Dreading the bus, eating lunch in the library, coming home quiet and saying nothing's wrong — if that's your child right now, start here. Pick the one of these eight books that fits your child's age and what's happening to them. If you just want somewhere to begin, the picture book at the top is the shortest and gentlest way in. From there they range from a class learning to speak up, through honest novels about how cruelty works, to one that pulls no punches. Some of these end with a child finding the friends who are actually theirs. A few don't tie it up at all — they tell the truth about how cruelty works and stop there. The note on each book says which kind it is.
You choose by your child's age and by whether your child is the one being picked on, the one watching, or the one doing some of it. The Recess Queen is the youngest and softest, for a small child who needs to watch the loud one on the playground join the other children instead of controlling them. The Juice Box Bully is for the child who's watching and freezing; it hands them actual sentences to say. Each Kindness is quieter and sadder, and it's good for an older child, especially one who's done a little of the leaving-out themselves. New Kid reads fastest and goes down easiest, for the child who's the only one like them in the room. A lot of children have already heard of Wonder, and it earns the reputation. Blubber is the cold, honest one about how an ordinary class turns cruel. Posted is for the child living it through group chats. Bystander is the heaviest by a good margin, so read it yourself before you pass it on. Hand over the one that fits and leave the rest for another year.