6-copy counter display Think For Yourself

by Andrea Debbink

Middle school is a time of change, when things begin to look different and assumptions start to be questioned, and today more than ever it’s tough to know what to believe.

This unique and timely book won’t tell you  what  to think—that’s up to you!—but it will show you  how  to think more deeply about your own life and current events. Covering a wide range of subjects affecting the world today, including human and animal rights, social media, cyber bullying, the refugee crisis, and more, THINK FOR YOURSELF will help you to learn how to ask questions, analyze evidence, and use logic to draw conclusions, so you can solve problems and make smart decisions.

Each chapter of the book covers one key step in the critical thinking process, and includes a real-world example to help convey the importance and relevance of every

Ask  If you want to be a critical thinker, it helps to be curious. It’s normal to wonder about the world around us. Some questions are big, and some are small. Sometimes questions can spark debate and argument. All critical thinking starts with at least one question. 
Gather  First, find information—from making observations to interviewing experts to researching a topic online or in books. Then make connections and draw conclusions.
Evaluating  Smart thinkers evaluate the importance, accuracy and relevancy of the information they gather.
Getting  Consider other points of view, examine your own point of view, understand the power of emotion, and practice empathy.
Draw  The final step in the critical thinking process, this is based on reason and evidence. Revisit your original question, review the evidence and what you’ve learned, and consider your values. And critical thinking doesn’t stop when you’ve reached a decision. Learn how to discuss and debate other points of view. Then keep growing. Sometimes you might change your mind—that’s OK, too!

Featuring profiles of real-life inspiring young critical thinkers from around the world, checklists, quizzes, and activities, THINK FOR YOURSELF is a clever and fun illustrated guide that teaches middle schoolers that even young people can make a difference in the world just by thinking smart and understanding. 

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Childrens, Middle Grade

Hardcover

Published May 12, 2020

About the author

I'm a writer, editor, and habitual daydreamer. Before I became a full-time author, I spent nearly a decade as an editor at American Girl where I specialized in creating imaginative nonfiction content. Today I write books for children and adults. I believe that a good book can change a life—and the world.

Reviews

[Violet ♡]

I enjoyed the writing in this one. It gave me some new insights about critical thinking. 🤓

This is more perfect for young readers curious about the topic. 

[Kitty Stryker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good beginner book for understanding critical thinking, I appreciated that it was a quick read with quizzes to help the reader understand where their strengths were as a critical thinker already. I do think that perhaps one of the challenging aspects is that it didn’t make a point of examining its own bias, which I think would have been a good lesson. For example, I could very easily tell that the author was coming to this from a liberal point of view, but I don’t think that was ever explicitly stated. That’s totally fine, but I can imagine if I was a young adult growing up in a conservative household, it might be hard for me to relate to the book simply because the way the questions are framed makes it pretty clear what the author’s opinion is, without being upfront about it. I think it is a worthy lesson that even news articles with citations still have a bias, even books, teaching critical thinking have a bias, and being able to mindfully and considerately acknowledge that bias without dismissing the lessons out of hand is an aspect of critical thinking that I think we have lost as a society. But maybe I’m asking for a lot from a book for middle schoolers! I think it’s a good intro, I just wonder if there is a way to present some of this material that is more neutral I guess.

[Adam Jarvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. I read this book with my kids. I appreciated the different logical fallacies, and how to recognize them. The core principles of the book were really good. It seemed to me though that the book had a very left-leaning political bent, and this could be seen in the examples throughout.

I liked the content, I just wished all the examples that were used to illustrate the content didn’t seem so lopsided. But maybe that’s just me…

[Amy Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing I’ve noticed as an experienced homeschooler is that my youngest, 12, definitely has a problem with thinking for himself when it comes to reading comprehension and problem solving. I like what I’ve read here and plan on getting this book for us to work through together.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and fun guide to critical thinking and research skills. The quizzes have been terrific to use with my 4th graders. I also really appreciate the biographical profiles of critical thinkers. The authors and designers made some outstanding choices with this book.

[Readersaurus · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly excellent introduction to gathering and evaluating information and making informed decisions. Entertaining, easy to read, non-partisan. Though written with kids in mind, it is 100% suitable for adults, too. Attractively and clearly presented.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, so necessary.

[Brenda Kahn]

Conversational, appealing and important

[Krishna Pothula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good one to read together with kids

[Savannah Byers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great teaching resource for ELA!

[Amit Kumar Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simple book for children, but dealing with an important skill that we see amiss in the days of digital overload and social media. How much I wish my generation had this in their curriculum.

[Shannyboo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for teaching kids about critical thinking

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I received an ARC of this book at ALA Midwinter 2020.

[Arminzerella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book that will really help kids/teens (anyone, really) learn about how to make decisions and form opinions based on facts, how to evaluate different sources of information, and how to have discussions/debates with other people about things. It uses a lot of timely topics as examples, too (as of summer 2020). Colorful, easy to read, and thoughtful.

[Kristin Crouch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Algonquin Young Readers for sharing an ARC of Think for Yourself.
This book is amazing. I'm trying to find a way to get a class set, because I cannot think of a better book to start the fifth grade school year with.
If you want to teach or parent kids who are critical thinkers, first they need to understand the process of thinking critically. This book breaks down the steps of asking questions, gathering evidence, evaluating evidence, and drawing conclusions. However, there is SO MUCH MORE.
There are quizzes to help readers understand how they think. There are examples of real-life game changers that readers can then learn more about. There are activities that could be implemented at home or in a classroom to help students solidify the practice of evaluating information.
I wish this book had been around for my generation, and to be honest, I am going to reread this book over and over again to see where I've been lacking in my thinking skills.
If you buy one book next year, this should be it.