In this vital and accessible survey, a prominent activist for racial justice answers questions from real children, giving them the tools and the confidence to shape a more just society. Using questions canvassed from children around the United Kingdom as her framework, writer, activist, engineer, and broadcaster Yassmin Abdel-Magied provides a clear overview of racism’s history, what it looks like today, and how to recognize, resist, and disrupt racist conversations and attitudes that can appear anywhere. This book is a practical guide for taking actionable steps, but it acknowledges that talking about racism invites complex feelings and offers tips and tactics for expressing those emotions safely, stepping back when needed, and prioritizing self-care. The book’s warm and assured tone, friendly illustrations, and supplementary charts, sidebars, infographics, and glossary offer an authentic way to open a dialogue with middle-grade readers, providing an eloquent call to nurture compassion and change, challenge inequality, and strive toward racial justice for all.
On sale: September 5, 2023
Age: 9-12 years
Grade: Grades 4-7
Page count: 128 Pages
ISBN: 9781536231335
Reading level: Lexile: 940L | Fountas/Pinnell: Y
Yassmin Abdel-Magied is the creator of the TED talk “What Does My Headscarf Mean to You?” which was featured as one of TED’s most influential ideas of 2015. She has designed a race car, worked on an oil rig, and written two children’s novels, a memoir, and a book of political essays. She has delivered keynotes in twenty-five countries and continues to comment on news and current affairs for the BBC and Al Jazeera. In all her work, Yassmin Abdel-Magied is an advocate for transformative justice and a fairer, safer world for all.
Aleesha Nandhra is an illustrator and printmaker whose work includes promotional pieces for the Barbican and House of Illustration (now the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration) and a Google Doodle. One of her prints appeared in the 2022 Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts. She lives in the UK.
Clear and unflinching yet accessible to a young audience, speaking to them gently when the content gets sensitive, emphasizing the need to remain safe when intervening, and providing them with a number of constructive tools to apply to their own lives. . . . A straightforward yet encouraging discussion on the fight against racism with a uniquely global perspective.
—School Library Journal (starred review)
Throughout the book, the author uses a comforting tone while acknowledging the weight of this subject matter. Frequent metaphors, such as climbing a mountain with a heavy backpack, help explain terms like equality, equity, and justice, with myriad infographics and visuals providing more context to this social justice resource.
—Booklist
