Providing sobering facts about our challenged planet, this book encourages young readers to rethink their food sources.
Warming temperatures, rising seas, vanishing species crowded out by invasive ones—these are just some of the challenges of climate change. With earnest enthusiasm this book invites young readers to educate themselves and believe they can make a difference—through a “focus on food.” Reviewing the link between human food production and climate change, the authors note that eating invasive plants and animals (like dandelions, kudzu, and iguanas) might help us limit use of damaging chemicals and fertilizers and rebalance the ecosystem. Similarly, consuming protein-rich, low carbon-impact bugs such as crickets and grubs reduces the harmful effects of raising livestock—and may soon be “cool” (after all, eating lobsters 200 years ago provoked the “ew” that sampling crickets gets today). In 10 chapters with plentiful color photographs and illustrations, the authors educate and encourage, offering observations, often posed as chapter title directives: “Exotic Pests Can Be Delicious” or “Expand Your Aquatic Menu.” Persuasive explanations and concrete actions readers can take are accompanied by recipes, apps for plant identification, instructions for growing your own edible mealworms, and a list of restaurants around the world that serve bugs.
An optimistic introduction for those who want to “take a bite out of climate change.” (source notes, glossary, bibliography, further information, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5124-8121-1
Page Count: 132
Publisher: Twenty-First Century/Lerner
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
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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
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A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today.
13
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A beautifully heart-wrenching graphic-novel adaptation of actor and activist Takei’s (Lions and Tigers and Bears, 2013, etc.) childhood experience of incarceration in a World War II camp for Japanese Americans.
Takei had not yet started school when he, his parents, and his younger siblings were forced to leave their home and report to the Santa Anita Racetrack for “processing and removal” due to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. The creators smoothly and cleverly embed the historical context within which Takei’s family’s story takes place, allowing readers to simultaneously experience the daily humiliations that they suffered in the camps while providing readers with a broader understanding of the federal legislation, lawsuits, and actions which led to and maintained this injustice. The heroes who fought against this and provided support to and within the Japanese American community, such as Fred Korematsu, the 442nd Regiment, Herbert Nicholson, and the ACLU’s Wayne Collins, are also highlighted, but the focus always remains on the many sacrifices that Takei’s parents made to ensure the safety and survival of their family while shielding their children from knowing the depths of the hatred they faced and danger they were in. The creators also highlight the dangerous parallels between the hate speech, stereotyping, and legislation used against Japanese Americans and the trajectory of current events. Delicate grayscale illustrations effectively convey the intense emotions and the stark living conditions.
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today. (Graphic memoir. 14-adult)Pub Date: July 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-60309-450-4
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Top Shelf Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2019
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