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KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AND CLAIM THEM

A GUIDE FOR YOUTH

A well-researched, much-needed guide for the next generation of human rights advocates.

Renowned human rights organization Amnesty International partners with actor and activist Jolie and lawyer and children’s rights expert Van Bueren to create this detailed look at child rights globally.

This timely book begins with a startling fact: The United States is the only one of the United Nations’ 197 members that has never ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Readers are then led through the history of child rights while also defining the rights every child has from birth. Special attention is paid to education access, LGBTQ+ rights, and discriminatory policies targeting marginalized groups, with examples such as Charlotte Donaldson, who founded the Scottish Gypsy Traveller Assembly at age 16, and Zulaikha Patel, who at age 13 helped lead a protest against racist policies at her South African high school. Other profiles of teen changemakers, including girls’ education advocate Malala Yousafzai, water activist Autumn Peltier (Anishinaabe), and Thai environmentalist Khairiyah Rahmanyah, are woven throughout. Readers curious about how to create change in their communities will appreciate the activism guidance describing how to research an issue, persuasively talk about your cause, reach out to lawmakers, and organize a protest. The wide-ranging text also includes guidance on how to stay safe while attending a demonstration, internet safety, and what to do when stopped by the police. Black-and-white photos, lists, and bold headings break up the text and enhance readability.

A well-researched, much-needed guide for the next generation of human rights advocates. (glossary, organizations, sources, image credits) (Nonfiction. 12-18)

Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-72844-965-4

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Zest Books

Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021

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CONTINUUM

From the Pocket Change Collective series

Best enjoyed by preexisting fans of the author.

Deaf, trans artist Man meditates on his journey and identity in this brief memoir.

Growing up in conservative central Pennsylvania was tough for the 21-year-old Deaf, genderqueer, pansexual, and biracial (Chinese/White Jewish) author. He describes his gender and sexual identity, his experiences of racism and ableism, and his desire to use his visibility as a YouTube personality, model, and actor to help other young people like him. He is open and vulnerable throughout, even choosing to reveal his birth name. Man shares his experiences of becoming deaf as a small child and at times feeling ostracized from the Deaf community but not how he arrived at his current Deaf identity. His description of his gender-identity development occasionally slips into a well-worn pink-and-blue binary. The text is accompanied and transcended by the author’s own intriguing, expressionistic line drawings. However, Man ultimately falls short of truly insightful reflection or analysis, offering a mostly surface-level account of his life that will likely not be compelling to readers who are not already fans. While his visibility and success as someone whose life represents multiple marginalized identities are valuable in themselves, this heartfelt personal chronicle would have benefited from deeper introspection.

Best enjoyed by preexisting fans of the author. (Memoir. 12-18)

Pub Date: June 1, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-22348-2

Page Count: 64

Publisher: Penguin Workshop

Review Posted Online: March 24, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021

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GRAMMAR GIRL PRESENTS THE ULTIMATE WRITING GUIDE FOR STUDENTS

Like many grammar books, this starts with parts of speech and goes on to sentence structure, punctuation, usage and style....

As she does in previous volumes—Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing (2008) and The Grammar Devotional (2009)—Fogarty affects an earnest and upbeat tone to dissuade those who think a grammar book has to be “annoying, boring, and confusing” and takes on the role of “grammar guide, intent on demystifying grammar.”

Like many grammar books, this starts with parts of speech and goes on to sentence structure, punctuation, usage and style. Fogarty works hard to find amusing, even cheeky examples to illustrate the many faux pas she discusses: "Squiggly presumed that Grammar Girl would flinch when she saw the word misspelled as alot." Young readers may well look beyond the cheery tone and friendly cover, though, and find a 300+-page text that looks suspiciously schoolish and isn't really that different from the grammar texts they have known for years (and from which they have still not learned a lot of grammar). As William Strunk said in his introduction to the first edition of the little The Elements of Style, the most useful grammar guide concentrates attention “on a few essentials, the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated.” After that, “Students profit most by individual instruction based on the problems of their own work.” By being exhaustive, Fogarty may well have created just the kind of volume she hoped to avoid.

Pub Date: July 5, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-8050-8943-1

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 20, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011

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