These inspiring stories of people who challenged the status quo make for riveting reading, as well as excellent starting...
An inspiring, informative collection of profiles of people who sacrificed freedom and life to take stands against oppression and to champion human rights.
Sophie and Hans Scholl, leaders of a secret student movement opposing the Nazi regime, were executed for treason. Andrei Sakharov helped develop the Soviet Union's first atomic bomb but later became an outspoken critic of nuclear proliferation and was effectively kept under house arrest for years. Aung San Suu Kyi also spent years under house arrest for protesting Burma's dictatorship. For decades, Helen Suzman was the sole member of the South African parliament to fight against apartheid. Rosa Parks' refusal to relinquish her seat prompted the Montgomery bus boycott, one of the first major triumphs of the civil rights movement. Archbishop Oscar Romero challenged El Salvador's oppressive regime and was assassinated. The last and weakest chapter discusses the popular uprising in Egypt that brought down Hosni Mubarak's government. Scandiffio's concise, engaging profiles offer readers an informative overview of these heroes and their accomplishments, and occasional sidebars provide background information.
These inspiring stories of people who challenged the status quo make for riveting reading, as well as excellent starting points for research and discussions about civil disobedience, ethics and morality. (Nonfiction. 11 & up) (bibliography, index) (Nonfiction11 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-55451-383-3
Page Count: 172
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
Potentially useful insights for youngsters encountering loss.
Advice on coping with loss, from the death of a family member or a close friend to a beloved pet’s demise to life-changing events such as divorce.
Imperi, a chaplain and thanatologist (“someone who knows about death, dying, grief and loss”), uses her own terminology to distinguish between “deathloss” (“when a person or an animal we love dies”) and “shadowloss” (“the death of something, not someone”). These categories make sense, but kids grieving the death of a loved one may find it difficult to wade through sections about other serious problems. Although the recent pandemic caused many actual deaths, this book describes Covid as a shadowloss, a disrupter of normal life. Imperi mentions a few religious traditions, but the book is primarily concerned with practical ideas and individual experiences. Specific thinking, writing, and creative exercises for moving through the grief process are included. She spotlights five diverse teens, along with their coping strategies for different types of loss; they appear to be composite portraits rather than real individuals. The black-and-white line illustrations and charts throughout will appeal to some, but the boxed affirmations on many pages may feel repetitive to others; the work overall feels a bit like an expanded magazine article. Still, patient readers will likely find guidance—and reassurance.
Potentially useful insights for youngsters encountering loss. (grief journal, glossary, note for caregivers, resources, references, index) (Nonfiction. 11-14)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781525309656
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
Cathartic and uplifting.
The experiences of watching a mother succumb to cancer and grieving her death are explored with honesty and compassion.
Feder (illustrator: Unladylike, 2018), the oldest of three sisters in a close-knit Jewish family, grew up with an artistic, spirited, playful, and affectionate mother, someone whose high spirits were the perfect foil for her daughter’s anxious personality. The summer after Feder’s freshman year of college, her mother was diagnosed with cancer, dying in the spring of Feder’s sophomore year. This vulnerable memoir is a tribute to a beloved woman as well as a meditation on losing a parent when one is on the cusp of adulthood. Much like grief itself, the book careens from deep despair to humor to poignancy, fear, remorse, and anger, mirroring the emotional disorientation that comes with such a significant death. By sharing many particulars about her mother—the foods she loved and hated, the silly in-jokes, her endearing (and annoying) quirks—Feder personalizes her loss in a way that will resonate with members of the “Dead Moms Club,” with whom she describes having an immediate bond. Readers who have not experienced deep grief will learn from the missteps of well-intentioned friends and acquaintances. The pastel-toned illustrations effectively convey Feder’s youth and the intensity of her emotions while emphasizing the ultimate message of survival and resilience in the face of life-changing grief.
Cathartic and uplifting. (Graphic memoir. 12-adult)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-525-55302-1
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 6, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
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