It's Our World Too: Stories of Young People Who Are Making a Difference

by Phillip Hoose. (Joy Street, Little Brown, 1993 ISBN 0-316-37241-2) Nonfictional Short Stories. Grades 4+.
This review by Carol Otis Hurst first appeared in Teaching K-8 Magazine.

Review

So much of the news of young people in our society is sad that it was fun to read It's Our World Too. I thought by the cover that these were all young adults but the chapter that moved me most was about a class of first and second graders in Sweden who bought a rainforest. The writing is personal, emotional and so skillful that the young people cited here seem real and not too good to be true. Their projects were/are worthwhile, possible to emulate and inspiring. This is a book to hand to students and teachers who are reading about the environment, the homeless, the handicapped and the disenfranchised and are feeling overwhelmed and hopeless about any and all of these problems. The kids in this book did something about it. We should get off our duffs and join them.