On March 15th run to your local bookstore and pick up a copy of What Happens Next by Susan Hughes and Carey Sookocheff.  Better yet head to your favourite bookseller and preorder a copy.  This book is an incredibly important book for our young people and in my opinion should be in every home, library, and classroom.  What an incredible story to share about bullying.  There are no euphemisms, there are no inferences to be made, it is straightforward and such a beautiful way of explaining bullying behaviours and perhaps offering a suggestion about how to stand up for oneself to curb bullying behaviour.  Parents: read this book!!  I will shout it from the rooftops, READ THIS BOOK!  What an excellent example of how we should all respond to disclosures about bullying.  I find bullying can be an incredibly hard topic to navigate.  How do you keep a child safe while also trying to empower them to stand up?  How do you teach a child who is the bully to recognize we all have a different way of looking at the world and we all have to share this space together, so we should find a way to coexist together?  Finally, how do we empower the bystanders to help and step in when they see someone being hurt?  

What Happens Next is the first book I have read that gives straightforward, real life information in a way that is kind, loving, and understanding.

Carey Sookocheff’s art in this book is perfect!  I love her use of simple drawings with a muted and simple four main colours to tell the story of the bullier and the bullied.  This book is not one that needs incredibly detailed illustrations in many colours.  It’s perfectly executed to have the most impact, to help the reader understand the dull and gloomy feelings of being bullied and the lightness and colour that can come once a resolution is found.  What Happens Next is not going to be the answer to all bullying problems but at least it is one place to start, a little light in a terrible and dark time.

If you happen to live in the GTA, join me at the book launch on March 3rd from 2-4 at Queen Books 914 Queen Street East, Toronto.  You can pick up a copy and meet the lovely Susan Hughes and Carey Sookocheff, maybe they will even sign your copy!