Politics for Beginners

Usborne Big Subjects For Beginners

by Alex Frith, Rosie Hore, Louie Stowell

An informative guide to political systems, elections, voting and government, and issues including feminism, human rights, freedom of speech and fake news, all explained with clear text and bright, infographic style illustrations. Includes tips on how to argue and debate, a glossary, and links to specially selected websites with more information.

Understanding politics is essential to understanding the world around us. That’s why Usborne are publishing Politics for Beginners, ideal for children (and adults) who’d like a no-nonsense, easy-to-understand guide to what politics is all about.

What is an election? Who gets to be Prime Minister or President? What does immigration mean? This essential introduction to politics for children answers all these questions and many more. Topics debated include capitalism, socialism and nationalism, terrorism, voting systems, free speech and human rights.

Includes:
- Simple explanations of BIG ideas
- Cartoons, comic strips and diagrams
- Debating tips
- Internet links
- Glossary and index

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Childrens, History, Education, Middle Grade

128 pages, Hardcover

First published February 8, 2018

About the author

Alex Frith has been a children's non-fiction author since 2005. Working exclusively for Usborne Publishing, he has written over 50 books covering almost any subject you can think of, from the origins of the Universe to the meaning behind world religions, from extinct animals to prototype AIs, and from Japanese legends to Norse mythology. Two of his books have been shortlisted for the Royal Society Young's People's Book Prize: See Inside Inventions (2012), and 100 Things to Know About Space (2017).

Alex grew up in a house surrounded by comics and graphic novels, and has a lifelong passion for the medium. Beyond the comics he photocopied and passed around the playground of his primary school, he wrote the 4-part series 'Digital Graffiti' with artist Gez Fry in 2003, and has had short story comics published in FutureQuake and the Asteroid Belter.

Reviews

[Carmen Haselup]

Parent & teacher friends... You need this book. Your kids NEED this book. Perfect for year 4 and above, it is going to help the next generation save the world.

'An informative guide to political systems, elections, voting and government and issues including feminism, human rights, freedom of speech and fake news, all explained with clear text and bright, infographic style illustrations.'

That sounds pretty great, right? But it doesn't do this book justice at all. Because this book is an absolute game changer! It is beautifully accessible and has my 8 year old hooked. Every night we read through another couple of pages. We never get further than that because this book raises so many questions and has been the springboard to so many discussions about our world. Last night we started out reading about voting but ended up talking about media bias and Rupert Murdoch and Sky takeovers and Newsround and Teen Vogue and role models and.... you get the idea. It is opening her eyes to the world in a hugely positive way. It is inspiring her. It is empowering her. Because you have to understand how something works before you can get in there and blow it apart to change it.

This book informs, educates and raises questions. I have absolutely no doubt that it will inspire the next generation of activists and political game changers. Buy this book for your kids, for your friends' kids, for their schools. Share this book with children. Talk them through it. Discuss it with them. I guarantee you'll learn a lot too and it will leave you feeling hopeful for the future.

[Юра Мельник]

Я би подарував таку книжку своїм дітям

[Alina Butenko]

Прекрасно створена книжка для вивчення того, про що зазвичай у школах та неспеціалізованих вишах не розповідають - про політику як галузь діяльності, як мистецтво управління державою і суспільством.
Матеріал поданий у вигляді "коміксів", тобто картинок та пояснень до них. Наче герої ведуть діалог із читачем, і в такий спосіб усе детально пояснюють. Дуже наочно, легко, доступною мовою описані головні поняття: політика, поілтичні устрої, демократія, диктатура, ліві й праві течії, капіталізм, соціалізм, фашизм, галузі відповідальності влади та юагато-багато іншої надважливої інформації.
Така книжка має застосовуватися в якості підіручника в школах на уроках "Основи політичних знань" - дуже хочу, щоби колись така наука була впроваджена, оскільки такі знання конче необхідні в сучасному суспільстві.
Книжку буде цікава підліткам років із 15 (раніше, мабуть, буде не зовсім зрозуміло), та обов'язково дорослим людям!

