An accessible and urgent primer on a crisis of urgent proportions.
A look at the impact of human behavior on climate change showing how rapidly things are progressing and, in the process, impacting ecosystems, biodiversity, and human life.
Miami, Florida, has spent nearly $2 billion dollars battling rising coastal waters. People on the island nation of Kiribati are using sandbags and dredging material from the seafloor in hopes of keeping the ocean from entirely taking over their home. The warming of the globe is also causing droughts, wildfires, and stronger hurricanes, all leading to the loss of habitat and animal extinction as well as a rise in climate refugees as some places become uninhabitable, particularly as erratic weather exacerbates existing challenges. Sourced from recent reporting and told in a digestible journalistic style, this work brings immediacy to the situation by briefly showing how things got to this place, how fast things are changing, and what is being done by governments, organizations, and companies around the world. The information is well organized; text boxes expand and define terms used. Color photos throughout help illustrate contemporary disasters caused by warming temperatures. Broad and global in its perspective, this is more of an overview of current information rather than deep research and social context.
An accessible and urgent primer on a crisis of urgent proportions. (photo credits, source notes, organizations and websites, further research, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-6782-0456-3
Page Count: 64
Publisher: ReferencePoint Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change.
Testa’s connection to and respect for nature compelled her to begin championing animal causes at the age of 10, and this desire to have an impact later propelled her to dedicate her life to fighting plastic pollution. Starting with the history of plastic and how it’s produced, Testa acknowledges the benefits of plastics for humanity but also the many ways it harms our planet. Instead of relying on recycling—which is both insufficient and ineffective—she urges readers to follow two additional R’s: “refuse” and “raise awareness.” Readers are encouraged to do their part, starting with small things like refusing to use plastic straws and water bottles and eventually working up to using their voices to influence business and policy change. In the process, she highlights other youth advocates working toward the same cause. Short chapters include personal examples, such as observations of plastic pollution in Mauritius, her maternal grandparents’ birthplace. Testa makes her case not only against plastic pollution, but also for the work she’s done, resulting in something of a college-admissions–essay tone. Nevertheless, the first-person accounts paired with science will have an impact on readers. Unfortunately, no sources are cited and the lack of backmatter is a missed opportunity.
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change. (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22333-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
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