PRESTEL People Power: Protests That Changed The World Book Review

Reviewed by Vickie N

The product arrived quickly and was packaged appropriately to prevent damage in transit, with all the packaging being recyclable with a “climate neutral” promise..

People Power is a hardback book with a bright, attractive cover that made me want to look inside right away. I was not disappointed as the information inside is accompanied by contemporary and original illustrations by Ximo Abadia that would appeal to young people. The bold text, set on mainly light-coloured backgrounds, makes it easier for the dyslexic reader to access.

The information within details 13 peaceful protests from around the world, such as Gandhi’s Salt March, and the Rosa Parks protest that was the beginning of the Montgomery bus boycott. The book also recounts more recent peaceful protests, such as Fridays for Future, initiated by Greta Thunberg, and Black Lives Matter, that are ongoing today.
The book is recommended for Age 8+ and I would definitely agree with this. It is worded, without bias or opinion, in a way that ages 8-15 can understand and relate to. As a teacher of a class of 8-10 year olds, I have had many discussions about current affairs and events that happen around the world. The children in my class are familiar with the protests of Rosa Parks and Gandhi so I knew they would absolutely love this book. I shared it with them and asked what their favourite parts were. In addition to the protests that they are already aware of, they were particularly keen to hear more about the Mud March of the suffragettes (United Kingdom 1907) which they found interesting, identifying how it linked to the Democracy strand of our British Values. Another of their favourites, and mine too, was The Defenders or Pureora Forest (New Zealand, 1978). They care passionately for the environment and the world they are inheriting; it even inspired one of my students to produce an information booklet (at home) about the rainforests in the world.
It is fair to say that my class have learnt much about People Power and Peaceful Protest from this book and I can see them trying to apply the examples to bring about change in certain school policies or issues in the local area
As a teacher, I thoroughly recommend “People Power” as a teaching resource as I can see many ways that it can be used to enrich the learning of my students across multiple subject areas, such as Geography, History, Citizenship and even examples of grammar skills/techniques.

The book’s author, Rebecca June, participated in marches and community protests from a young age and, as a politically-motivated young person, I would have loved to have had People Power on my bookshelf. I would recommend it as a gift for a birthday or an Easter/Christmas present, especially for any tweenager who is hoping to effect change in their part of the world and wants to have their voice heard.

The price of £11.99 is good value for such a book, whether bought for a library, school setting or a gift for an individual.

Rating: 5/5

RRP: £11.99

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