When a Bully is President: Truth and Creativity for Oppressive Times

Self-Care for Kids! This book is a call to BE, to step forward and LOVE yourself, LOVE your community, know your history and your powerful place in it and strengthen your own creative power! This book is a tool to use. I created it because I know you are an important part of our world and your strength matters.

Bullying is real, but we can change the story by changing the focus. Begin with yourself. Begin the journey of art activist. You are the artist. You are the storyteller. Be yourself. Change the world!

Playful ink and watercolor illustrations support a powerful journey that touches on bullying in the founding history of the US, how that history may still be impacting kids and families today, and ways to use creativity and self-respect in the face of negative messages for all marginalized communities. The first part of the book briefly acknowledges the United States' past and present and shows some basic forms of activism that kids engage in. The next part talks about walking away from a bully or de-escalation and focusing on how to take care of yourself and your community. Finally practical ways creativity and portraiture can be used to support self-respect and spread respect in community are explored.

Communities reflected include Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, Chicanx, LGBTQ+ Americans, disabled Americans, Americans assigned female at birth and those who identify as women and girls, Palestinian Americans, Muslim and Sikh Americans, Jewish Americans and Asian Americans. The back includes related resources and art & witnessing worksheets to copy. (Hardcover includes a Reading Guide and Community Project)

This book is not a hero's tale or the journey of a brave fight. This book is for the in between moments, the middle of the night, the long afternoon: those moments when kids are haunted by what someone said to them in the hallway, a sideways stare at the store or what they heard on the news. It's about gathering strength for life's every day journey and supporting a strong full self all the time.

Acclaimed artist and award-winning children's book artist and author Maya Gonzalez draws from over 40 years working with kids to provide a place for kids to land during tough times and counteract the impact of oppression with truth and creative power.

The 3rd edition includes subtle changes to the art and text to focus on the kind of support our kids need in our current political/cultural environment as well as updated resources in the back.