Laura Scandiffio

In many countries around the world, universal access to education is a seemingly unattainable dream; however, determined individuals with vision and drive have made this dream come true for many. This book highlights people such as Okello, a former child soldier in Uganda, who founded a school for children like himself whose education was derailed by war; Julia Bolton Holloway who realized that the only effective way to educate Roma children was to teach literacy to their parents at the same time; Shannen Koostachin, a passionate 13-year-old whose fight for the right of First Nations children to have proper schools endured even after her untimely death. These uplifting stories of people who were undeterred in their fight to bring education to children will leave young readers with excellent models of how to mobilize support when fighting for social justice.

The Struggle to Go to School

Fight to Learn

Profiles seven people who enacted social or political reform in their home countries, including Rosa Parks, Helen Suzman, and Aung San Suu Kyi.

Courage Against Oppression

People Who Said No

Nick Gray

Eleven-year-old Tenzin hasn't seen his older brother, Pasang, in five years, so he is thrilled when Pasang unexpectedly returns to their Tibetan village late one night. Now eighteen, Pasang is an educated monk whose return from India provokes the suspicious and ever-watchful eyes of the Chinese authorities. Unbeknownst to Tenzin, Pasang has conspired with their mother to leave again--taking his younger brother with him this time, in search of a better life. At first Tenzin is thrilled to embark on such an adventure, but crushing homesickness soon sets in as the brothers eke out a meager existence begging in the unfamiliar streets of Lhasa, often narrowly dodging the police. They finally scrape together enough money to begin the most harrowing part of their journey: the physically excruciating, dangerous, and illegal trek to a new country on the other side of the Himalayan mountains, where they can be granted refugee status and begin to rebuild their lives. Along the way they suffer abuse at the hands of border police, meet fellow Tibetans from whom they draw strength, and have a chance encounter with a film crew that will change their lives.--From publisher description.

A True Story

Escape from Tibet

Sometimes it’s okay to ignore the rules or break the law. In fact, it’s essential! This thought-provoking book features people who did just that: Sophie and Hans Scholl, siblings who distributed antigovernment pamphlets in Nazi Germany; and Andrei Sakharov, who helped develop the nuclear bomb in Cold War Russia, but then spoke out against its use. Some, like Rosa Parks, were not originally in positions of political power but came out of the ranks of regular citizens to stand up for human rights. Others, like Oscar Romero, archbishop of El Salvador, used their power to change the status quo. Also included are Helen Suzman, a South African member of parliament who fought apartheid; Aung San Suu Kyi, who spent years under house arrest for protesting the dictatorship in Burma; and the people of Egypt, who recently brought down the repressive government of Hosni Mubarak. These inspirational profiles of people who followed their moral compass make for riveting stories as well as excellent starting points for discussions about ethics and morality.

Tina Holdcroft

Yoatl, a twelve-year-old Aztec boy, writes in his daily blog about his life in 1519 Tenochtitlan, his dislike of training to become a warrior, and his encounter with an enemy boy.

Aztec

Using the fictional weblog of Hans, a twelve-year-old German boy, describes the events of the Children's Crusade in the thirteenth century, where children from across Europe traveled to return the Holy Land to Christianity.

Crusades

Nicolas Debon

Provides an overview and history of martial arts such as karate, taekwando, and judo, and offers facts on each of the disciplines and anecdotes about famous martial artists.

Laura Scandiffio

About

Books

Join the club