awards to try and change the behavior of those students who actually aren’t doing very well in school at all. Sometimes they feel that their own accomplishments and efforts are overlooked while poorly behaved students receive more attention and rewards than they do.   She said that since she had to agree with her kids on their analysis of the situation, she didn’t know what to say to them to make them feel better.

At that moment, I was rushing off to an appointment but I realized that the next time I see her I should give her a copy of the DWS Hierarchy and explain how she could use it to explain Level D motivation and the benefits that go along with such operation to her boys.  The next day when I came across the book, “Everyday Greatness, I thought that a few paragraphs from this book, describing Level D would also probably encourage her sons.

Here’s what I copied off to give to her:

Occasionally, the world witnesses a heroic feat or discovers a person with rare talent.  Every now and then, a scientist makes a pivotal discovery or an engineer designs a revolutionary device.  Each decade or so, a pair of politicians sign a bold peace initiative.  Annually, extravagant affairs tout the year’s best actors, musicians, athletes, and salespeople, while hometown festivals crown the person who can eat the most chili peppers or sound the best yodel.

Such singular events and accomplishments often appear in sizzling media headlines under the banner of “greatness.”  And in most cases they do represent a type of greatness that is deserving of attention and applause.  For many of them represent achievements that move society forward in significant, progressive ways, while others simply add a much needed measure of spice and humor to life.

But most people know there is another type of greatness that tends to be more quiet by nature, one that generally escapes the headlines.  Yet, it is a greatness that in my opinion is deserving of higher honor, ever more respect.  I call it “Everyday Greatness.”

Everyday Greatness is what I have called, in other settings, “primary greatness.”  It has to do with character and contribution, as distinguished from “secondary greatness,” which has to do with notoriety, wealth, fame, prestige, or position.  Everyday Greatness is a way of living, not a one-time event.  It says more about who a person is than what  a person has, and it’s portrayed more by the goodness that radiates from a face than the title on a business card.  It speaks more about people’s motives than about their talents; more about small and simple deeds than about grandiose accomplishments.  It is humble.

When asked to describe Everyday Greatness, people typically respond with descriptions of individuals they know personally, such as a farmer who year in and year out weathers the storms of life, provides for family, and helps neighbors.  Or a mother who knows she is not perfect but who perseveres in doing her everyday best to exhibit unconditional love to a challenging child.  They describe a grandparent, a teacher, a work colleague, a neighbor, or a friend who is always dependable, honest, hardworking, and respectful of others.  Above all, they describe someone who is within reach of emulation, sensing that they do not have to be the next Gandhi or Abraham Lincoln or Mother Teresa to exhibit Everyday Greatness.

Yes, the type of people they describe when trying to define Everyday Greatness are the same caliber of people I described in the opening lines of this Introduction––people who, despite the negative noise in the world, still somehow find ways to step up and do their part to make a positive contribution.  The key is that it is all part of who they are every day.

It’s important to say that the school my friend’s kids attend has the greatest intentions in the world; they want to motivate kids who aren’t doing that well.  It’s unfortunate that the path they have chosen to take–that of rewarding–is actually causing discouragement in some of their other students, the ones who already choose to operate at a high level.  I’m sure the teachers would be greatly disheartened to know this.

To my way of thinking, PBS has the potential not only to discourage some of the best students but it also creates a situation that makes it even more difficult for less motivated students to ever develop that inner drive that teachers are hoping to promote.  The outwardly “upbeat” feel of reward programs makes it difficult for people to see the forest because they’re focused on the trees!

This story is especially valuable for discussing a DWS concept, that of ”choosing your teacher.”  In other words, when a student acts on a high level, the teacher is encouraged to respond in kind.  When a student acts on a low level, again the teacher will be encouraged to respond in accordance with that choice.  Levels A and B encourage a controlling response from a teacher.  What great information to share with young kids who are just beginning their educational journey!

After I’ve read the story once and we’ve all enjoyed the laughs, I go back through the book again.  We discuss that while the student characters in the book seem to be having a whale of a time operating at Level A, (throwing spitballs, being rude, refusing to do their school work etc.,) they end up with results they don’t like.  I focus my discussion on the fact that although these results are unexpected by the students in Miss Nelson’s class, they are actually quite predictable in terms of the DWS Hierarchy.

When people act on Level A, a bully eventually takes over––in this case, Miss Viola Swamp––the mysterious teacher who arrives to replace sweet Miss Nelson.  Later on in the story, as the students raise the level of their own behavior, the behavior of their teacher also rises.  By the end of the story, the students are acting on an acceptable and eventually, even very high level, which allows their teacher to do the same.  The beloved Miss Nelson is able to return to the classroom!  Naturally, everyone is happier.

This book allows me to introduce (at a primary level, using primary words,) the idea that people often act non-consciously. When we act without being aware of our intentions (that is, without being clear about what we really want,) we often end up with results that make us unhappy.  In this story of Miss Nelson, the students never do connect their own behavior to that of their teacher––that’s what provides the humor in the story––but in real life it’s very valuable for us to become more conscious about our own choices so that we can end up with life results that please us.

That’s what DWS is all about––using the Hierarchy to assess our own choices so that we can choose with awareness (and therefore, most wisely) in our own lives. Assessing the choices of book characters allows students to practice this skill, and at the same time get more deeply involved in books they read.

Some related postings:

Choosing Your Teacher

Choose Your Teacher – Just For the Day!

Primary book – “Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse”

How Do Students Benefit from Operating on Levels C and D?

What is a Level B teacher?

It’s called Letters to a Bullied Girl; Messages of Healing and Hope by Olivia Gardner with Emily and Sarah Buder.

Just as the title suggests, the book is filled almost entirely with personal letters––presented in an easy-to-read format.  The letters are all addressed to one of the authors, Olivia, expressing messages of encouragement to help Olivia get past the serious issues of bullying that she experienced for several years.

Olivia, now 15, suffers from epilepsy and was bullied relentlessly at school and on the Internet, to the point where she considered taking her own life.  In March of 2007, two sisters read about her story in a local newspaper and decided to help.  They began by encouraging students in their own high school in San Francisco to write letters of support to Olivia.  The idea spread and people, of all ages, across the country, began to write.  Eventually, a sampling of the letters were compiled to create this book.

Touching and honest, the letters have been organized into two categories:

• Letters from bullies (who now regret their own actions,) and,
• Letters from people who have experienced bullying themselves.

In addition to just shedding light on this subject for your students, the book could also be used when introducing/discussing the DWS Hierarchy in the intermediate and higher grades.  It’s a poignant book to share with young people to start some reflection and would be a good addition to any school library.

I found that the book has a “look inside” feature on Amazon that allows you to view several of the letters to Olivia.

Although obviously lending itself to a discussion of Level B,  this book can also promote and understanding of Level D.  The actions of the two sisters who began the letter-writing campaign can lead students to contemplate such traits as initiative, compassion and leadership.

The small actions of individuals can lead to many great things!  Very inspiring!