Please Stop Laughing At Us: One Survivor's Extraordinary Quest to Prevent School Bullying

Jodee Blanco is a remarkable woman.  I hated to see Please Stop Laughing At Us:  One Survivor's Extraordinary Quest to Prevent School Bullying end. It was like talking to my new best friend. Finally, somebody got it right telling the story of being bullied. I admire Jodee. The work she is doing is so important! I just LOVED this book and hope you write another.

Be sure to read the emails and letters at the end of this book. They are sad, but good to know people now have someone to turn to--Jodee!

(Gerard's Review 7/1/10)

This is her second book about how she recovered from all the bullying she endured all through school and as an adult, went to talk at schools around the country to help other kids who were being bullied and help the bullies to stop. She also addressed parents and teachers.

Her advice included telling the bullied kids to stand up for themselves in a nonviolent way, find friends outside of school even if it means going outside of their school district. Parents should not just send kid for counseling but go with them. Parents need to support their kids and let the kids talk about their problems. Try to come up with an action together that will help the situation. She emphasized over and over that the advice to just ignore the bullies and they'll stop doesn't work for kids.  That is adult logic, but in reality, kids just tease all the more.

This book has a great message and offers practical help to both the bullied kids and their parents and teachers. It tells how the kids who used to pick on her in school are now her friends and she even married the most popular guy in school that all the girls liked which gives much hope to those going through the same thing. Great book!  I'd recommend every teacher read it and anyone who has been the recipient of being bullied.

(Karen's review 7/23/08)

"Between Sundays" by Karen Kingsbury

Between Sundays by Karen Kingsbury is Christian fiction about how God works in the lives of two NFL players, a low-income foster mom and her foster son. Each of them has their own issues which they turn over to God. I liked this book very much because it is about relationships and how God works in our lives. Although predictable, it is a fun and interesting read. I liked how it focused more on the private lives of the football players and their interaction with each other off the field between Sundays although the game coverage was interesting too. It pointed out some shortcomings of the foster care system and gives the website of www.AlexSmithFoundation.org where you can go to find out how you can help through the Guardian Scholars program. 

I rate this book 4 stars instead of 5, just because of its predictability. Even though I knew the end early on, I enjoyed seeing how it all unfolded and reviewing the discussion questions at the end. It's a quick, enjoyable read. I recommend it to anyone who likes football or stories about families or the working of God in lives. The message for the readers is what we do between our Sunday "huddles" at church is what matters most.

Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

Sonshine Girls: Summer Secret by Renee Morris

Sonshine Girls:  #1 Summer Secret  is the first wonderful Christian fiction book in the Sonshine Girls series which is geared to tweeners and young teens.  Issues that are raised include friendship, bullying, forgiveness, Christianity, cliques and peer pressure.  There are four main characters that make up the Sonshine Girls.  As I read, I could closely identify with Kristin and Charli. The author has done a fantastic job of capturing the moodiness and general camaraderie that girls often demonstrate.  In the back are tips for dealing with bullies which could be helpful someone who is being bullied.  The book moves right along and is a very enjoyable read. 
(Karen's review 12/08)

Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

Dishing It Party--Summer Reads

Hey, join in the party! Here are the questions you get to write a post about and then link up at Serenity Now--A Mommy's Solution to Staying Sane. Be sure to visit other blogs that have joined the party too!

~Give us your list of top 5 picks for summer reading.
1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
2. House Rules by Jodi Picoult
3. Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber
4. Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein
5. Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper

~What genre of literature makes you want to pick up a book and read (biographies, chick lit, Christian fiction, historical fiction, etc.)?
Gerard best likes books about dogs and events that happened that he doesn't know a lot about. He likes books on war and sports as well as books about Christianity. He prefers non-fiction and likes memoirs or biographies.

I like a wide variety and just depends on what mood I'm in as to what I choose. I like both fiction and non-fiction, some historical fiction, biographies/autobiographies, some young adult fiction, sometimes romance, sometimes suspense or books involving teachers.

~What are your favorite magazines?
Gerard's are Newsweek, Time and Sports Illustrated. I don't read magazines.

~If you had to be stuck on a desert island with any fictional character, who would you choose? Definitely Katniss from The Hunger Games because she is a survivor and knows how to cook, hunt and fish.

~How do you make time to escape into a good book?
We read during our lunch and breaks and Gerard reads some in the evenings. I like reading at the library garden on my lunch hour in downtown Cleveland. I read on the bus to and from work and sometimes on the porch or by a window in the evenings.

~What's your favorite place to get your books?
The library. If I want own a book, I check http://paperbackswap.com (they have more than paperbacks).

~What's next on your "to-read" list?
See our header on this blog. Those are the books we are reading next.

I Don't Like These, I'm Going Back To The Library!

We always go the library on Saturday mornings.  Gerard usually has some books waiting for him to pick up that he ordered ahead.  We combine our stacks and then I get a picture of them to post for our header on here along with whatever pet comes around. 


This morning it was just Spunky Doodle who came.  Unfortunately, Gerard started reading Before I Fall and decided it was too much of a teen girl book that he didn't want to read anymore.  He also got Mr. Peanut which is about the Sam Shepherd case he said.  Once he found out other books he ordered arrived later in the day, he took these to back and got two others instead:  Zoo Story and A Dog's Purpose.


This made it necessary for me to retake the blog picture only Spunky Doodle just was too hot and not in the mood.  Manny came up though, but only wanted to do it if he could be on the ledge.  I said, okay and retook the picture.


This is another advantage of using your local library rather than buying books.  We love the library and are participating in the "Books Ahoy" contest.  They have drawings every week of the contest and we both won Indians ticket vouchers and two coupons for Chipotle.

How often do you go to the library?