Janet Wilson (1) (1952–)

Wilson has written a number of texts on how children can help to change to world. This book focuses on child activists' efforts to draw attention to children's rights--as delineated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. While OUR RIGHTS is an attractive and colorful text, there is far too much social justice jargon in it. Generally speaking it is not written in accessible, child-friendly language. I really think more would have been less--say: focusing on five kids in more detail show more than the ten we have here discussed in the vague language of social justice. More photographs of the difficult conditions in which children live would also likely provide more motivation for average kids to involve themselves in social change initiatives. I admire Wilson's intentions, but I do not think this scattered approach serves them as well as a more focused textual treatment could. show less

Informative and inspiring, this picture-book profiles ten children, worldwide, who have made a difference, working to solve some of the earth's most pressing environmental ills. From fourteen-year-old Malawian William Kamkwamba (whose story is told more fully in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope), who constructed windmills in order to create the energy needed to irrigate his poverty-stricken village's fields, to seven-year-old Canadian Ryan Hreljac, show more who, upon learning that so many children in the developing world didn't have clean drinking water, began raising money for a well in Uganda, eventually founding the Ryan's Well Foundation, which has helped build over 600 water and sanitation projects in 16 countries, the stories here emphasize the many ways in which human welfare is directly tied to environmental issues.

Here is the story of Janine Licare, a thirteen-year-old Costa Rican girl who got involved in rain-forest conservation, founding Kids Saving the Rainforest to further her efforts; Adeline Tiffanie Suwana, a twelve-year-old Indonesian girl who, having seen the devastation wrought by the terrible 2001 tsunami, became interested in marine ecosystems and conservation, and founded Sahabat Alam ("Friends of Nature"), which works to help rebuild the threatened coral reefs and mangrove swamps of the world; and Felix Finkbeiner, an eleven-year-old German boy who, inspired by the example of Kenya's Wangari Maathai, launched an effort to get the children of his nation to plant one million trees, eventually going on to found the international children's organization, Plant for the Planet, which promotes such activism the world over.

Thirteen-year-old (professional) Indian magician, Kruti Parekh, who uses her show to promote environmental causes; seventeen-year-old Chinese activist Fang Minghe, who founded Green Eyes China, and monitors local markets for the abuse and sale of endangered species; fifteen-year-old American student Sam Levin, who started a student-run organic garden at his school, that now supplies the cafeteria with produce (with 1,000 pounds extra, donated to needy families); and twelve-year-old Canadian, Severn Cullis-Suzuki, who delivered a moving speech to an environmental conference in Rio de Janeiro, are all also profiled here. Rounding out the ten is twelve-year-old Aika Tsubota, who used a school assignment as an opportunity to write and illustrate an environmental comic book, which was published shortly after her tragic death.

Combining photographs and painted illustrations with informative text, each two-page spread in Our Earth: How Kids Are Saving the Planet is an inviting exploration of one extraordinary young person, and their fight to save the environment. Young readers will find these stories immensely inspiring - I know I did! show less

Our Heroes by Janet Wilson is an inspirational, moving and visually appealing book about children who take action in the face of injustice. The message if the book is two-fold: 1. that change is possible and everyone can do their share and 2. we need each other to solve problems and cannot do this alone. Each child, at some point, was touched by seeing a real-world problem close at hand and decided to do act. They organized by reaching out to others and coming up with solutions that were show more creative and made an impact. The best part of the book is it gorgeous artwork; colorful, vivid and compelling. I really liked the short biographies at the end where there was a description of the actions that were taken. At times when I was reading the longer biographies I wanted to know more concretely how each project or action was actually organized. These shorter biographies showed me this and I came away feeling hopeful about our youth and all those who act to make a difference.

Thank you to Netgalley and Second Story Press for allowing to review this book for an honest opinion. show less

This book profiles ten children from across the globe who are making a difference in the world. It is inspiring to both children and adults. Not only does it send the message that anyone can make a difference, but it also may remind many children to be grateful for what they have.

Some of the projects involved funding salaries for teachers for girls, working for a Children's Peace Forest, raising money for soccer equipment, uniforms, and fields, aiding the homeless, and collecting funds to show more stamp out hunger. The projects range from very simple (collecting socks for the homeless) to more complex (speaking to a village about discrimination and allowing lower castes in India to do things they were not allowed in the past). There are several quotes about changing the world from the subjects of the book as well as from famous individuals who made a difference in their own ways. In addition to the brief stories about these world-changers, there are even more thumbnail sketches throughout the book and at the end, showing other ways the next generation is taking action to make a difference while they are young.

This book would be a wonderful way to introduce a school or class community service project and teach students empathy as well as encourage them to feel empowered and able to make a change in their own small corner of the world. One of the things I love about this book was the mention of Sarah Lewis, student from one of the schools I taught at, and her project about Socks for the homeless.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. show less