31 Ways to Change the World

by We Are What We Do

Children have lots of ideas for changing the world — and here are thirty-one fun and simple ways to get started.

Small actions multiplied by lots of people equals big change! That’s the driving belief behind the social change movement We Are What We Do — and it infuses this lively, motivating book packed with action steps for younger readers. Incorporating the suggestions of thousands of children, tips range from stirring (stand up for something) to silly (walk your dad); from earth-friendly (don’t charge your phone overnight) to eye-opening (where is that Waldo?); from social (teach your granny to text) to downright surprising (speak soccer!). These thirty-one creative, original ideas are contributed by kids for kids — and each is guaranteed to have a clear and positive impact. Of course, the book would not be complete without a final question to the what’s the one thing you would do to change the world? Back matter includes an author’s note and information about how to get involved.

Genres: Nonfiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, Picture Books

80 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2010

Reviews

[Elfdart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those activism books for kids, aged 9- 12. I like it a bit more than the other `how to' activism for kids books out there because it isn't telling kids to fight the world's evils, it isn't telling them that the world is going to end unless they do this, and it isn't at all large-scale. Many of the suggestions in this book only immediately effect the person who is doing them and the person/ people they're interacting with. Instead of listing all of the actions I'm just going to summarize the gist of them by category.

There are a few actions that suggest how to interact with people more, like your parents or your grandmother. In general, many of the actions tell the reader to do more things with people. This is an important suggestion with the rise of technology. Kids are spending more and more of their free time alone in front of some electronic device or another, and while this is fun for them for the moment, too much of this behaviour can alienate them from their friends and family.

So in addition to the do things with people group of actions, there are the `do things' actions. Things like playing or writing a letter, grow something and eat it, these help get kids off the couch.
Then of course there are the environmentally aware actions, but it goes about presenting this in a kid friendly way. One of these is to love your stuff, it doesn't say this, but by loving your stuff you won't rush out to buy new stuff and you'll value what you have. There are also the standard `don't waste power' actions, but they give you some real life examples like shower time and junk mail.

There are also the `educate yourself' actions. These suggest that you learn another language or learn about a cause to support or to bug your parents about. One of the actions is to simply ask why, which is always a good tool for learning.

Overall I think that this is one of the better elementary school aged activist books I've come across. It's short and sweet but has a lot of valuable things to say. It's also very colourful and full of pictures so is easy on the eye. What I like about this book the most is that it doesn't only talk about how to fix your environment or how to make a political or social change, it also talks about how you should make more time for the people you see everyday. How you should be more active and more social, because believe it or not those tiny and `insignificant' interactions are what will shape your world the most and are what will determine your happiness. And if more people are happy, the world will indeed change for the better.

[Raquel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Positive energy and positive actions help us improve our own lives, the lives of others and the world around us. The organization We Are What We Do's mantra is "Small Actions X A Lot of People = Big Change". This book demonstrates 31 ways that any kid could influence positive change by doing small things. Examples include Teach Your Grandma to text, in order to help out older generations understand new technology and to spend time bonding with a family member. Or Don't Charge Your Cell Phone overnight to reduce the excess usage of electricity and help the environment. This is a simple and straightforward book with lots of bright and colorful spreads. It's very interactive and gets kids to not only think about positive actions but to actually do them.

[Kellee Moye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review with teaching tools: http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=9694

What I really liked about this book vs. other “change the world” books was that there are so many different options and something that everyone could do. It would be so easy to go through and do most of these. Although this book doesn’t focus completely on global warming/climate change, I think it fits perfectly on Earth Day because one way to make our Earth better is to make humans nicer.

[Sunday · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wide variety of suggestions for students in grades 3-7. The beauty of this book is the voice of the author--humorous, down-on-kids-level. The format, layout and design is appealing and kid-friendly. This is the kind of book I'd like to have in a classroom library - for reading and then writing a response or an action plan, for discussing in small groups, for launching an inquiry, as a mentor text for writing workshop. Lots of potential.

[The Reading Countess · Rating 2 out of 5]

31 Ways was not what I bargained for when I ordered this title from FirstBook. A quick read (less than thirty minutes), 31 Ways was offered no original ideas for kids hungry to make a difference. Teaching your grandma to text using knitting needles and granny lingo was the highlight of the book. I think that pretty much sums it up.

[Kylee S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot! It suggests a bunch of ways children can help change the world. I think it is very motivational. I really liked how the ways were realistic and little things young children can help do. Children would feel proud of themselves when doing these little things and feel like they have made a difference.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! This book would be great to read to the class and complete the actions. It contains 31 ways that you can "change the world" from making someone smile, to teaching your grandma to text. Using this in your classroom can create a strong classroom community and encourage students to do something they wouldn't normally do.

[Morgen Shambaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great one to encourage children to be good citizens and take action in their community! It is set up so teachers can read students a section or two a day. There are 30+ ways for students to be good action-taking citizens and it explains how to do this things in a kid friendly matter. I really like this book, and I hope to use it with whatever grade I end up teaching.

[Ashley Killian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a great read, and I feel students would respond to this with excitement. I would use this to create a text innovation in my classroom. After reading the text as an interactive read aloud, I would ask the students to each write one way to change the world. Then, we would make a class book together.

[IfCatsCouldRead · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is written by kids for kids. As I read this to my group of kindergartners - 2nd graders, they were amused by some of the suggestions (like walking your dad), confused by others (which I had to then explain), and surprised by others. We talked about how smiling at someone can completely change their mood and cause that person to pay it forward. One small thing can help change the world.

[Lanora TM · Rating 3 out of 5]

31 Ways to Change the World is an adorable little book filled with very important information. The book does not shove the information down your throat - it is a colorful and fun book that makes a point.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An upbeat, visually dynamic book to encourage kids to be better global citizens. Small, fun changes that any kid can do to make the world a better place. It was published in the U.K. and I love some of their phrases. A nice book to leave out for kids to flip through.

[Taina]

A great beginning activist book for kids, it includes 31 small steps that can lead to big change if all children did them. This goes well with my text set because whenever I teach anything having to do with justice, my students want to know what they can do to make a positive difference.

[Maux · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has ways to chang the word

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lively and motivating. Any kid can influence positive change by doing small things.

[Mrs.Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

see my blog review at http://kristinehallways.blogspot.com/...

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has great examples of ways students can be good citizens. It is interesting and a different style of book that children and adults would both enjoy reading.