When three children must choose between bullying a fellow classmate or getting bullied themselves, will they give in to fear or do the right thing?
That question, simple yet relatable for many children, is the subject of a colorful new children’s book written by Joe Kulbacki called “The Think It Through Crew.”
“It has some of the steps a kid can take when they’re being bullied or see someone getting bullied, like getting help or telling a teacher,” said Kulbacki, director of instructional technology at the Hermitage School District.
The book tells the story of three fourth-grade friends named Max, Stan and Amanda, who are threatened by a fifth-grade bully to help him bully a classmate.
To guide the three friends in the right direction, the Conscience Canary arrives and shows the students what could happen if they either give in to the bully’s demands or stand up to the bully.
After the crew has a chance to think it through, they’re able to make the right decision — giving children some ideas to deal with real-life cases of bullying.
Helping to tell the story are a series of bright, colorful and stylized illustrations by Hermitage graduate and artist Max Schaller, under the pseudonym “M. McGinnis.”
“He does illustrations of a lot of different things, and he did a great job with this,” Kulbacki said of Schaller.
The idea for the book first came about 10 or 15 years ago, when Kulbacki was teaching fourth and fifth grade in Lebanon, Pa.
With plenty of students under his supervision and three daughters of his own, Kulbacki was used to reading plenty of children’s books.
However, he was also familiar with many of the hardships and social situations that young children can find themselves in.
This inspired him to write a book that would appeal to children while giving easy-to-follow instructions.
“I’d been around kids enough that I knew what I wanted to teach them, I just had to figure out writing a book,” Kulbacki said.
Work on the story itself started around seven years ago, and friends and family members involved in education helped develop and edit the story.
Kulbacki discovered Schaller and asked him to illustrate the story, and the book was ultimately published through Amazon in early 2023.
About 500 books have been sold so far, with many of those purchased by the United Way of Mercer County for the students involved in their summer program, Kulbacki said.
Although he’s still learning the process behind advertising and promoting his work online, Kulbacki has had opportunities to share his work at local events such as the Hermitage Night Market.
He’s also spoken at schools and libraries about the book and the importance of preventing bullying, and he has plans to write future books about similar topics for children, such as online safety.
“The first book was about what to do when you see bullying, but there are so many things that children need to be aware of,” Kulbacki said.
More information can be found on Amazon and at “The Think It Through Crew” on Facebook.
This post was originally published on here
