My most beautiful jewel
We are all born with an inner gem, that little something special that defines our personality and makes us who we are. But as we grow up, we can come to hide it, forget our emotions, hide our feelings. For fear of rejection or mockery, we disconnect from ourselves and it’s as if we are incomplete. However, with the help of a caring environment and their unconditional love, everyone can find their missing part. A beautiful work enriched with the touching illustrations of Anna Llenas, which echoes many situations and encourages us to love ourselves.
The Inner Jewel by Anna Llenas, Glénat jeunesse editions, 56 pages, 18.90 euros, from 3 years old.
Shield and self-defense
Welcome to Elisa’s diary… Because she has changed schools several times, she has difficulty establishing links with other middle school students. Her accent, her name, her attitude, everything is a pretext to marginalize her; his classmates isolate him, exclude him by ignoring him for days on end. So she writes about the worries of her new life but also her meeting with Paolo, a mysterious and introverted boy who gives her practical and kind advice – “no one has the right to hurt you without you granting them the power to do so ” or “you can’t control the events that happen to you, but you can control the way you react.” Intended for adolescents – but also adults – this book becomes the essential ally for strengthening self-esteem and facing everyday challenges, while discovering neuroscience effortlessly.
A short treatise on emotional self-defense by Elisa Sednaoui and Paolo Borzacchiello, Plon editions, 194 pages, 18 euros, from 13 years old.
Face to face
Sarah and Orlane are both third graders. They could perhaps have become friends but on the first day of school Sarah spots Orlane, the new girl a little lost, and begins to make fun of her for no particular reason. A spiral follows, a real descent into hell for Orlane, who hopes that with time the bullying will stop… From the reasons of Sarah – who seeks to hide her illness and wants at all costs to maintain her popularity – to the passivity of the comrades who prefer to remain in the background, all the protagonists successively speak. Exploring the mechanism of harassment, this moving novel plunges the reader into the heart of the phenomenon and allows them to question their own behavior. Two alternative endings are proposed to evoke the sometimes irreversible consequences but also to give hope to the young victims by showing a way to escape. Because talking is not everything, we must offer them the opportunity to act, to find within themselves the strength to defend themselves.
The author Amélie Antoine also signs Something on the hearta version adapted to primary school students where we follow Basile, a young boy harassed by the charismatic new student whose friend everyone wants to be. Despite his confidences to his parents or the teacher, the situation worsens until Basile confides in his big sister, whose advice will turn out to be very different…
Don’t you see anything coming? by Amélie Antoine, Syros editions, 304 pages, 15.95 euros, from 12 years old.
Something on the heart by Amélie Antoine, Syros editions, 128 pages, 7.95 euros, from 9 years old.
The gift
Stan lives alone with his mother, a housekeeper. At school, he is bullied by Rico and his gang who make fun of his pale complexion and his clothes. When he receives a new schoolbag for his 10th birthday, his imagination runs wild because while inspecting the lining, he discovered a note and a treasure map. Stan then sets out on the trail of Luc, the former owner of the bag, in the hope of sharing the loot. But nothing goes as planned… An illustrated novel which modestly evokes discrimination and the birth of a friendship between two children from different social backgrounds.
My Treasure by David Guyon and Hélène Crochemore, Quart Monde editions, 54 pages, 8 euros, from 7 years old.
Resilience
Océane and her best friend Lou no longer attend the same college. When Tom is interested in the first, the second encourages him to go for it. But quickly, the young man multiplies the publications on social networks about their relationship, which makes Océane uncomfortable. Soon, he asks her for naked photos; when Océane refuses, Tom takes revenge online with the help of his friends. Manon, then Léa will also be victims of this revenge porn…. In manga form, a popular and accessible format par excellence, this work addresses cyberharassment, whether through the dissemination of embarrassing images without the victim’s knowledge, hateful comments and other digital violence. A short guide at the end of the book helps to recognize attacks and gives advice, such as contacting 3018, a confidential, anonymous and free number, to have the attackers’ content and profiles deleted on all platforms. Three other volumes are planned to specifically follow harassers, LGBTQI+ victims as well as street harassment and sexism in the world of online games.
The invisible battlesTome 1 The good friendby Karim Alliane, Mashi and Taous Merakchi, Dupuis editions, 224 pages, from 12 years old.
