Be the Change: A Grandfather Gandhi Story - Hardcover

Gandhi, Arun; Hegedus, Bethany

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1481442651 ISBN 13: 9781481442657

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2016

Synopsis

In this breathtaking companion to the award-winning Grandfather Gandhi, Arun Gandhi, with Bethany Hegedus, tells a poignant, personal story of the damage of wastefulness, gorgeuously illustrated by Evan Turk.

At Grandfather Gandhi’s service village, each day is filled, from sunrise to sunset, with work that is done for the good of all. The villagers vow to live simply and non-violently. Arun Gandhi tries very hard to follow these vows, but he struggles with one of the most important rules: not to waste.

How can throwing away a worn-down pencil hurt anyone? How can wastefulness lead to violence? With the help of his grandfather, Arun learns how every wasteful act, no matter how small, affects others. And in time he comes to understand the truth of his grandfather’s words: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

About this title

About the Author

Arun Gandhi, born in 1934, is the fifth grandson of Mohandas K. Gandhi, also known as Mahatma Gandhi. He was a journalist for more than thirty years for the Times of India and has written for The Washington Post. His first of two books for children was Grandfather Gandhi. Currently, Arun serves as president of the Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute and travels the world speaking to governmental leaders, as well as to university and high school students about the practices of peace and nonviolence. He lives in Rochester, New York. Visit him at ArunGandhi.org.

Bethany Hegedus is the author of Between Us Baxters and Truth with a Capital T, as well as the coauthor of Grandfather Gandhi. She owns The Writing Barn, a writing workshop and retreat center in Austin, Texas. She teaches widely and speaks across the country. Visit her online at BethanyHegedus.com.

Evan Turk is an Ezra Jack Keats Award–winning illustrator, author, and animator. He is the author-illustrator of The Storyteller, Heartbeat, You Are Home: An Ode to the National Parks, A Thousand Glass Flowers, and Hello, Moon and the illustrator of Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters, which was a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book; The People’s Painter; Grandfather Gandhi; and its companion Be the Change. Originally from Colorado, Evan now lives in southern California with his husband and two cats. He is a graduate of Parsons School of Design. Visit him at EvanTurk.com.

Reviews

Gr 2–6—Following Grandfather Gandhi, this title finds young Arun at his grandfather's ashram, or "service village." Slightly older now, the boy is working to adhere to the 11 vows of ashram living. Not wasting is the most difficult for him, and he has trouble understanding how this vow relates to nonviolence. Three incidents combine to help Arun learn the lesson. He accompanies his grandfather (Bapuji) on a trip and listens as he tells a crowd, "When nonviolence is accepted as the law of life, it must pervade the whole being and not be applied to isolated acts." On the way home, Arun tosses away a pencil stub. When Bapuji finds out, he sends Arun back in the dark to retrieve it, saying, "It is not the pencil, but you, that is important," meaning that Arun's grandfather loves him enough to hold him accountable. The third way that Grandfather teaches Arun is by helping him make a "tree of violence," a chart on the wall that shows how seemingly small actions or thoughts can lead to larger events. The illustrations, especially the visualization of Arun's tree, help children understand the weighty concepts. As he adds to it each day, it grows beyond the physical walls, dwarfing Bapuji and Arun and demonstrating that each decision takes a person on a particular path. The dramatic collage illustrations include dimensional elements to create the illusion of texture. The full-bleed spreads immerse readers and take them on the journey with Arun. Constantly shifting perspective moves from small to large and close to far, reiterating the theme of a small action having larger consequences. Another repeated motif is the use of frames within larger images to demonstrate connectedness. VERDICT This handsome book asks a lot of young readers but carries important messages delivered in a personal and relatable manner.—Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA

Edition details

• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1481442651
• ISBN 13: 9781481442657
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Turk Evan
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 48