January is No Name-Calling Month at Barnes & Noble, which is partnering with Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network on a series of anti-bullying storytimes and panels in its stores and videos with authors ranging from Laurie Halse Anderson to Hilary Duff at barnesandnoble.com. “Bringing awareness to the seriousness and severity of name-calling, teasing, bullying and cyber bullying is very important to Barnes & Noble,” says v-p of children’s books Mary Amicucci.
The campaign was inspired by No Name-Calling Week, developed in 2004 by Simon & Schuster and GLSEN in the wake of the publication of James Howe’s novel The Misfits. In it, Howe tells the story of four best friends who, tired of the constant teasing in their middle school, decide to run for student government on a No Name-Calling platform.
Activities at Barnes & Noble stores across the country will include storytimes built around Kevin Henkes’s Chrysanthemum and Kathryn Otoshi’s One, and an Educator Appreciation Week from January 15-23 with No Name-Calling materials, book recommendations, and lesson plans. James Howe and Jodi Picoult will be featured in the January More In Store program available on NOOK, the Barnes & Noble ebook reader.
