Speak Up and Get Along!: Learn the Mighty Might, Thought Chop, and More Tools to Make Friends, Stop Teasing, and Feel Good About Yourself

My daughter is only six years old, but she battles not so much with bullies, but with her perception of what people think of her based on how personally she takes things they say. I didn't find the part about dealing with the bullies too useful at this age, although sounded great for older kids because it is very broken down from why they might be acting out to what exactly you could say, but the information on how to deal with your own thoughts and realize when you or your child might have "everything is terrible" thoughts and how to deal with them is outstanding. I always say "try to stay and think positive and look at the bright side" but the tools they have here and the specific examples are broken down in a much more useful way that helps them understand HOW to make something positive. Being so young, I'm hoping she can adapt these tools and build on them for the rest of her life. Some of this would even be helpful for adults that are always seeing the bad side and expecting the worst. Reading it with her helps me to reinforce the ideas later on the way they explained it and I can also add a few examples of my own that are personally fit to her issues. The Thought Chop and But Twist are very strong tools that can change so much. For those two tools alone, I give this five stars, but there is so much more information in here to help kids deal with life. Not everything will apply to your situation, but find the stuff that does and you won't be sorry.

I am so glad I took a chance on this little book! What a gold mine. My 8-year old son and 12-year old daughter highly recommend it, as do I (I’m 45). My son was being teased for being small for his age and a little hard to understand (tools 11, 12, and 14 were spot-on and help a good deal). My daughter is having trouble making friends at her new school and feels there must be something wrong with her or she wouldn’t be having such a hard time (the section on making and keeping friends and tool 19, the thought chop, is helping her work through this). I agree with the other reviewers who said it’s a helpful refresher for parents as well. The writing is simple and funny, and the examples, which are mostly school-related, are great. My second grader can read this book himself. We all read the book and practiced the strategies together. This book can help open avenues of communication between you and your kids and give them the tools and confidence to handle common problems.

I've used "Speak Up and Get Along" as an in-class textbook for my Karate students, both children and adults, with great success.The simple lessons and role-play exercises are easy to understand, and simple to use, even with children who are just starting to read. The organization of the book, using various types of birds as images to illustrate an entire suite of social skills, is very helpful as well -- the tools of the Blue Jay are all about being assertive when you need to. I've recommended this book to a number of my professional colleagues, many of whom are using it with their students (and children) as well.A useful companion volume is "Sticks and Stones", also by Scott Cooper. It shares the same basic structure, with additional explanations, scripts for parents/teachers, and additional role-plays.A word about the role-plays: be prepared to practice with them several times to really internalize the skills involved. Running through them once or twice and then just moving on to the next thing is won't get you very far in acquiring usable skills from the text. Practice with them over and over, just as you would to learn a new martial arts technique. Don't confuse understanding the various tools here with the ability to actually use them -- that takes dedicated practice.

Seems these were a bit babyish for my twin 12 1/2 year old boys although they are in the age range stated.

I cannot begin to explain how helpful this has been for my 11 year old middle schooler. She is painfully shy and awkward and other kids tease her. She doesn't know how to handle these kids and doesn't know what to say.We went through through half of this book on our Thanksgiving drive. It had so many current and relevant scenarios and exactly what to say when they occur. We all practiced role-playing and made up extra scenarios too. The main theme is that every situation should be dealt with thoughtfulness and calm, instead of with anger. I have noticed my daughter more relaxed and happy since we read the book. She feels she can handle difficult situations now. She asks for us to make up scenarios that she has to handle, so she is really building her confidence. Thank you for writing this book. Highly recommend!

Well written. An easy read but younger kids may need to read with parent. There is so much practical advice and tips. This book will make it easier to make friends and fit in.

Sent this book to my grandson

We had been renewing this book from the library for many months, and I knew we had to have our own copy. It's my grandchild's fav book. She requests reading some of it when she has sleepovers at Nana's. How to speak up, resolve conflict, end teasing and bullying, start a conversation, are some of the topics covered. It's written for children, but all ages benefit from using the tools from this "toolbox".

My son experienced bullying this year at school and I got this book to help us. I've been reading it with him and its great. It shows kids techniques to stand up for themselves and be more assertive, without being overly aggressive. It also has examples & little exercises/ quizzes you can talk through with your kid to apply what they learn.. They use this whole bird analogy through the book which is a little corny but it does the trick to teach a difficult topic. I'm about 1/2 way through the book with my son and we love it so far and highly recommend!

A very interesting and useful books particularly for children with difficulties such as adhd. Practical advice for making and keeping friends and understanding how to. "read" faces and emotionsWell packaged and description exactly as expected

This is definitely a must have book for child to read. I read this together with my daughter and its really helpful and interesting.

Speak Up and Get Along helped me to help my child with some difficult situations she was going through at school. It was nice to see the confidence in her eyes after we spoke about the strategies in this book. It was even better when she came home from school and was able to tell me how she used them. I can see how the strategies in this book will continue to be useful as my child grows. I'm very happy I bought this book. Thanks Scott Cooper for sharing your knowledge.

A very unique book that looks at behaviour of birds and relates it to people. A great book for teachers and parents.