We Can! Make a Difference – at a glance
The School Reading Lists’ five word review: Inspiring, powerful, inclusive, environment, activism.
Children’s book title: We Can! Make a Difference.
Children’s author: Alexandra Strick.
Children’s illustrator: Steve Antony.
Genre: Picture book.
Published by: Otter-Barry Books.
ISBN: 9781915659309.
Recommended for children aged: 5-8 year-olds.
First published: Hardback October 2024.
This children’s book is ideal for: Early readers.
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Our review:
Can we all come together to make a difference and make our world a better, safer, greener, kinder place? YES … WE CAN!
A group of 15 schoolchildren organise a We Can! Festival as a “joyous, peaceful call to action” to make our world a better place. The children create posters, attend marches, organise planet-friendly food options, and celebrate the power of the individual to enact lasting change.
We want to live in a world we can be PROUD of!
Author Alexander Strick is the co-founder of Inclusive Minds, an organisation that works with the publishing industry to ensure authentic representation by connecting those in the book trade with people who have lived experiences of diversity. Her previous book, You Can!, focused on inclusion and respect and was a BookTrust Book of the Month.
We Can! Make a Difference is both for and by children. Strick worked with hundreds of real children who submitted their own ideas on how to create the best world possible. Topics ranged from global issues such as climate change to individual acts of kindness. A young editorial team, in conjunction with the charity PAMIS (Promoting a More Inclusive Society), then collaborated with Strick to shape these ideas into a story of hope and positivity.
Each of us has the power to make a difference.
If we all play our part, together we can create the world we want!
Steve Antony’s colourful illustrations reflect a fully diverse group of children, enhancing the inclusivity message. Depictions of accessible toilets (a must at all festivals!), self-help techniques, and the call to “love that families come in all shapes and sizes” reinforce the theme of acceptance and genuine inclusion.
The actions depicted in the book are practical and achievable – focusing on equal rights, the environment, and respect for others. The literacy message is also highly relevant:
We want a world that is full of BOOKS!
So we can …
find ourselves in books,
help everyone discover books they will love,
give lend and swap our books
and treasure our local libraries.
Many thanks to Otter-Barry Books for the review copy.
To order a class set of this book, please click below to order via uk.bookshop.org, an organisation that supports local bookshops, or Amazon.co.uk.
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Browse our lists of diverse books for primary schools.
