Cullen Arma, the Bully, and the Shaman's Coat

Book Description:
The dastardly plan to ruin the lives of students at M.R. Rick Junior High is underway. Walker Hayes, school cyber-bully extraordinaire, will get his revenge for not winning 1st place at the computer science fair last year. Will anyone discover his evil plan? Can anyone stop him? Only one person could possibly defeat Walker, but he’s having problems of his own. After slipping into a shaman’s mystical coat, Cullen Arma, an average 13-year-old, can conjure the skills of animals when he’s excited, anxious, or mad. Cullen must now learn to understand his emotions in order to control these skills. Unfortunately, the clock is ticking. Can Cullen use these mystical talents to put a halt to Walker’s sinister plans? Only with the help of his best friend, Brayden, and brainy cousin, Alyssa will he (and his fellow students) stand a chance.

Purpose of this Book:
Faced with new academic hurdles, leaps in cognitive ability, expanding moral ideals, and more complex social structures, adolescence can be a challenging time. Cullen Arma, the Bully, and the Shaman’s Coat uses fantasy-based fiction as a vehicle to highlight and address some of the concerns and issues faced by the middle school/young adult population (e.g., emotional awareness, peer pressure, learned aggressive behaviors, cyber-bullying, moral development), and is based upon the work of known theorists such as Bandura and Kohlberg. Reflection questions (RQ) and self-exploration questions (SEQ) have been included at the end of the book to help the reader internalize the socioemotional concepts that underlie the conversations of and situations faced by the major characters. The Teacher’s Quick Guide expands on the RQ and SEQ by building additional learning links to such subject areas as English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science, as well as to the areas of career development and social/emotional learning. Teachers, school social workers, and school counselors will find the book and quick guide a useful catalyst for discussion and project-based learning. Early teens and adults alike will find the story engaging and amusing, while it subtly brings the issues described above to discussion in a fun and friendly manner.