WE NEED YOUR HELP
With your donation, you enable us to send our children's stories into schools that teach against bullying. We strongly believe that children need to be educated about the seriousness of making fun of others or getting revenge. Our goal is to put an end to violence in our community by reaching out to our future generation in a fun way they can learn.
Our books, discussion points, and 2 interactive apps that are easily turned into a learning lesson for young kids. If you are a teacher, parent, or educator, you know how important this message is. Our books/apps have already been shown in over 100 countries and on public television nationally. Please click the Donation Button below to give a donation today. Thank you.
Our books, discussion points, and 2 interactive apps that are easily turned into a learning lesson for young kids. If you are a teacher, parent, or educator, you know how important this message is. Our books/apps have already been shown in over 100 countries and on public television nationally. Please click the Donation Button below to give a donation today. Thank you.
LETTERS FROM EDUCATORS
Books that have a positive message and coping skills for children have been around for years. Themes are simple and tend to be similar in format (someone does wrong, there are consequences, they realize what they did and won’t do it again). Drew’s books takes on children’s issues as a reflection of what can and should be done, what frustrations you might feel, and what you should continue to strive for. Drew and the Cyber Bully is no different. It’s ultimately about decisions, reactions and dealing with the decisions and reactions of others when they are different than your own.
As an educator and now a mentor educator for others in the teaching field, these types of books are what new generations of children need to help them understand and cope with things they are exposed to at young ages that their parents were not. Educators find it difficult to find simple and clear messages on a subject like cyber bullying especially for English language learners that don’t dominate the English language.
The populations that I work with are low income migrant farm workers with little to no English skills that live with multiple families in one home as a way to save money and provide their growing families basic needs. As a way to keep their children quiet and entertained these families turn towards electronic devices for children as young as a year old. Some of these parents are just children themselves and don’t have the knowledge or skills to offer other choices. Our programs, which are run through the school district, allows these children (infant to 5 years of age) the opportunity to be exposed to English, attend a high quality program where they can play educational games, read books, have open-activities, and peer play. Though these children are young they too can and are exposed to cyber-bullying because families share a room so there is no privacy. Older siblings, cousins, and other members that live in the house all share each other’s grievances, challenges, and issues that arise. This can be hard for young children to understand and process.
Drew and the Cyber Bully takes on the cyber bully challenge, shows that you can get angry and frustrated. It states in simple language, created by Justine Danielle Del Monte that there are others that will be mean and it’s ok to get angry but your reactions are your own. Treating others in a mean way because they treated you or a friend mean doesn’t solve anything. The pictures themselves say a lot. The colorful art of Brandon Chappell illustrates the message clearly which helps children that cannot read or are dual language learners decipher the story on their own. The simple text and art help children acknowledge their feelings, figure out how to cope, and feel better about themselves.
I recommend all Drew books, especially Drew and the Cyber Bully, as a way for young children, English language learners, and elementary school students. Their message is simple, easy to understand, and empowering. The art is beautiful and reflects every element of the story, and the content is current.
Nellie Brown, MSEd
Family Childcare Home Specialist
“Drew’s Dancing Drum”, along with its subsequent books and applications, is a power tool against bullying in the classroom environment. It has proven to be a strong conversation starter as well as reference material for building empathy and understanding. I have used the books and applications in the preschool classroom, in a K-5th classroom, a 1st-6th summer camp, and at home with my own children (2yrs and 4yrs). In all of these situations, despite environmental and age differences, I have seen equal amounts of impact and change after having experienced the Drew’s Books materials.
Working with children in a diverse county, in a low income community, and with underachieving students I have experienced a devastating rise bullying. When Brandon Chappell introduced me to the book “Drew’s Dancing Drum” I was at first drawn in by the quality of the drawings and the developmentally appropriate message and textual content. As a teacher and child advocate with a background in Early Childhood Development, I am always on the lookout for quality children’s literature, especially if it can provide some sort of bibliotherapy. Drew’s Books meet all these criteria making it a classroom must have for me.
When the book was introduced to my classrooms the response was immediate. Conversation erupted and children began having honest and sometimes unexpected conversations. I had children talking about how they could relate to Malcolm (the bully) and how they thought that he might have been annoyed by all the drumming; they began listing alternatives that Malcolm could have used to address the issue other than making fun of Drew. They also began noticing when they were bullying others and when they were being bullied. Children began supporting each other and saying things like, “Don’t be like Malcolm. Let’s talk.”
When the application came out it brought a whole new dimension to the experience. At this point “Drew’s Dancing Drum” had become a regular part of our daily routine and vocabulary. When the children were able to interact with the story they began to empathize with Drew. The focus then changed from how not to be a bully to how to stop all bullying. The older children called a group meeting and they discussed how sad Drew was when Malcolm made fun of him. They were moved by how the notes on his drum no longer sounded in tune. The students decided to start a “No Bullying Club”. They wrote up and printed out a contract; every single one of them signed it. We started having “Friendship Fridays” where we would do team building activities and group challenges. They began uplifting each other and it started to spread to their school yard and other classrooms.
Based on my professional experience and knowledge of children’s literature I recommend Drew’s Books and their accompanying materials to any teacher or parent looking to build strong foundations of empathy, respect, responsibility, and citizenship in their students and children. It is easy to use, develops smoothly into curriculum, and has behavior changing results.
Kayla Jean Mikkola, Educator
Working with children in a diverse county, in a low income community, and with underachieving students I have experienced a devastating rise bullying. When Brandon Chappell introduced me to the book “Drew’s Dancing Drum” I was at first drawn in by the quality of the drawings and the developmentally appropriate message and textual content. As a teacher and child advocate with a background in Early Childhood Development, I am always on the lookout for quality children’s literature, especially if it can provide some sort of bibliotherapy. Drew’s Books meet all these criteria making it a classroom must have for me.
When the book was introduced to my classrooms the response was immediate. Conversation erupted and children began having honest and sometimes unexpected conversations. I had children talking about how they could relate to Malcolm (the bully) and how they thought that he might have been annoyed by all the drumming; they began listing alternatives that Malcolm could have used to address the issue other than making fun of Drew. They also began noticing when they were bullying others and when they were being bullied. Children began supporting each other and saying things like, “Don’t be like Malcolm. Let’s talk.”
When the application came out it brought a whole new dimension to the experience. At this point “Drew’s Dancing Drum” had become a regular part of our daily routine and vocabulary. When the children were able to interact with the story they began to empathize with Drew. The focus then changed from how not to be a bully to how to stop all bullying. The older children called a group meeting and they discussed how sad Drew was when Malcolm made fun of him. They were moved by how the notes on his drum no longer sounded in tune. The students decided to start a “No Bullying Club”. They wrote up and printed out a contract; every single one of them signed it. We started having “Friendship Fridays” where we would do team building activities and group challenges. They began uplifting each other and it started to spread to their school yard and other classrooms.
Based on my professional experience and knowledge of children’s literature I recommend Drew’s Books and their accompanying materials to any teacher or parent looking to build strong foundations of empathy, respect, responsibility, and citizenship in their students and children. It is easy to use, develops smoothly into curriculum, and has behavior changing results.
Kayla Jean Mikkola, Educator