A young school girl was trying to read through her new glasses with tear-filled eyes after relentless bullying by other children. A new children’s series is attempting to cause kids to be more sensitive to each other’s needs and reactions to what might be seen as serious misunderstanding of others and undo teasing.
Harry E. Pacheco, a professional realtor, is on track to slow the subsequent suicides at the high school level by introducing his anti-bullying books to students from kindergarten to the sixth grade level.  The first in the series just released is entitled “Gladys’ Glasses.”
The story about Gladys as a young girl focuses on her being teased and bullied about wearing glasses to school for the first time and drawing the attention of fellow students.  The colorful cartoon characters enhance the story presentation for teachers, parents and students alike.
Pacheco said he has already introduced his book series to several school in the Bay Area in addition to the Cornerstone Christian School in Manteca.  He said for every book purchased he will donate one to an elementary school.
His mission is to have as many children as possible to be well equipped before they reach high school and face greater bullying challenges and to be more sensitive to one another. His books can be found on Amazon.com.
“Gladys’ Glasses” is a story of a kindergartner who was so excited as her first day of school approached.  She had a wonderful morning with her mother setting out her new clothes and fixing her yummy pancakes for breakfast with her mom dropping her off outside the classroom.
She walked into the room and found the desk with her name on it after meeting the teacher outside the door.  She sat down and looked around the room.  All the other kdis were staring at her as she began to feel uncomfortable.  Why was everyone staring at her? she asked herself.  She began to hear the kids whisper.
“Why is that girl wearing those funny looking glasses?” one girl whispered.  Another asked, “Why are they so big and bright?” A boy added, “Those glasses are ugly!”  Then one of the girls questioned, “Why isn’t she like the rest of us?”
Gladys heard all their whispers and her excitement of her first day at school was diminished.  She began to feel sad and out of place.
After their first recess when all the kids went back to their classroom the whispering continued and she eventually sat alone with her peanut and butter sandwich – no one sitting with her.  It just didn’t taste the same as it had in the past.
The final pages of the book are well worth reading and tell how Gladys confronted her anxieties with her early bullying challenge.  Even at such an early age she learned to show her fellow students how good a friend she could be at school.
Pacheco said he expects to publish a new book every six months, now awaiting the color illustrations from Phil Villanueva. “Anti-bullying means a lot to me,” he said. “I started her at Veritas School and expect to do 10 schools.”