Inspiring stories, broad in both geographical scope and scale.
Profiles of 25 eco-activists offer role models for young readers who are concerned about their planet’s continuing habitability.
David Attenborough, Stella McCartney, William Kamkwamba, and Greta Thunberg lead the roster in terms of name recognition, but all of the subjects share a sense of urgency and a determination to persevere in the face of indifference and failure. Most are young or got their starts as young people. Focusing more on their causes than biographical details, Dyu describes how each person first became aware of environmental issues and set about addressing them, generally starting small. As a teen in 2013, Australian Amelia Telford (whose mother is from New Zealand and father is “from the Bundjalung nation and of South Sea Islander descent”) joined protesters dressed as characters from Finding Nemo to publicize a coal mine’s threat to the Great Barrier Reef. In 2007, inspired by Wangari Maathai, 9-year-old Felix Finkbeiner planted a tree outside his Munich school; he worked with family and classmates on Plant-for-the-Planet with a goal of planting one trillion trees. Melati and Isabel Wijsen, Dutch and Indonesian sisters from Bali, started a petition to ban plastic bags in 2013 when they were 12 and 10; they educated others, spoke and organized internationally, and in 2019, single-use plastics were banned in Bali. The author closes this accessible volume with the rousing reminder that “there are changemakers all around you.” Illustrations not seen.
Inspiring stories, broad in both geographical scope and scale. (picture credits, quote credits) (Nonfiction. 10-13)Pub Date: March 24, 2026
ISBN: 9798887772349
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats.
Why should grown-ups get all the historical, scientific, athletic, cinematic, and artistic glory?
Choosing exemplars from both past and present, Mitchell includes but goes well beyond Alexander the Great, Anne Frank, and like usual suspects to introduce a host of lesser-known luminaries. These include Shapur II, who was formally crowned king of Persia before he was born, Indian dancer/professional architect Sheila Sri Prakash, transgender spokesperson Jazz Jennings, inventor Param Jaggi, and an international host of other teen or preteen activists and prodigies. The individual portraits range from one paragraph to several pages in length, and they are interspersed with group tributes to, for instance, the Nazi-resisting “Swingkinder,” the striking New York City newsboys, and the marchers of the Birmingham Children’s Crusade. Mitchell even offers would-be villains a role model in Elagabalus, “boy emperor of Rome,” though she notes that he, at least, came to an awful end: “Then, then! They dumped his remains in the Tiber River, to be nommed by fish for all eternity.” The entries are arranged in no evident order, and though the backmatter includes multiple booklists, a personality quiz, a glossary, and even a quick Braille primer (with Braille jokes to decode), there is no index. Still, for readers whose fires need lighting, there’s motivational kindling on nearly every page.
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats. (finished illustrations not seen) (Collective biography. 10-13)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-14-751813-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Puffin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
This glossy, colorful title in the “I Want To Be” series has visual appeal but poor organization and a fuzzy focus, which limits its usefulness. Each double-paged layout introduces a new topic with six to eight full-color photographs and a single column of text. Topics include types of environmentalists, eco-issues, waste renewal, education, High School of Environmental Studies, environmental vocabulary, history of environmentalism, famous environmentalists, and the return of the eagle. Often the photographs have little to do with the text or are marginal to the topic. For example, a typical layout called “Some Alternative Solutions” has five snapshots superimposed on a double-page photograph of a California wind farm. The text discusses ways to develop alternative forms of energy and “encourage environmentally friendly lifestyles.” Photos include “a healer who treats a patient with alternative therapy using sound and massage,” and “the Castle,” a house built of “used tires and aluminum cans.” Elsewhere, “Did You Know . . . ” shows a dramatic photo of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, but the text provides odd facts such as “ . . . that in Saudi Arabia there are solar-powered pay phones in the desert?” Some sections seem stuck in, a two-page piece on the effects of “El Niño” or 50 postage-stamp–sized photos of endangered species. The author concludes with places to write for more information and a list of photo credits. Pretty, but little here to warrant purchase. (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-15-201862-X
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2000
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