Ten Amazing People: And How They Changed the World

by Maura D Shaw, Stephen Marchesi (Illustrator)

Overview

Ten Amazing People shows kids that spiritual people can have an exciting impact on the world around them.

Ten Amazing People uses vibrant pictures, fascinating profiles, and a wealth of intriguing information to bring to life the passion and actions of some of the past century's greatest leaders.

Through thought, deed, and determined spiritual lives, these amazing people changed our world for the better. Coming from different backgrounds and faiths, representing different cultures and countries from around the globe, all of them had one thing in common: the belief that they had the power to make a difference by helping other people.

This important and inspiring book is for children, parents, teachers, and librarians who care about what these ten amazing people cared about—peace among nations, protecting the environment, helping the poor and disadvantaged, racial equality, and making the world a better place. Ideal for character education.

• Black Elk • Dorothy Day • Malcolm X • Mahatma Gandhi • Martin Luther King, Jr. • Janusz Korczak • Mother Teresa of Calcutta • Albert Schweitzer • Thich Nhat Hanh • Desmond Tutu

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781893361478
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	09/01/2002
Series:	Skylight Lives Series
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.34(d)
Age Range:	6 - 10 Years

About the Author

Maura D. Shaw is the author of several books for young readers, including the award-winning Ten Amazing People: And How They Changed the World (SkyLight Paths); the historical novel Owl's Journey and Gandhi: India's Great Soul. Her nondenominational handbook of Earth-honoring activities for parents and children, Celebrating the Great Mother, is popular with families and groups.

Stephen Marchesi has created numerous drawings for textbooks, magazines and picture books, including Martin Luther King, Jr. and the March on Washington; Meet Abraham Lincoln; Mary McLeod Bethune: Voice of Black Hope and Mars: The Red Planet. A graduate of Pratt Institute, his books have been on the Children's Book Council bestsellers list and on the Bank Street College Children's Book of the Year lists.

Editorial Reviews

Shaw (Celebrating the Great Mother) profiles Desmond Tutu, Black Elk, Mother Teresa and Janusz Korczak, among other 20th-century leaders, in this informative volume. Each figure receives two spreads, on which are a full-page, collage-like painting, several columns of biographical text, a quote, definitions of salient terms, a chronology and a "fascinating fact." In introducing Mahatma Gandhi, for example, Shaw emphasizes that satyagraha is best understood as "peaceful-not passive-resistance"; defines the terms "caste system" and "British empire"; and offers the fact that upon Gandhi's death his only possessions were sandals, a watch, glasses, bowls and spoons, and a book of songs. The subjects are not all equally famous: one entry discusses the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, who was exiled from his homeland in 1964 for his leadership in the peace movement. Shaw admirably distills complex ideas into age-appropriate presentations; the design, however, tends to bombard readers with competing presentations, to some extent undoing Shaw's accomplishment in streamlining the material. Despite the use of different colors to distinguish the text blocks, the somber quality of the illustrations and the fact-box-heavy pages give the volume an institutional appearance. Ages 6-10. (Nov.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 3-5-These short biographical sketches include Black Elk, Mother Teresa, and Albert Schweitzer, and emphasize their subjects' religious and moral beliefs and their accomplishments. Information is limited; each personality is covered in four pages that include a full-page picture of the featured person, smaller spot art, a time line, explanations of terms, and a quotation from the individual. Marchesi's rich oil paintings depict significant events in the people's lives, and the images are explained at the back of the book. The useful endpapers contain a world location map and a time line (1861-2002) of important dates in the subjects' lives, along with related world events. Overall, the book offers a unique perspective. A supplementary source for reports.-Krista Tokarz, Cuyahoga County Public Library, OH Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

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