Publishers Weekly
01/06/2020
In his introduction to this cogent appeal to young fighters of injustice, Hasak-Lowy (Roses and Radicals) carefully distinguishes institutional activism from nonviolent activism: the more “disruptive, risky tactics that challenge those in power and interrupt the way things normally work—without taking up arms.” Succeeding chapters, illustrated with black-and-white photos, cover Gandhi’s advocation of nonviolent resistance during India’s quest for independence, Alice Paul’s campaign for women’s right to vote, Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight for civil rights, Cesar Chavez’s work organizing farmworkers, and Vaclav Havel’s leadership of the 1989 Czech “Velvet Revolution.” In each case, despite different hostile conditions, activists’ insistence on nonviolent but forceful actions successfully mobilized large groups of courageous people to fight for what they believed was right. Hasak-Lowy argues that oppressed individuals can create powerful change and that individual responses enable change. A striking and very timely conclusion highlights teenage Greta Thunberg’s bold challenge to fight global climate change. Substantial back matter covers other notable movements of the past century and includes notes and a bibliography. Ages 10–14. (Apr.)
Booklist
**STARRED REVIEW** "Hasak-Lowy's writing gives life to both the people and issues involved, taking time to explain historical backgrounds and the ways the lessons from one movement affected future ones."
climate activist and author of Falter: Has the Bill McKibben
"Nonviolence may have been the greatest invention of the twentieth century, more important than nuclear fission or genetic coding. It offers us the chance to build a working twenty-first century, and since young people will have to lead that fight, this book is a crucial gift!"
author of Torpedoed: The True Story of the Wor Deborah Heiligman
"I'm so glad this book exists! From the opening pages where we meet Gandhi, to the closing with Greta Thunburg, and in between with Alice Paul, Martin Luther King, Vaclav Havel, Ceasar Chavez, and others, it is beautifully written, informative, and so moving. Readers young and older will be inspired to rise up peacefully, to act, to change the world—to save the world."
School Library Connection
**STARRED REVIEW** "There has never been a time when a book is more relevant than this one."
A Fuse #8 Production
"It’s a book that grants that kids have brains, that they can understand complexity, and that in a world where everything seems very gloom and doom, it is possible to make things better. And to be frank, that’s the kind of message we’re all in dire need of right this very second."
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
". . .Readers will gain new appreciation for how nonviolent methods, often inspired by other movements for justice, led to victories."
From the Publisher
"Nonviolence may have been the greatest invention of the twentieth century, more important than nuclear fission or genetic coding. It offers us the chance to build a working twenty-first century, and since young people will have to lead that fight, this book is a crucial gift!" —Bill McKibben, climate activist and author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?
"I'm so glad this book exists! From the opening pages where we meet Gandhi, to the closing with Greta Thunburg, and in between with Alice Paul, Martin Luther King, Vaclav Havel, Ceasar Chavez, and others, it is beautifully written, informative, and so moving. Readers young and older will be inspired to rise up peacefully, to act, to change the world—to save the world."—Deborah Heiligman, author of Torpedoed: The True Story of the World War II Sinking of 'The Children'
**STARRED REVIEW** "Hasak-Lowy's writing gives life to both the people and issues involved, taking time to explain historical backgrounds and the ways the lessons from one movement affected future ones."—Booklist
"It’s a book that grants that kids have brains, that they can understand complexity, and that in a world where everything seems very gloom and doom, it is possible to make things better. And to be frank, that’s the kind of message we’re all in dire need of right this very second."—A Fuse #8 Production
**STARRED REVIEW** "Highly recommended for its outstanding treatment of the history of social justice. A good resource for student activists."—School Library Journal
**STARRED REVIEW** "There has never been a time when a book is more relevant than this one."—School Library Connection
“A striking and very timely conclusion highlights teenage Greta Thunberg’s bold challenge to fight global climate change.”—Publishers Weekly
"This excellent, timely overview will open eyes and deserves a wide readership."—Kirkus
". . .Readers will gain new appreciation for how nonviolent methods, often inspired by other movements for justice, led to victories."—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Booklist
**STARRED REVIEW** "Hasak-Lowy's writing gives life to both the people and issues involved, taking time to explain historical backgrounds and the ways the lessons from one movement affected future ones."
School Library Journal
★ 02/01/2020
Gr 6 Up—Hasak-Lowy profiles six past and present leaders of nonviolent resistance from Gandhi to Greta Thunberg. Gandhi's methods of protest (disobeying the law, being arrested, marching with groups of followers along historical routes) proved to be so effective that other leaders modeled their tactics on his techniques. The book focuses on activists of the 20th century: Alice Paul went on a hunger strike in prison to advocate for women's suffrage, Martin Luther King Jr. and thousands of children went to jail in Birmingham to protest segregation, and Cesar Chavez led a grape boycott that resulted in the United Farm Workers gaining decent pay and working conditions. Photographs provide context. Gandhi is shown dressed in a three-piece suit with trimmed hair when he was a practicing lawyer from 1893 until 1913. Later he's shown barefoot and wearing homemade clothes suitable for the Salt March in 1930. The author describes the suffering inherent in the work of these brave men and women and captures the joy of victory. Readers will learn about others equally important and worthy of mention: Bayard Rustin, James Bevel, and Dolores Huerta. The source notes and bibliography are excellent. VERDICT Highly recommended for its outstanding treatment of the history of social justice. A good resource for student activists.—Patricia Aakre, P.S. 89, New York
FEBRUARY 2021 - AudioFile
Soft-spoken Adam Verner narrates this audiobook with the steady persistence of its subjects—nonviolent activists. In five chapters, he calmly details the work of noted activists Mahatma Gandhi, suffragist Alice Paul, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., César Chávez, and Václav Havel. The conclusion highlights young climate activist Greta Thunberg and other contemporary movements—for example, Occupy Wall Street and March for Our Lives. A postscript includes other historical movements. A pdf contains notes and a bibliography. Verner's temperate tone reinforces the book’s theme of avoiding charged rhetoric and violent activism. Nonviolence, however, is not to be mistaken for nonconfrontation. The takeaway tenets here are to speak your truth and act on your beliefs. L.T. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2020-01-21
Hasak-Lowy introduces a polemic: Over the last war-ridden century, nonviolent activism has proven to be a powerful way to effect social change.
He chronologically presents five significant movements, focusing on leaders who fostered the resources of aggrieved people—their bodies, courage, and persistence—to oppose injustice nonviolently. Mohandas K. Gandhi, initially among Indian workers in South Africa, then in India, adopted techniques of nonviolent resistance to gain independence from British colonial rule. The American suffragist Alice Paul, drawing on her Quaker upbringing, led the “Silent Sentinels”: banner-wielding women who demonstrated at the White House. These activists endured beatings, arrests, incarceration, forced feedings during hunger strikes, and more in their determined quest for their full rights as citizens. The chapter on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. credits his many mentors and collaborators, presenting their arduous work in planning and executing civil action in Birmingham. In early May 1963, thousands of demonstrating Birmingham youth endured water cannons, police dogs, and widespread arrests, stunning the nation. Chapters on Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers movement and Vaclav Havel and Czechoslovakia’s astounding Velvet Revolution round out the volume. The author deftly connects these movements: Far from avoiding conflict, each leader actively engaged in it, helping people reassume the power previously ceded to their oppressors. A concluding section cogently illuminates Greta Thunberg’s urgent work on the climate crisis.
This excellent, timely overview will open eyes and deserves a wide readership. (other notable movements, source notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)
