Victoria Devine is working on a sequel to “Santa’s Bully Elf.”
From book fairs to hair salons, local author and Voorhees resident Victoria Devine can be found throughout South Jersey embodying the messages of her self-published story “Santa’s Bully Elf.”
The children’s book, released in 2016, follows the tale of a golden retriever, Sparky, who witnesses bullying from a watchtower in the North Pole.
Combining the Christmas spirit with self-confidence, the anti-bullying advocate and teacher at John Glenn Elementary School cultivated a clever fusion.
“We always want children to have some spark of belief in them,” Devine said. “It was crucial for me to have it at in age where children still believed in Santa Claus and when we can still make a difference in their life.”
As an elementary and students with disabilities teacher for more than a decade, she felt an illustrated storybook was the most effective medium in communicating the anti-bullying messages.
Of course, as a writer, this fueled her dream of telling narratives.
“Children are most impressionable when they’re young,” Devine. “I wanted it on the bookshelf, so that child could grow with it.”
With October being National Bullying Prevention Month, Devine uses this time to kick off her advocacy and awareness lessons, which take place at various businesses, schools and events around the area through December. She is scheduled to speak at two South Jersey elementary schools, breakfast-with-Santa events, local tree lightings, salons across the region and the Pop Shop in Collingswood.
Using the book as a platform, she offers anti-bullying lessons depending upon age groups. Pulling from the pages of her story, she’ll invite daycare-aged children to peek through a telescope, mimicking the “watchtower” to point out distracted students. For fourth and fifth graders, she’ll encourage students to perform anti-bullying skits, such as acting as bystanders and upstanders. Some children may see bullying happening but choose not to report the incidents for various reasons.
This concept, in particular, has inspired the 2018 sequel to “Santa’s Bully Elf.” Sparky’s story has not ceased, as the pooch is now a professor of confidence, teaching children to speak out against bullying and working to include bullies in the conversation. By marginalizing them less, perhaps, they will have less of a need to be mean.
“In my next book, I don’t want the bully to be seen as someone with an issue,” Devine said. “In my next book, it’s coming out so that we want the bully to be our friend, and I think that’s all part of including that individual into your life…they can change their ways.”
Devine feels the most crucial component is finding out why a child is being bullied, then motivating him or her to approach the perpetrator, which can lead to resolution. Devine also feels parents should not serve as bystanders, either, encouraging them to report incidents to the school.
When it comes to bullying, Devine also stresses the importance of self-love, another theme in her books and teachings.
“We tend to always worry that our kids aren’t confident…every kid is confident, every kid can be bold,” Devine said. “And that trickles right into their future. If we can teach our kids to be respectful and confident, imagine what kind of leaders we can have later on in life.”
If anyone is interested in reaching out to Devine, they can find her at http://www.santasbullyelf.com.
