Growing up in our present day world is full of challenges. The non-stop “Breaking News” cycle leaves tweens and teens with only one conclusion: The world is a violent place. Conflicts escalate to a point where people are physically hurt or killed.
But is there another way?
This new title covers six individuals who chose nonviolent activism to challenge the wrongs in their time. It’s a compelling look into the lives of these brave heroes:
- Gandhi and Indian Independence
- Alice Paul and Votes for Women
- Martin Luther King Jr. and Project C
- Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers Movement
- Vaclav Havel and the Velvet Revolution
- Greta Thunberg and the Climate Change Movement
Accompanied by black and white pictures, the narrative digs deep. I came away with many new insights. You may know these stories on the surface, but the richly researched text places readers in the middle of each effort with depth and compassion. The chapters on Martin Luther King Jr. and Alice Paul brought me to a new appreciation for what they did with their unique brand of non-violent activism.
There is also a constant thread tying all the efforts together, how they were different and alike. Each person learned from the past to bring forth change in their time.
WE ARE POWER would be perfect for sixth grade on up in a social studies class or for personal reading. Most important, exposure to this book will surely develop our next group of leaders to a better way to handle conflict.
Here more about Todd Hasak-Lowy
I started writing fiction for adults, but now I write for younger readers, too. I’ve published two books for adults: a short story collection, THE TASK OF THIS TRANSLATOR (2005), and the novel CAPTIVES (2008). My first book for your younger readers, a middle grade novel called 33 MINUTES, was published in 2013. In 2015 I published a young adult novel, ME BEING ME IS EXACTLY AS INSANE AS YOU BEING YOU. That same year, a narrative memoir for ages 10 and up that I co-wrote with and about Holocaust survivor Michael Gruenbaum called SOMEWHERE THERE IS STILL A SUN came out. In early 2018 a young person’s history of the women’s suffrage movement, ROSES & RADICALS, which I co-wrote with Susan Zimet, was published. My latest book, WE ARE POWER: HOW NONVIOLENT ACTIVISM CHANGES THE WORLD, is coming out in April, 2020. In addition to writing, I teach literature at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and translate Hebrew literature into English. I live in Evanston, Illinois (just outside Chicago), with my wife, two daughters, a dog, and two cats.
For more visit Todd’s website and catch my review of his middle grade fiction title, 33 Minutes…
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The excitement is building…only three days until the biggest giveaway in the 8 year history of ALWAYS in the MIDDLE takes off. Come back Monday for all the details!
Blogging about middle grade books or authors next week? Join the celebration:
SCHOLASTIC brings this interesting UK title to the states on June 2nd and it’s one young readers will enjoy.
FIVE MORE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT
THE STAR DUNES by Trudi Trueit
Katie Coppens lives in Maine with her husband and two children. She is an award winning teacher who started her career as a middle school math teacher. She has since taught all subjects in third through sixth grade, and also taught high school biology and English in Tanzania. With any grade or subject, Katie emphasizes the value of creative and critical thinking. Katie has multiple publications, including a teacher’s guide for the National Science Teaching Association entitled Creative Writing in Science: Activities That Inspire, Geology is a Piece of Cake, and The Acadia Files chapter book series. Katie also writes a column for NSTA’s Science Scope magazine called “Interdisciplinary Ideas”. For more information on her publications, please visit 
You may know Paddington Bear from one of the many books featuring the iconic character or perhaps from two successful featured films (
fter reading the first chapter of this new sequel I was a little bit lost with so many characters. In the first ten pages I met Mackenzie (Mack), Miles, Andre, Winston, Terry, Pat, Nicole, and Makayla. Whew… how was I ever going to keep things straight?
