#saveourstate

Booklist: Activism for Kids

A is for Activists: ABC Board Book. Like Howard Zinn for toddlers.

I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsberg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy: Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has spent a lifetime disagreeing: disagreeing with inequality, arguing against unfair treatment, and standing up for what’s right for people everywhere. This biographical picture book about the Notorious RBG, tells the justice’s story through the lens of her many famous dissents, or disagreements. (Grades 3-5)

The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, A Young Civil Rights Activist by Vanessa Brantley-Newton: Meet the youngest known child to be arrested for a civil rights protest in Birmingham, Alabama, 1963, in this moving picture book that proves you’re never too little to make a difference. (K-Gr 4)

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatuih: Almost 10 years before Brown vs. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped end school segregation in California. An American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage who spoke and wrote perfect English, Mendez was denied enrollment to a “Whites only” school. Her parents took action by organizing the Hispanic community and filing a lawsuit in federal district court. Their success eventually brought an end to the era of segregated education in California. (Gr 2-5)

It’s Your World–If You Don’t Like It, Change It: Activism for Teens by Mikki Halpin. Free Speech. Racism. The Environment. Gay Rights. Bullying and School Safety. Animal Welfare. War. Information about Safe Sex and Birth Control. Free Speech. HIV and AIDS. Women’s Rights. These are the issues you care about–and now you can do something about them. It’s Your World will show you how to act on your beliefs, no matter what they are, and make a difference. The ideas are easy to implement. Each section is accompanied by authentic accounts of student experiences, including successes as well as difficulties, in trying to change their school or community or influence a world issue, such as the war in Iraq. Many of the ideas are easily doable. The discussions end with an annotated list of Web sites, books, and movies while the book concludes with a seven-page resource list for general activism. This is an important book that will empower any young adult who would like to make a difference. (Gr 7-12)