[Han Preston]

This is such a good book for someone new to or overwhelmed by politics. It's aimed at 8+ but as an adult I still found it really useful. As well as being informative, it's actually a really pretty book - colourful hardback with great infographics.

[Owen Stewart]

Pretty fun(ny)!

[Paul]

Ostensibly a children's book but in reality most adults will learn more from this about politics than they knew before. Certainly I did.

[Payal Sachdeva]

I and my sons have read this book , an absolute amazing book , and everything given succinctly for the kids to understand about the government, political system , elections and voting, political changes and ideologies. The last part of the book deals with miscellaneous questions viz what are human rights , what is immigration, who is responsible for the planet , am I a feminist, what is terrorism … an absolute must read for the kids .

[sara]

3.25 stars ⭐️ interesting book, I’ve learned a few things about politics that I didn’t know before and I like how each term is explained simply. Not to mention the illustrations made the book more fun to read.

[Andriy Rushchak]

Книжка написана для дітей, але багатьом дорослим теж буде цікавою.

[Rosemarie]

Yes! Amazing, this was prob made for people a little younger than me, but I still learned a ton and it’s gonna be such a great base for social studies!!

[Livia]

Het is een heel leuk en interessant boek je leert er heel veel van alleen is het wel moeilijk

[Hungry Rye]

I give it like a 2.5. Not the best not the worst. Ahistorical at times. Very Eurocentric.

[Chloe ✿ Stewart]

Very helpful and informative!

[DonutKnow]

I learned some of the basic building blocks of politics 👍👍

[Hafiz Hussain]

Great content

[Emma]

It has some good information but is definitely biased. I wouldn’t have my kids read it on their own. It could be used for discussion.

[Nicky]

Kids weren't interested, but I thought it was a really well put together book and read it front to back without them 😄.

[Hanna Arhirova]

Чудовий подарунок для підлітків!

[Ha Le]

It is always challenging to explain boring and complex ideas in a simple way. But this book nailed it! And it is fun to read as well! Never did I know that the word "idiot" comes from the Greek word idiotes i.e., "private citizen" which was used as an insult for someone who wasn't interested in politics.

[francisco]

okay so i’m not sure i’m the demographic for this book because i’m pushing 20, but politics for beginners was a very fun and interesting read. it explored not only the political baselines themselves, but also their historical origins, which was interesting to learn about.

i’m not highly educated on politics (hence the book choice obvs) so the illustrations and simple explanations made it easier to understand hard concepts (good job!) and the information was as unbiased as possible. it was only a bit western-centered, but i honestly expected that. really productive read, at least for me.

[Ardyth]

stalled for moving house.

So far, we've read the intro material & first section... it's ok, I guess? There is something irritating about the cutesy "clever" text & art... I don't know how to express it, exactly. It feels like one of those situations where the production team chose supposedly-fun, colorful aesthetics over actually-interesting writing? And our 9yo is mildly checked out while we read, so my hopes for retention are low...

Handfeel on our copy is terrible. (I keep running into this awful paper lately, anybody else?)

Fairly certain I would not have purchased if I'd had the chance to thumb through first. Part of me hopes our son will forget about it while it's in storage...

Borrow before buying.

[Kayla]

Really awesome book- my ten year old was glued to it for almost an hour when she first picked it up! I really appreciate that there are many different views represented, and it feels balanced overall.
Note: I took one star off because a few of the ideas are presented in a way that rubs me a bit wrong (climate change, feminism, and maybe one more topic) They are presented in a way that lends itself well to discussion though, so I think we could have some great conversations because of it.

[heliviena]

Ihan loistava opus varhaisteineille, jossa on kiinnostavaa tietoa aikuisillekin.

Kirjassa kerrotaan helppotajuisesti erilaiset hallintomuodot, poliittiset järjestelmät ja ideologiat, vaalit ja äänestäminen sekä tavat vaikuttaa asioihin. Lopussa oleva Suuria kysymyksiä -osio toimi hyvänä pohjana keskustelulle teinin kanssa, kun aiheina oli mm. kuka on vastuussa planeetasta, mitä on sananvapaus, voiko sota olla oikeutettu. Toivottavasti sarjaa käännetään lisää!

