Dan Hamel was not bullied in school but he’s written a book for children who have been.
Take the Bullying by the Horns, which Hamel recently self-published, with illustrations by Pam Hodgdon, is told from the point of view of Timmy, an elementary school student who is being bullied by an older student, Billy.
Hamel read Take the Bullying by the Horns last week to 29 students in Jessica Taft’s fourth-grade class at Windsor Schools. It was the second presentation that Hamel has given to elementary school students on the subject.
Hamel, who lives in Claremont, is a driver for Federal Express freight out of Rockingham, Vt. In his spare time he is an avid hunter and amateur naturalist, and a writer. Last spring he published a book of his poems Inspirations and Emotions, which looked at some of the challenges he’s faced, and overcome, in his life.
With Take the Bullying by the Horns, Hamel takes on one of the eternal realities of school life.
Billy scares Timmy into giving him his sandwich every day, but Timmy is too afraid to reveal to his family and teachers what’s been happening to him. It’s not until a professional basketball player, identified only as 7 Footer, comes to Timmy’s school and talks to the students about drinking, drugs and bullying, that Timmy comes forward.
“We want to see bullying come to an end and you’re the generation that can stop it. That’s how bullying will cease,” Hamel told the students, who were seated on the floor and at their desks facing him.
Hamel read the book to the class and then took questions, which included: Is it hard to write a book? (Kind of.) Is this a real story or made-up, and was 7 Footer based on a real basketball player? (In a way, both.)
Hamel explained that in 2012, the Harlem Superstars comedy basketball team came to Windsor to do a benefit performance to raise money for repairs to a bridge damaged by Tropical Storm Irene. One of the players, Ricky Lopes, also agreed to do a presentation to the Windsor students about difficult issues that might confront them in school.
After he gave his talk, Hamel said in a later phone interview, a ninth-grade female student came over to Lopes, and told him that she was being bullied. It was seeing that exchange that eventually inspired Hamel to write the book.
And last but not least, the students asked: had Hamel himself ever bullied or been bullied? No, he hadn’t.
Hamel, in turn, asked the class a series of questions about the book’s content to see whether they’d paid attention. (They had, and answered all of his questions correctly.)
Taft said that the topic of bullying is addressed in a number of ways in the school. Teachers and students discuss being respectful and kind to one another in their daily morning meetings, and the school uses the Second Step program in grades K through 6 to nurture such key qualities as empathy, communication and impulse control, among other skills.
“We focus on celebrating positive behaviors,” Taft said.
Kierstin Carvalho, 10, said that she appreciated that Hamel’s book was based on a true story. It taught her, she said, to “not bully physically and not use mean words.”
“I liked how it inspired me to help stop bullying. It taught me what not to do and what to do,” said Michael Lopez, 9.
“What happened to the bully?” a student asked Hamel, referring to the student in the real-life incident on which Hamel based the book.
“He was dealt with. When you get parents, principal and students together, bullying can be stopped,” Hamel said.
Nicola Smith can be reached at nsmith@vnews.com.