Global Warning: A Middle Grade Adventure of Friendship, Constitutional Activism, and Fighting Climate Change for Kids (Ages 8-12)

A group of 12-year-old friends concerned about climate change proposes a new way to save the earth: amending the U.S. Constitution. Their project propels these activists on an amazing journey across America―and all the way to Norway―with plenty of outside-the-box hijinks and civil disobedience, as they work to save the planet and their futures on it. 

For sixth grader Sam Warren and his friends Catalina, Alistair, Jaesang, and Zoe, the effects of climate change are too pressing to ignore. Adults don’t seem to be up to the challenge of taking action to make real change, but kids know it’s their futures on the line. If their parents, teachers, and government officials won’t step up well, then, they will! 

And these young people will stop at nothing to save the planet and their futures on it. With a little help from a retired kids' rights lawyer and a grandma who knows how to march, they are ready to think big: Constitutional amendment big. But can a bunch of 12-year-olds really draft an amendment that protects the planet, get it to pass in Congress, and change enough hearts and minds across the country to get it ratified before the clock runs out? 

Steven B. Frank crafts another funny and fast-paced story of heightened-reality wish-fulfillment, loaded with the witty patter of smart kids, in this book that reads like Aaron Sorkin for middle grade and plumbs the complexities of the Constitution and the critical turning point of global climate change. 

One big idea. Five determined kids. A race against time to change the world.

• Kids Making a Difference: Join Sam, Catalina, Alistair, Jaesang, and Zoe as they take on the government, the media, and a whole world of adults who say it can’t be done.
• Amending the Constitution: When protests aren’t enough, these friends decide to go bigger: writing a new amendment to protect the planet and getting it passed before the clock runs out.
• Civil Disobedience: From stopping a train in Portland to occupying the Global Seed Vault in Norway, this group will do whatever it takes to be heard.
• Friendship Story: Five friends, one retired lawyer, and an activist grandma prove that the biggest changes start with a small group of people who refuse to give up.
• Smart and Funny: Filled with witty dialogue and clever tactics, this story makes complex legal ideas accessible and exciting.

Steven Frank is the author of The Pen Commandments, a guide to writing that Booklist called “funny, inspiring, personal, moving, and often hilarious."  His middle grade short fiction and plays have appeared in Weekly Reader’s Writing and Read magazines. He is also a beloved middle school teacher at Le Lycee Francais of Los Angeles, where his students often intentionally misbehave because he punishes them with fun writing assignments.

www.stevenbfrank.com

Twitter @stevenbfrank