Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Mon Nov 06 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Young environmental activists around the world are making a difference.An introduction offers an overview of the climate change crisis. The short, stirring comics that follow each use four pages of comic book panels to describe the subject's life and concerns. (Greta Thunberg gets six, perhaps for her outsized presence as the instigator of Fridays for Future, the model for what many of these young people are doing in their own countries.) Two more pages recount awards and current activities. The young people range remarkably, from Autumn Peltier, an Anishinaabe activist who has campaigned for clean water in Canada, to Dara McAnulty, working for raptor conservation in Ireland. Two of the subjects have demonstrated in countries where the act of environmental protest itself is severely limited: Russia and China. Several young activists described identify as queer; Thunberg and McAnulty are autistic; Daphne Frias, a Latina American who has worked to eliminate single-use plastics from her college dining hall, has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. The comics were created by different cartoonists whose backgrounds, styles, and even palettes are equally wide-ranging. Overall, these are heartening examples of young people taking action against what is probably the most important issue in all our lives; readers will emerge compelled to make a difference themselves.An impressive introduction to an admirable group. (what can you do? defend the defenders, interviews, information on the IPCC Report, timelines, further reading, watching, and listening, glossary, artist bios) (Graphic collective biography. 10-15)

School Library Journal Starred Review (Wed Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Gr 4–6— Reynolds and an assortment of artists have created something spectacular with this middle grade graphic novel perfect for young activists and those interested in bettering the world. Readers are introduced to 16 different climate activists and their stories, many of which include the spark that first drove them to be who they are. Reynolds does not shy away from the hard parts of the climate activists' stories; she talks openly about how people did not agree with Greta Thunberg, how President Trudeau has continually broken promises to the First Nations People of Canada (despite Autumn Peltier's efforts to make change), and even how economic and religious struggles affected Iqbal Badruddin Jamal's attempts at helping Pakistan with climate change. The images are striking and emotional in places, moving in all the right ways, which perfectly complement the stories being told. VERDICT While the topics are heavy and the text is a little dense for a traditional graphic novel, this would be a perfect fit as a nonfiction graphic and is a fantastic first purchase.— Jessica Clark

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Young environmental activists around the world are making a difference.An introduction offers an overview of the climate change crisis. The short, stirring comics that follow each use four pages of comic book panels to describe the subject's life and concerns. (Greta Thunberg gets six, perhaps for her outsized presence as the instigator of Fridays for Future, the model for what many of these young people are doing in their own countries.) Two more pages recount awards and current activities. The young people range remarkably, from Autumn Peltier, an Anishinaabe activist who has campaigned for clean water in Canada, to Dara McAnulty, working for raptor conservation in Ireland. Two of the subjects have demonstrated in countries where the act of environmental protest itself is severely limited: Russia and China. Several young activists described identify as queer; Thunberg and McAnulty are autistic; Daphne Frias, a Latina American who has worked to eliminate single-use plastics from her college dining hall, has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. The comics were created by different cartoonists whose backgrounds, styles, and even palettes are equally wide-ranging. Overall, these are heartening examples of young people taking action against what is probably the most important issue in all our lives; readers will emerge compelled to make a difference themselves.An impressive introduction to an admirable group. (what can you do? defend the defenders, interviews, information on the IPCC Report, timelines, further reading, watching, and listening, glossary, artist bios) (Graphic collective biography. 10-15)