No Name-Calling Week 2010

Inspired by James Howe's young adult novel The Misfits, No Name-Calling Week  runs from January 25th through 29th and shines a light on the problem of name-calling in schools through a variety of activities including art and writing contests.  There is still time to enter the No Name-Calling Week 2010 Creative Expression Contest so get busy and help stamp out name-calling!

Here's a list of books to go along with it:

The book that started it all, The Misfits by James Howe, is about a group of students who create a third part based on a no name-calling platform during their student council elections. The audiobook is one of my favorites and features a full cast of actors.

The sequel, Totally Joe by James Howe, showcases Joe, one of the teens in that group, as he writes his alphabiography and copes with name-calling, the election, and being a gay teen.

One of my favorite books about the devastating effects of name-calling and prejudice is What Happened to Lani Garver by Carol Plum-Ucci. Popular girl Claire befriends Lani, the strange new kid in town, with tragic results.