Authority: Deal with It Before It Deals With You

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

These latest books in the Deal with It series explain conflict-causing
behaviour to young readers. To avoid an overly preachy, adult tone, the
authors use humour and a variety of interactive devices to gently nudge
the reader toward a proper course of action when confronted with a
difficult situation.

Authority deals with the complex relationship between kids and the many
authority figures they meet. Misconduct advises readers to think
carefully before disobeying a rule because there can be consequences to
being a rebel. Rudeness looks at how people can be rude without
realizing it, and how people can tell the offender that their behaviour
is unacceptable without getting that person’s back up.

Each book is divided into five sections. The first section describes
the behaviour, the second focuses on the offender, the third focuses on
the offended, the fourth considers the bystander, and the fifth is
titled More Help. Each section is several pages long and thoroughly
explores the subject behaviour through quizzes, a two-page scenario
presented in a comic-book-style format, and a Dear Abby–style advice
column.

These books often delve into a grey area where there is no right or
wrong answer to human discord. In many cases, the situations are set up
so that the offender will eventually see the error of his or her ways,
but sometimes the offended is told to lighten up. The bystander is
challenged to figure out what she or he could do to help restore harmony
in a conflict. These books are highly recommended.