Review by Booklist Review
This encouraging book presents examples of children volunteering to help others and enjoying the process. Elementary-school students are shown knitting hats and scarves for homeless families, picking produce at a community farm, and packing donated after-school snacks for kids. A girl and her father deliver hot meals to a man who doesn't see too well. Members of a Boys and Girls Club pick up trash monthly along a nearby roadway. And best of all, a professional trainer of assistance dogs brings them to a school, pairs them with kids, and has them work together to give the dogs practice in responding to commands. Crisp, colorful photos show the participants at work and, when their work is done, occasionally playing around, too. For instance, after watering young cottonwood trees during a drought, three boys enjoy a rock-throwing contest beside a river. Succinct text explains the volunteer activities. Clearly, the answer to the title's question is an emphatic Yes! --Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-With service learning projects in elementary schools on the rise, this title would be a good one to share with children who are considering the options. Through beautifully crisp and colorful photographs and explanatory narrative, Ancona shares a variety of endeavors that children have undertaken in his Southwestern community, such as knitting hats for homeless people; sorting, packing, and delivering food for a food bank; picking up trash; and mentoring younger students. The kids' determination, passion, and commitment comes through in the photos, while the text explains what they are doing in accessible but not overly simple descriptions. Teachers looking to begin a service project might want to start here as a way to introduce the topic and inspire children to think of the possibilities. This title could also be used as a model/mentor text for creating a classroom book to document children's projects VERDICT A good choice for schools, scouts, and local groups looking to foster community service.-Maggie Chase, Boise State University, ID © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Straightforward text describes various ways that children can help those in need: through knitting hats for the homeless, tending a community garden that donates its produce, etc. Young readers may find the text cumulatively leaden, but they'll pore over the color photos--they're unpolished, befitting the subject matter--featuring kids hard at work but gleefully throwing themselves into community service. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Kids don't often get a chance to help others outside their families in meaningful ways. This book may change that. Ancona's focus is not on connecting readers with specific organizations but on showing kids the myriad ways they can make a difference, whether working with their parents, their friends, their schools, or people in their communities. A classroom's students knit hats and scarves for the homeless; families harvest produce for soup kitchens; kids bag plums and snacks for needy families; a girl accompanies her dad when he delivers a hot meal to an elderly man; children help train dogs for service jobs; one boy helps another who is disabled to ski; children water young trees during a drought; mentors help younger students with schoolwork; a club cleans up their section of adopted roadway. Ancona gives a general idea of what each volunteer opportunity entails and how long it takes. Lots of pictures fill the spreads. The kids are named in the text, which gives the whole package a nicely personal feelindividuals are doing this work, not generic people. The children are focused and obviously trying their best, but they are also finding time for fun. While this may be too didactic for many readers to choose on their own, it's a sure bet for groups and families focused on doing some community service. (Nonfiction. 5-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
