77.8 F
Cruz Bay
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesThe Bookworm: Kids Can Change the World

The Bookworm: Kids Can Change the World

“Kids Who are Changing the World” by Anne Jankeliowitch, photographs by Yann Arthus-Bertrand
c.2014, Sourcebooks $14.99 144 pages

This year, your teachers say you’ve changed a lot. You’ve grown a couple of inches, which is the first thing they noticed. They say you’re not a little kid anymore, that you’re more mature.

Your hair is different or you got new glasses; you smile more. You’ve changed and that’s good. So find “Kids Who Are Changing the World” by Anne Jankeliowitch, photographs by Yann Arthus-Bertrand to read about kids who have different changes in mind.

Someday the planet on which you’re standing will be yours. That means you probably want to take good care of it – and of the other people who’ll own it too. No doubt, you’ve got some awesome (and unique) ideas on how to do that. And if not – well, why not learn from kids who’ve done something for the Earth?

Twenty years after the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, people are still talking about the 12-year-old Canadian girl who “silenced the world.” Severn Cullis-Suzuki gave a speech in front of United Nations delegates who sat quietly and listened to the powerful words she had to say. You can still, in fact, see clips of her speech online.

Alex Lin was upset at the lack of recycling of electronic equipment – so he changed the whole state of Rhode Island by helping to pass laws on electronic waste. Best of all, he and his friends refurbish computers and donate them to schools in Sri Lanka, Mexico, the Philippines and Kenya.

Qier Qiu from China urges people to eat with reusable chopsticks, thereby saving trees. Thirteen-year-old Anya Suslova collected water samples for scientists in Russia. Laurie Wolff in Nevada persuaded her school to use virtual dissection in biology class. Ten-year-old Jahmali Bridgewater from Bermuda attended a conference to exchange ideas with kids around the world.

Your project can be easy (many children planted trees or create educational websites) or it can be very complicated (Annie Collins of British Columbia helped set up a fair trade program for her city.) It can be big (a California boy filed a lawsuit) or small (just picking up litter helps).

So what’s your next project? That’s a hard question when you’re a kid. Where do you start?

“Kids Who are Changing The World” answers that by giving your child plenty of ideas that will provoke thoughts for you too. For instance, it’s impressive to see the variety of kids that Jankeliowitch features: children – some still in grade school, some in nontraditional learning environments – who saw a need and acted upon it, proving there is no age or ability limit to make a difference. I was also glad to see such passion for the planet – and when you add in photography by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, you’ve got a hopeful, optimistic winner to read.

Not all kids will clamor for this book, but ecology-minded 10-to-15-year-olds will surely be inspired by it. Hand them “Kids Who are Changing the World” and see how they change too.
__
The Bookworm is Terri Schlichenmeyer. Terri has been reading since she was 3 years old and never goes anywhere without a book. She lives on a hill in Wisconsin with two dogs and 12,000 books. Her self-syndicated book reviews appear in more than 260 newspapers.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.