To This Day: For the Bullied and Beautiful

by Shane Koyczan

Overview

An authentic rallying cry for anyone who has been affected by bullying. In February 2013, Shane Koyczan’s passionate anti-bullying poem “To This Day” electrified the world. An animated video of the lyric narrative went viral, racking up over 12 million hits to date and inspiring an international movement against bullying in schools. Shane later performed the piece to sustained applause on the stage of the 2013 annual TED Conference. Now this extraordinary work has been adapted into an equally moving and visually arresting book. Thirty international artists, as diverse as they are talented, have been inspired to create exceptional art to accompany “To This Day.” Each page is a vibrant collage of images, colors and words that will resonate powerfully with anyone who has experienced bullying themselves, whether as a victim, observer, or participant. Born of Shane’s own experiences of being bullied as a child, To This Day expresses the profound and lasting effect of bullying on an individual, while affirming the strength and inner resources that allow people to move beyond the experience. A heartfelt preface and afterword, along with resources for kids affected by bullying, make this book an invaluable centerpiece of the anti-bullying movement.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554516391
Publisher:	Annick Press, Limited
Publication date:	09/11/2014
Pages:	72
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 9.80(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	NP (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 17 Years

About the Author

Shane Koyczan, 21st century spoken-word artist extraordinaire, has brought audiences to their feet around the world. Shane is the winner of the U.S. Slam Poetry Championship and Canadian Spoken Word Olympics. He has been featured on BRAVO television, NPR, BBC and CBC radio, and performed at the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. His website is www.shanekoyczan.com.

Editorial Reviews

08/04/2014
Canadian writer Koyczan’s spoken-word performance of this poem has more than 13 million views on YouTube. His passionate, implacable rejection of bullying describes the effect school violence has on the hearts and minds of its victims: “He is a stick of TNT lit from both ends.” But Koyczan (Stickboy) also offers hope for healing. “You built a cast around your/ broken heart,” he writes, “and signed it yourself/ you signed it/ ‘THEY WERE WRONG.’ ” Thirty-odd illustrators, some internationally known, contribute spreads to the project. Japanese painter Satoshi Kitamura’s two figures stand in agonized silence with their fists clenched; Peruvian artist Armin Greder draws a gaggle of jeering faces. Dongjun Lee, a Canadian artist, captures the freedom of a boy as he rises above a steely, squared-off academic building and floats away into the sky: “We are graduating members from the class of We Made It.” The variation of artistic styles and media from page to page, like a collection of different voices, makes it clear that if the culture of bullying is to be defeated, it will take a chorus of collaborators. Ages 11–up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

An intense and beautiful book.

Quill and Quire - Natalie Samson

The poem is searing, exposing the short and long-term impacts of bullying, and rallying those who engage with the poem to take action and become active participants in stopping bullying. The range of art in this trim book is extraordinary; this is a true double-impact collection with the power of the verse itself interpreted in drastically different ways through the illustrative choices, from realistic sketches to comic book-style renderings to abstract representations of the tone rather than words on the page.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

08/01/2014
Gr 6 Up—Bullying is a hot topic for today's children and teens, and it is sensitively handled in this long-form poem that originated as a spoken word poem performed by the author. Here, Koyczan uses personal anecdotes and borrows from the experiences of others to create a moving piece about the effects of bullying. The metaphors are very vibrant and relatable. This work will help young people facing similar situations. The triumphant ending lets readers know that overcoming the hatred of others is possible. An introduction and epilogue give personal information about the author and his art. The epilogue contains reactions from witnesses and victims of bullying and statistics about its far-reaching effects. Also included is a helpful list of resources for all types of bullying victims. The brightly colored, full-page illustrations by different artists stand out and can overshadow the text at times. The poem is very heartfelt, but there are no textual segues between the different spreads, so it feels a bit disjointed and thus sometimes difficult to follow. The latter half is more cohesive. It flows nicely, and is an excellent choice to read aloud. Purchase where resources about bullying for struggling preteen and teen readers are needed.—Morgan Brickey, Marion County Public Library System, FL

School Library Journal

2014-07-01
One poet and 30 artists' rallying cry against bullying. Award-winning Canadian spoken-word artist Koyczan finally sets on the page a poem whose animated video has created a YouTube sensation. Posted in February 2013, Koyczan's video of the same name has generated nearly 13 million hits, challenging kids everywhere to reflect on themselves and their treatment of others. As in the video, which involved the collaboration of 86 animators and motion artists, this setting of the first-person free verse poem includes grippingly evocative spreads by 30 artists. In the introductory note outlining the work's genesis, Koyczan includes a number of sobering facts about bullying, smartly points to the damage resulting from bullying behavior—from being ignored entirely to becoming the brunt of unwanted negative attention—and finally charges readers: "Remember that the world will never hear you if you choose to say nothing." In the poem, the speaker describes the detrimental long-term effects bullying can have on one's self-image: "[W]e grew up believing no one / would ever fall in love with us / that we'd be lonely forever." Artistic styles are wildly varied, but each spread packs a punch, modulating emotionally with the poem. Anti-bullying resources are appended. Powerful on a number of levels, Koyczan's timeless work proves at once confrontational and healing. (Poetry. 10 & up)

Kirkus Reviews