Bullying: A Content Analysis of Literature by Judy Blume and Jerry Spinelli

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze children's literature authored by Judy Blume and Jerry Spinelli to determine how the issue of bullying is presented in children's literature. A content analysis of selected literature was conducted and an annotated bibliography depicting the issue was created to aid teachers in the classroom. Three research questions guided this study a) How are bullies depicted in books authored by Judy Blume and Jerry Spinelli? b) How do victims respond to bullies in literature by Judy Blume and Jerry Spinelli? c) Which books, authored by Judy Blume and Jerry Spinelli, can be used by classroom teachers in grades three through six to confront the bullying issue? In order to analyze each book, a set of eight questions was developed to determine how bullies and victims of bullying were depicted in childre~'s literature authored by Judy Blume and Jerry Spinelli. The results indicate that there are two books by Judy Blume and ten books by Jerry Spinelli that can be used in a classroom setting to deal with the bullying issue.