03 Jul Review: Make Your Mark, Make a Difference : a Kid’s Guide to Standing Up for People, Animals, and the Planet
Make Your Mark, Make a Difference : a Kid’s Guide to Standing Up for People, Animals, and the Planet
Written by Joan Marie Galat
Aladdin, 2024
ISBN: 9781582708447 (paperback)
$18.99 CAD (paperback)
342 pages
Ages: 9 to 13 years old
Review by: K. Joan Harrison
This nonfiction title is aimed at budding middle-school activists, but it is too voluminous for most readers of this age to tackle alone. With help, however, young readers will find a wealth of information and examples to spur their involvement in any number of causes. Frequent pop-outs help to divide the text. Quizzes (dubbed quizards) and relevant examples of young activists at work provide interest. The topics, while sobering, are presented in an upbeat and manageable manner. There is a Table of Contents, but no index, which would have been a useful tool. Sources are provided in endnotes, and additional suggested books are listed toward the end of the last chapter. Each chapter includes a list of topics (“Satisfy your curiosity”) to research on the internet with an adult. The book is engaging, realistic, and encouraging, and an antidote to the question, “What can I do to help?”