Book Details:
Book Title: A Bully on the School Bus by Dr. Mildred D. Peyton and Leah N. Peyton
Illustrator: Andy Hoang
Category: Children’s fiction, 26 pages
Genre: Education, Social Skills & School Life
Publisher: CreateSpace
Release date: Sept 2015
Tour dates: Oct 8 to 26 2018
Content Rating: G
Book Description:
Nicole is the main character in the book “A Bully on the School Bus.” Nicole is a young girl who rides the school bus to school every day. It wasn’t until Nicole started experiencing problems with another bus-rider named Dylan when she became uncomfortable being on this bus. Her experience with Dylan is a form of bullying, and she was frightened. After several incidences, Nicole made her parent aware and found a way to solve the problem.
My Thoughts:
This short book presents the reader with an important scenario in today’s school systems: bullying. A young girl named Nicole is being bullied by a boy named Dylan while riding the school bus. Despite the fact that seats are not assigned Dylan asks Nicole to get up and move so that he can sit in her seat. There are, of course, other seats available, but Dylan wants this particular seat that Nicole is currently residing in. Dylan is simply trying to strong-arm Nicole into moving as an act of aggression and power. There is absolutely no reason he cannot go elsewhere.
It’s easy for a child to get picked on while riding the bus. The bus driver is completely engaged in driving the bus and keeping the children safe from other cars and traffic. He or she does not typically have the ability to monitor the situation among the students riding back and forth to school each day. A lot of bullying takes place on school buses and this book is the perfect introduction to such a scenario.
After speaking to her mom about the situation on the bus Nicole comes up with a new solution for addressing Dylan’s misbehavior. If Dylan demands she change seats Nicole has a game plan to speak with the bus driver directly about the situation. So the next time Nicole boards the bus and Dylan demands she give up her seat, Nicole walks up to the bus driver and asks for assistance in the matter.
Of course, this is a short book, and the problem is resolved immediately for Nicole. In real life the solution may not come so quickly and Dylan may choose to taunt Nicole in other ways or other places on the bus or at school. Still I think this book is a solid introduction to the topic of school bullying and the types of solutions, such as reaching out to adults, that children should know about and understand.
To read reviews, please visit Dr. Mildren Peyton’s page on iRead Book Tours.
Dr. Mildred Peyton is the President and Founder of Peyton Consulting, LLC. Dr. Peyton established her consulting firm, which was initially geared towards school bullying services, in March 2016. She was inspired to create Peyton Consulting and become a children’s author on bullying after completing her doctoral research study entitled, “Exploring the Meaning of School Bullying Among Parents of Victimized Children.”
During her undergraduate internship in 2002-2003 at Salisbury Middle School in Wicomico County, Dr. Peyton and her team developed and facilitated a mentoring program, providing one-on-one conflict resolution and mediating skills to students who were identified by the program coordinator with ongoing needs of behavioral issues. One of the key/primary areas Dr. Peyton and the other mentors focused on was educating and addressing bullying issues with bullies and victims. And in her graduate program, Dr. Peyton also facilitated a school bullying focus group in 2005 at Maryvale Elementary School in Montgomery County, to teach participants about bullying behaviors and how to avoid bullying others. She also attended several bullying workshops to learn about the latest studies while working with the students. Her passion on this topic followed her even as she served as a member on the Committee on Hate/Violence at Montgomery County Office of Human Rights, in 2013. There she developed a brochure for students and parents for the annual bullying symposium and, provided rich knowledge and skills on this topic throughout the year.
Today, the company has expanded its services to target workplace bullying as well. With the experiences of others and Dr. Peyton’s personal experience with adult bullying in the workplace (which caused her to resign from her employer in 2016), she believes attention, guidance, and solutions are also critical in this area. Dr. Peyton holds a Ph.D. in Human and Social Services with a concentration in Social Policy Analysis & Planning. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and Sociology and a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. Dr. Peyton is committed to using her knowledge and skills to influence positive change among students and adults.
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