Real Kids, Real Stories, Real Character:: Choices That Matter Around the World

Ya empezará a leerlo mi hijo

I read this book to my ten year old son and he loved it. He wanted to read more about kids like these, so Garth, if you're thinking of writing another...??I also recommended the book to friends whose kids also loved it. Wonderfully inspiring to see how even those who seemingly have all the disadvantages stacked up against them, can overcome adversity and make such a difference to peoples' lives.It makes you realise that if we all pulled together, how incredible the changes around the world could be for the greater good.

This is one of the most energizing books I have read in awhile. Why? It provides thirty examples of young people from sixteen countries, I mean really young, one starting at age five, who have had a very positive impact on their country and in many cases the world, through their efforts.There are multiple reasons why this book is impressive in its message and how it is structured. First the message. These stories are real, and every one of them involved kids identifying something that they felt was wrong and then doing something successful about it. Not one of the examples was easy. This was not kids going to their parents and their parents taking over. In many cases their parents were an obstacle. It was kids doing something that many said could not be done.Now the structure. It is organized by the nature of the projects described in each chapter. The five chapters are Kids Saving the Environment, Kids Standing Up for Themselves, Kids Helping Others, Kids Overcoming Challenges, Kids Using Talents and Creativity. The stories are short and very easy to read, with pictures and graphics that help the story move ahead. There are Fast Fact boxes that provide information about the country where the action is occurring, or the kid taking action, or the success of the initiative. There are also Get Inspired postcard images in most chapters that provide information about how the reader can get involved in efforts that promote the particular initiative that has been described in the chapter.The Bibliography at the end of the book provides additional information about articles, books and other resources related to each chapter. Finally, the publisher Free Spirit needs a shout out. They have published other books about kids doing amazing things including Real Kids, Real Stories, Real Character Real Kids, Real Stories, Real Character: Choices That Matter Around the WorldBottom Line - this is an inspiring and at the same time very informative book for anybody interested in identifying ways to improve our world and the resources that support that goal.

Inspiring stories that my students enjoy learning about!

I originally bought this book for my 9 year old daughter, who has to read material other than fiction for school. I ended up taking it with me to several substitute teaching jobs in case I needed something to do with the kids. So far, everyone has really enjoyed it. Children like hearing about what kids their own age have done to make the world and their part of the globe, better. I have a hard time pronouncing some of the names of the kids featured, but other than that, the are stories are easy to read, short enough to keep curious minds focused, and most of them are very interesting.