9-year-old Bucksport girl writes ‘Olivia and the Color of Kindness’ to bring awareness to bullying

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - One nine-year-old from Bucksport turned her pain into an important message.

Olivia Kirby experienced bullying in school because of who she is, but with the help of those closest to her, she found her voice and hopes her message changes the lives of others.

Kirby never understood why peers would make fun of her hair or her skin tone.

She experienced traumatic levels of bullying at such a young age.

“Ever since I was in kindergarten,” said Kirby.

All because she is biracial.

One day after getting bullied yet again on the school bus, her parents reached out to her school, and the principal worked with them to make sure those events never happen again.

“I met Olivia when she was six weeks old,” said Savanna Colson.

“I was her daycare teacher, and our families became fast friends. Her mom is like another mom to me, and the first time we actually started hearing comments about her was very young. Even at Hannaford, people would make comments to her mom about how she looked or how her hair was done.”

Which is why Colson proposed the idea of helping Olivia tell her story which led to her writing a book called ‘Olivia and the Color of Kindness.’

“I would tell them to stop because it doesn’t feel right to me, and it won’t feel right to them, and it’s not nice to do that,” said Kirby.

Once Olivia started writing down her experiences with bullying, she noticed something different.

“I started to get confident in myself,” said Kirby.

When asked what her favorite thing about herself is, Olivia says it’s her skin tone, the very thing she was made fun of.

“I’ve always tried to instill in her that she’s beautiful the way that she is, so watching her gain this confidence and finally feeling that way was very important to me,” said Colson.

They hope this book helps every child or parent understand the importance of kindness because every color belongs.

“Bullying is not okay at any age, and it’s something that needs to be talked about at home, and it needs to be talked about at schools more,” said Colson.

The book is available for purchase by following the link.