Kid Power! Cyberbullying

Kid Power! Kids can make a difference! Every Thursday on Ink Splot 26, we'll show you a new idea for how YOU can make the world a better place.

Have you ever noticed that when you post on any of the Ink Splot 26 blogs and Message Boards, it does not appear right away? One of the reasons for this is to prevent harmful and mean comments from being made public.

Bullies are everywhere: in school, in books, and online. We all know about popular kids who try to hurt our feelings, or people who spread rumors about us. Cyberbullying is when someone posts comments online that can hurt another person's feelings. It can also be posting personal information about another person without his or her permission. Words can be very harmful, and sometimes the things you say online can really damage another person's confidence or self-esteem. We would never want to hurt anyone's feelings and make them feel like an outcast!

Here's what YOU can do. First of all, make sure that you are not the cyberbully. Think before you post! You should always treat others the way you want to be treated. If you're not sure, talk to a trusted adult about what you can and cannot say on the internet. Remember, you should never post anything online that you can't take back. If you're about to post something, read it back first and imagine that someone is posting it about you. How does it feel? Not so nice? Don't post it.

If you see your friend posting something mean, tell him or her that it's not cool. Don't just keep quiet and go along with it because it's your friend. Stand up for what's right! Also, if you see some mean comments about someone, go out of your way to say something nice to/about that person. Your kind comments will lead by example and show others that being nice is always the best way to be. Use your Kid Power to make the other person feel good!

And, if someone posts something negative about you, first talk to a trusted adult about it. Don't just take it! You might be able to report the username to a website administrator, and you may also have the option to block your cyberbully. By speaking up, you prevent the cyberbullying from escalating, and you stay out of trouble. Then, you should just walk away. If you give in to cyberbullies' comments, you are "letting them win." When you don't respond to a cyberbully, you show that you are the bigger person, and you have more important things to do with your life than let someone bring you down.

Cyberbullying can happen to anyone, and if you take a stand against it, you can make the world a better place. It is easy to make change, and it starts with you! For more information about how to stop bullies, check out the Stand Up to Bullying Special Report.

— Glory, Scholastic Intern (a.k.a. CupcakeChateau4)

R.L. Stine Answers Your Questions!

A few weeks ago we asked you to write in your questions for the Master of Fright, Goosebumps author, R.L. Stine. He answered questions from 10 lucky readers, so read on to see if yours was chosen!

Q from SilverSnake: Which character do you think is most like you? Which character is most unlike you?
R.L. Stine: I like to think I'm like all my crazy characters—Slappy the dummy, who's so rude and awful; Dr. Maniac; The Ooze; The Menace, the evil villain from HorrorLand. But in real life, I'm more like Evan, the poor kid who lets the Monster Blood loose and doesn't have a clue how to defeat it.

Q from Raggweed: Since Goosebumps creeps me out, how can you not be scared, and keep making them? They freak even my older relatives out, so are you afraid of your own creations too?
R.L. Stine: Scary stuff NEVER scares me. Horror always makes me laugh instead. When I go to a scary movie, I don’t get scared—I just laugh. Same for writing Goosebumps books.

Q from Mysterygirl123: If you could be a monster for a day, what monster would you choose? Why? R.L. Stine: I would be a giant jellyfish from Deep Trouble because I like to swim a lot.

Q from ArtAthena13: What would you say to a kid who wants to be an author?
R.L. Stine: Write something every day. Keep a journal or a diary. And make sure you read a LOT!

Q from cnahk: Do you ever want to write something less scary?
R.L. Stine: I love writing funny books, too. That's why I wrote the Rotten School book series. I also try to put a lot of funny stuff in Goosebumps.

Q from Niki: Who's your favorite character? Why?
R.L. Stine: Slappy the evil dummy. I like writing all the insults and rude things he says to people.

Q from AstronomyAble3: Who is your inspiration and icon?
R.L. Stine: Many writers have inspired me. I think the sci-fi author Ray Bradbury was a big influence. Also, Rod Serling, who wrote The Twilight Zone.

Q from Lexi: Are you a prankster with scaring people?
R.L. Stine: No. Maybe I scared my little brother a few times when we were kids. But I'm not really into pranks and jokes. Too busy writing!

Q from CheerfulHeart15: What's your favorite book of Goosebumps that you wrote? Were you good at telling ghost stories when you were young?
R.L. Stine: My favorite Goosebumps book is The Haunted Mask. I was too shy to tell ghost stories when I was a kid. I was a very quiet kid.

Q from OreoPie09: How do you come up with such creepy stuff and do you believe in ghosts?
R.L. Stine: I don’t know where the ideas come from. I've never seen a ghost—but I keep looking!

Q from Megan: Would you ever consider doing like a Nancy Drew type of book series for girls?
Q from Georgia: When you do your next book why not call it Zombieland?!
Q from NinjaCobra1: Why don't you make a Goosebumps book about a boy who likes scary movies, and finds out that all the monsters are coming to life?
Nice ideas. Thanks for the suggestions.
-- R.L.

Would You Rather. . . Halloween Style!

Happy Halloween Spooky Splotters! We know you are big fans of Would You Rather. . . ?, so we thought we’d combine the two for some frightening fun. Ok, maybe not so frightening. . . but you get the idea!

Would you rather. . .

World Series Baseball Trivia Answers

Last week I posted some World Series Trivia to get you psyched for the series. How did you guys do? Did you hit it out of the ballpark, or strike out? Check out the answers below!

Magic School Bus 25th Anniversary Celebration

Wahoo! We’ve been talking about The Magic School Bus a lot recently, not only because we’re some of Ms. Frizzle’s biggest fans (favorite book series, anyone?), but also because Scholastic is celebrating 25 years of adventures with The Magic School Bus!

Write On! Quackledorph Writing Prompt

This week our Write On! Writing Prompt comes to us from B. (How mysterious. I love our Splotter's enigmatic initial!) B challenges us:
Write a story with one of the character’s first names being Quackledorph.

Ok, here’s my go at it. . .

Once upon a time there was a girl named Annabella Quackledorph. Her friends called her Quack. But because of this, ducks started following her around everywhere. She got so annoyed. So she decided to change her look and go goth. She wore black nails, black lipstick, and black hair. But this scared her baby sister, who freaked out and cried. Her mom made her change back. So she asked her friends to call her Q instead. The name stuck. And this is how she got her new name.

Ridiculous? I’m afraid so. I know you guys can do better! Leave your story featuring a character named Quackledorph in the Comments below. B, if you’re out there, let us know what you think of the stories. And if you can, give us a clue what the “B” stands for!

—Ratha, Stacks Writer