Free App to Promote National Bully Prevention Month

Oct. 2, 2012 - PRLog -- The phenomenal success of Dav Pilkey's "Captain Underpants" is a perfect example of using "potty humor" to appeal to reluctant readers. With this in mind, Mark Lawton Thomas, an Atlanta Public School teacher, wrote: When Farts Had Colors (Peak City Publishing, LLC, 2011). His goal: to entice children to read, laugh and learn a lesson.

The free app is based on Mark Lawton Thomas’ book “When Farts Had Colors”, an Amazon Best Seller, which has been praised as both entertaining and educational.  The author uses "passing gas" as common ground both children and adults can relate to so they can recognize the signs of being bullied and practical methods to avoid or help each other in a bullying situation.  Mr. Thomas was invited to speak to the leaders of the Chatham County School system to contribute his experience as a teacher and author in the 1st annual Character Counts program. His message:

"Bullying is not a new problem. Parents, teachers and administrators should use their personal experience when discussing bullying. It builds trust. And there's nothing like humor to help children learn life's important lessons. Sometimes it takes getting to the child's level of understanding. I use humor to get there."

In keeping the theme of using humor to teach valuable lessons, Peak City Publishing  developed a free on-line tool for elementary school children to "Pledge to Be a Friend, Not a Bully" http://peakcitypublishing.wix.com/pledge-to-be-a-friend .

The program is narrated by Merry Maddox, "Bully Extraordinaire", who was caught bullying. Merry sets the stage by giving her side of the story and shares the trade-secrets of a bully. Upon completion of the program, the student will identify a bully situation, a strategy to manage the situation and a character who exhibits bullying behavior.

The pledge asks the student to agree to three key principles:  

I pledge to do all I can to stop bullying.

I believe people have the right to be who they are without being made fun of or threatened physically or verbally on-line.  

I will be a friend to those who are being bullied.  

The online application is currently a web-based and will be released on Google Play within the coming weeks.  The Google Play version will include an option to download a color E-Book, not currently available through on-line retailers.

About the Book

Paperback: 100 pages

Publisher: Peak City Publishing, LLC (March 12, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1935711105

ISBN-13: 978-1935711100

Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.2 inches

About the Author

Mark Lawton Thomas was born in Savannah, Georgia. After graduating from the University of Georgia, Mr. Thomas worked as a copy writer for various advertising agencies first in Atlanta and then Manhattan. Eventually, he returned to the South and began writing a weekly column for Creative Loafing and voicing them for Georgia Public Radio. He also edited Contents magazine, an award-winning quarterly.. Presently, Mr. Thomas is involved in his most challenging job to date, teaching 6th grade Language Arts in the Atlanta Public System.