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You Can Change the World — Review

rosihollinbeck

Thought for the Day:

“Finish what you are writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.”
~ Neil Gaiman ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Writers Digest has a good article HERE that has 75 Grammar Rules for Writers. Great reminders here and clarification of some of those pesky things I can’t seem to keep in my head.

Derek Haines has a great post HERE on Just Publishing Advice that will help you find just the right name for all your characters. It has terrific, useful links.

Writing fiction can be a lot of fun and being able to create places and happenings are a large part of that fun. HERE Lauren Puckett has written a great article for The Writer on Fictionalizing Your Hometown.

2020 goes on and on — the longest year on record with month-long weeks and week-long days. At my house, all of us eligible to vote have already voted, so now we wait. To get our minds off things, we are having a Harry Potter movie festival at my house this weekend. I may be the only person on the planet who has only read the first book and seen the first movie, so my daughters have decided they need to rectify this. We have gotten through the first four movies and have a long day of watching ahead of us, so I need to get this done and posted! I hope you all can find something to distract you from the madness that is known as 2020. And don’t forget to vote!

Last week, I offered copies of The Story of the Wright Brothers by Annette Whipple and Star Friends Secret Spell by Linda Chapman to one of you. This week’s winner is Danielle Hammelef. Congratulations, Danielle! I will get the books out to you soon. Danielle always shares my link for extra chances, and it seems to work. Thanks for doing that, Danielle. Now on to this week’s featured book.

I occasionally receive emails from publicists and publishers offering me books in exchange for honest reviews. I received an email recently from the publicist for a new book that just came out last week. I was pretty excited to see it, because You Can Change the World by Lucy Bell is an important book that can make a real difference. It’s a perfect book for today with concrete ideas for young people so they can make a difference in our battered world. Here are my thoughts on this wonderful book.

Lucy Bell

Most kids today are aware that Planet Earth is in trouble due to man-made problems. But the question young people have is what can they do about it. They are, after all, kids. This book will give good answers to their questions and concrete examples of ways each person can help make the world a better place for the environment. After a short introduction, eight chapters follow: Plastic; Ethical and Environmentally Friendly Clothing; Waste; Food; Gardening and the Outdoors; Energy, Electricity, and Water; Animal Activism; and An Act of Kindness. There are also sections with Group Activities and Resources at the end of the book. Each chapter is filled with great ideas to help the world such as Throwing a Plastic-Free Party or Start Your Own Outdoor Garden, quick tips like which plants will attract good bugs, recipes for things like making your own toothpaste, and short interviews with young people who are making a difference right now such as ten-year-old Felix Montefiore who makes environmentally-safe T-shirts or nine-year-old Ruby the Climate Kid. The book is beautifully designed with great graphics, easy-to-read fonts, and attractive colors and illustrations. Author Lucy Bell uses language that is kid-friendly without every talking down to her young audience. The style is breezy and will hold readers’ interest. This wonderful book should be in every school library and classroom. Kids can go a long way toward changing the world for the better, and this is a good step in the right direction.

I have no giveaway this week. I will donate the nice hardback copy I got to the school. Don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at the Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.

Published by rosihollinbeck

22 thoughts on “You Can Change the World — Review”

  1. This book is so needed. All of us, no matter our age, needs to continually find that next step we can take to make our world, country and neighborhood a better, safer place.
    We’ve voted too. Please everyone, don’t get complacent. Vote!

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  2. Making a difference in our community and in our world can seem out of reach without knowing where or how to start. But it doesn’t have to be a big step. And books that inspire and equip in that regard are so needed. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. I love the Neil Gaiman quote. I am trying to follow it and am working hard to finish what I’m writing. So glad you’re having a fun Harry Potter party with your daughters.

    You Can Change the World sounds fantastic. Glad you’re donating it.

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  5. My favorite kind of books to share are about kids making a difference. This book is a wonderful resource that can be used in so many ways in the classroom and as a family. Always fun to read what kids are doing to help! Nice choice!

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  6. Now this is a book I’ve personally been seeking. Thanks for the post today and I’m going to see if my library has a copy. Maybe this book will have ideas I can implement with my family to give us positive ways we can help the world while stuck at home.

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  8. I Voted! Your links were perfect for some not too heavy reading. I found the one on fictionalizing your hometown the most interesting.
    The book your shared today is a great resource for kids. I’m going to track down a copy for a school project some teachers are leading in my district.
    Have a wonderful Potter fest. What fun!

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  9. This sounds like a wonderful book to get kids involved in protecting our world! I’m reminded of a (perhaps less optimistic) book aimed at teens that I read a REALLY long time ago, Get Real by Mara Rockliff. I love the meme and quote, and I hope you have (or had) a fun time watching the Harry Potter movies! Thanks for the wonderful post!

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  10. This sounds like a much needed book for young people. They are aware that we live in a world with problems, and often feel helpless about it. It’s important for them to learn early that they can make a difference in small ways and even big. Kudos to Lucy Bell.

    On another note, we voted early, too. So nice to have that taken care of. But, as you say, now there is waiting . . ..

    And last, I, too, only read Book One of Harry Potter and only saw little snippets of a couple of the movies. I really liked Book One a lot, but was too busy to meet the challenge when the later, fatter books started coming out. Theoretically, I have time now . . . but do you find you are busier than ever? I seem to, although I’m not sure what I’ve gotten done. I am working on finishing a poetry collection, so I loved your Gaiman quote. I need to pin that over my computer.

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