I Didn't Stand Up

Gr 1–3-Written by a teacher inspired by Martin Niemoller's poem "First They Came" about World War II, this title stresses the importance of not being complacent, but standing up when witnessing bullying in today's world. The narrative starts, "First they went after Jamal. But I'm not black — so I didn't stand up for him." The bullied also include a geek, a girl wearing hand-me-downs, a girl not born in the United States, a gay boy, a Muslim girl, and a disabled boy. It also says, "Then they went after Alexis —she used to be Alex. But everyone knows my gender—so I didn't stand up for her." Simple text complements the illustrations, which are large and would work well in a group setting. The title ends on a feel-good note, where all the children stand together. The author's note states, "Being a teacher, I see so many forms of bullying—and every one of them breaks my heart. After reading 'First They Came,' all I could think about was writing something for children who are mistreated and bullied every day everywhere. That something became this picture book." At the back of the book, there is a picture of Niemoller and explanation that in the beginning of Hitler's rise to power he supported the Nazis, but later lead a group to stand against him.