[Jane]

Interesting read - it made me think quite hard on the subject (and I did Government & Politics/Civics at school many years ago) and highlighted areas I'd not fully considered before. Useful for children who are curious (or even anxious) about the world around them and for their parents and teachers.

[Angela]

This is a really great overview of politics and systems of government used across the world geared toward pre-teens. However, reading this with Sam, even I learned information and facts from this book that I was unaware of as an adult!

Both Sam and I highly recommend it for homeschool curriculums and as an interesting supplement to public school curriculums as well.

[Natalie]

Clearly written introduction to politics for children from 10 up (in my opinion). Broad spectrum of political systems covered with really fun illustrations.

[Little Ugly]

This book challenges the traditional perception of the ‘politics is boring’ stereotype and it tackles the cliché that this area is reserved only for the serious people wearing suits.

Politics for Beginners is an excellent example of how, in an interesting, reader-friendly and targeted way, one can introduce the fundamentals to young readers avoiding talking down to them. The narratives are brief, succinct and although full of information, don’t overwhelm. Myriads of bright illustrations and informative diagrams, engage the reader and guide them effortlessly through the minefield of politics, providing various real-life examples.

The book explains key terms and concepts, expanding those into a comprehensive narrative of how, why and where politics influence our lives. The structure is well-thought, logical and easy to follow. The book not only takes us on a journey through the Greek and Roman origins of what politics is today but also describes the differences of the political systems, finally showing the readers the importance of their engagement and actions.

Read my whole review here: https://littleuglycat.com/politics-fo...

[Seawood]

Fantastic book. I bought it for the school library but I'll be picking up a copy for my kids too - in fact this would of huge use in every school. It's very clear with illustrations and diagrams that really add to understanding. Approachable for anyone from KS2-KS3 and a great refresher for older children and adults too. Covers the historical development of government without getting mired in detail, and manages to be as neutral as possible about modern political ideas. I think this is aimed at a UK market, but it covers enough detail about the US, European and some international systems to ensure most children would have a good grasp when hearing the news or reading a newspaper like First News.

[Lân Nguyễn]

Wow, một cuốn sách tổng quan về chính trị rất chất với nhiều tranh minh họa thú vị và vui nhộn. Chính trị ở VN luôn được coi là chủ đề nhạy cảm, những câu nói kiểu như "Tôi ko quan tâm đến chính trị" hay "Đừng bàn/Biết gì mà bàn về chính trị" vẫn khá phổ biến, nhưng thực sự chính trị tồn tại trong mọi vấn đề của cuộc sống ở 1 quốc gia có chính phủ. Những người né tránh chính trị hoặc là đang trục lợi từ thể chế chính trị nên né tránh những tác động có thể ảnh hưởng hoặc là lặp lại những lời nói của người khác với suy nghĩ điều đó mặc định là đúng. Bản tiếng Việt được xuất bản ở VN có thể coi là 1 tiến bộ (hy vọng ko phải do sơ sót kiểm duyệt!), phần viết về CNCN cũng khá thẳng thắn. Hy vọng sách tiếp tục được tái bản và đến tay được nhiều bạn đọc đặc biệt là các bạn trẻ.

[joanne]

I DEFINITELY learned a lot from this book. Although not as long as I expected it to be, it had loads of vital interesting information! I recommend this book a lot, and I think other parents should get their children this book to help their children learn more about politics.

Before I read this, I didn't really know how politics works. I thought it was just voting and presidents and prime ministers, all that boring stuff. What I didn't know, was that it was in MY ordinary life, MY situations I encounter on a daily basis, and even that I was somehow related to it!

Overall, it was really detailed, and although I spotted a few typos/mistakes in it, all the new words I've learned (a bunch of credits to the glossary) makes up for it.