Yes You Can!: Your Guide to Becoming an Activist - Softcover

Drake, Jane; Love, Ann

Softcover

ISBN 10: 088776942X ISBN 13: 9780887769429

Publisher: Tundra Books, 2010

Synopsis

Every time our society takes steps forward, segregation becomes illegal, child labor is exposed, and companies that poison our air are called to account. Behind those steps are people who identified problems, worked together, and created change. Lifelong environmental activists, Jane Drake and Ann Love present the nine steps to social change and much more. From fascinating accounts about the founding of organizations such as Amnesty International, Pollution Probe, and Greenpeace to the nuts and bolts of how to run an effective meeting or write a petition, to words of inspiration, Yes You Can! Your Guide to Changing the World is great reading and encouragement for every person who wants to make the world a better place.

About this title

About the Author:

JANE DRAKE and ANN LOVE, sisters and coauthors, have written many award-winning books for young readers, including Cool Woods: A Trip around the World's Boreal Forest; Snow Amazing: Cool Facts and Warm Tales; Trash Action: A Fresh Look at Garbage; Sweet! The Delicious Story of Candy; Alien Invaders: Species That Threaten Our World; and Talking Tails: The Incredible Connection Between People and Their Pets. They share a lifelong interest in the environment and the wild, travel extensively, and, through their books and presentations, inspire children to be more observant of the world around them. Jane Drake and Ann Love live in the Toronto area.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 7 Up–Young people who want to effect change are guided by a sequence of nine steps and inspirational examples of grassroots activism. Step one, “I'm fed up,” describes the story of Peter Benenson, an Englishman whose outrage at hearing Portuguese college students had been jailed for drinking a toast to liberty in public ultimately led to the formation of Amnesty International. The story is followed by checklists that ask readers to choose behaviors to help define their own ethical self-portrait. Other steps cover summarizing a problem, finding support, being heard, setting goals, and overcoming obstacles. Each step, or chapter, includes a story, strategies, skills, and a time line of milestones and setbacks. Well-known historical activism, such as Rosa Parks's defiance of the segregation laws and Mohandas Gandhi's demonstrations of nonviolent civil disobedience alternate with anecdotes of smaller-scale activism, such as a teen who helped identify a phosphate problem in her hometown lake. The style is conversational and the tone offers realistic encouragement to teens looking to solve problems. Teachers will approve of the focus on the importance of developing writing and speaking skills, being mindful of one's online reputation, and learning how to evaluate project efforts. This title will primarily serve as a how-to, although the time lines, an accessible index, and factual information about anti-smoking campaigns, recycling, and children's rights make it a useful historical perspective of activism.–Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About this edition

• Publisher: Tundra Books
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 088776942X
• ISBN 13: 9780887769429
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144