KidTunes: Sing All About Bullies…Big and Small during “Bully Awareness & Prevention Month”
Some of the most popular names in kids’ music have contributed songs and poetry to All About Bullies…Big and Small, including Steve Pullara and His Cool Beans Band, Barry Louis Polisar, Frances England, and Oran Etkin. Poetry, rap, folk, rock, Latin, and other genres entertain with hip sounds and wordplay while reinforcing important messages about getting along in life and with others. The message is not just “Bullying is bad,” but also “Everyone is important.” Profits from the sale of All About Bullies…Big and Small will be donated to Pacer Center’s Kids Against Bullying.
Teasing, bullies, cyber-bullying, and mean kids are the target of All About Bullies…Big and Small’s 37 tracks that encourage kids who are victimized by bullies and advises those who aren’t what’s wrong with bullying. Stories in verse tell of kids who were challenged or intimidated and how they won their detractors over or successfully dealt with them.
All About Bullies…Big and Small emphasizes self-awareness, compassion, and empathy. The songs and poems detail the pains of being bullied and some of the reasons that bullies are the way they are. Unlike situation comedies of old, learning to box or fighting back is not encouraged; instead children are counseled to enlist an adult—a parent, counselor, or teacher—to help. Also stressed are the talents that make each person unique, and—no matter how “different” a person may seem--he or she isn’t all that different from everyone else.
It’s a sad commentary on society that we need to declare October “Bully Awareness & Prevention Month.” The cruelty some show to others has certainly gotten nastier over the years, perhaps because bullying was largely overlooked for so long. Advancing technology has made a negative contribution as well—allowing bullies to garner large audiences for their intimidation and persecution. All About Bullies…Big and Small addresses these problems and educates with humor, optimism, and encouragement. Want to sample the music? Click here. Check out the “All About Bullies Big and Small” Facebook page for dynamic videos about bullying.
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