Remember when Michael Jackson told us to start with the Man in the Mirror if we wanted to see change in the world? That's how this book starts out. Kids learn about self-care, how to be kind, how to recognize their own emotions and harness the power of positive thinking. Once you are taking acre of yourself, then you can start to branch out to others around you, friends and family, in your community, and beyond. You also learn about lots of famous activists and their causes. Bonus points for the special section on spotting fake news, which is a rampant issue we all should be thinking about.

There's a lot of information on these pages and lots of ideas for activities that you can do. Some of the pages feel a little busy because there is SO much information on them with the pictures. But it is a lot of good information. You can start with one or two small activities and build up to the bigger ones. Plus there's a whole list of resources and organizations in the back.

Kids today are even more interesting in becoming activists than before. Or at least it is getting a lot more attention than when I was a kid. This book is definitely going to appeal to those kids who want to make a change in this world. My inner tween/teenager flashed back and started feeling a little ramped up to start implementing some of these changes and activities even now as an adult.

Thank you to the publisher for fulfilling my review request via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am a sucker for books that advertise on how to make the world a better place and you can more than like blame that on my upraising in the '90s. Anyway this book caught my eye and I chose to see what was within the pages for myself.

I must have to say that I did particularly enjoy the book at the beginning. It was quite informative, colorful, full of good tips and something that I could see myself wanting to share with younger generations. There is plenty of encouraginging material to choose from, especially if you don't want to read from cover-to-cover.

One of the formatting changes I would have suggested though is putting the quiz up towards the front with the tree that has the goals just for those readers who have no idea what topic they may want to look at tackling. For why would you tuck that in the middle of the book, especially since you will have some readers who have no idea what they may be interested in tackling?

From there the book started to go downhill. The author emphasizes over and over again to her young readers that before tackling some of these issues they will want to get a rounded view of the issue at hand before trying to tackle it. And yet looking through the last parts of the book I feel that she didn't take that into consideration for herself.

First of all she made the point of including the fact that the Suffragettes represented necessary action over words. The only thing she pointed out was the fact that they damaged property to get their point across and were willing to go to jail. Is this truly something you want children to have stuck in their head as being good to do in their own forms of protest?

The second thing I noticed was almost a double standard. Keilly made a point of emphasizing quite a few times the need to do quite rounded research before going on with your choice of subject. She did a great job in explaining when she wanted the two sides of an issue but in others she quite overlooked the one side and just made a point on why that person was doing what they did. In this case I would also like to point out the fact that one individual that was given one-sided was Colin Kaepernick.

I don't think Colin Kaepernick should have been mentioned since of the complication of that particular issue but that is my own opinion.

But the last straw to me was the fact that she was fear-mongering about a child's food while pinpointing everything on cows. Why do we have to have such books with focused agendas and if you are particularly sensitive about how much we need to change our diet why don't you also educate your reader on how to become a lifestyle vegan as well to further help save the world. Although you do know that slash-and-burn isn't just for cattle farming but also includes methods for raising crops.

All in all what started to be a book with promise just soured on me towards the end. There is definitely some good advice and some good places to start but instead of just giving this book to a child to read on their own I would recommend adults to read and go over these topics. Help to explain the whole stories instead of hoping a child may figure it out on their own or take what is given them even without factual basis without backing up the information.

***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review***

Have you ever wondered what it takes to make the world a better place or how you could personally make a difference?

How to Make A Better World gives young readers the knowledge and encouragement to start right away, beginning with you, the reader!

It is made up of four chapters that focus on 'you', 'community', 'humanity', and the 'environment', and is illustrated in fun and expressive ways that keep the extra information entertaining and easy to absorb.

The 'You' chapter focuses on self-care, understanding and overcoming difficult emotions, the power of positive thinking and more! Because you can't help the world if you're not at your best and ready to do so!

The 'Community' chapter encourages making friends, joining clubs, volunteering, celebrating heritage, and shares how your interactions within your community can influence others to change the world as well!

The 'Humanity' chapter focuses on showing kids how they can speak out and express themselves and how to learn about and join in on causes that are important to them, from creating campaigns, fundraisers, or even participating in a protest or march.

The 'Environment' chapter shares how you can make a positive difference through animal activism, green living, and raising awareness about serious issues like plastics in our oceans.

This book is a treasure trove of information!

There's so much great advice about social interactions, both positive and negative, and how to maneuver them, from friendship fallouts to simple disagreements to bullying. There's lots of positive encouragement to find something you're passionate about and how to get started on making a big difference in the world through small actions.

There's even a spread about Little Free Libraries! Swoon!

This book is a really good overview of what we can do to make the world a better place, but some of it may be too much for sensitive kids or even just overwhelming for kids in general. I recommend parents not necessarily reading it to their kids all the way through, but rather using it as a resource when questions and discussions come up.

“How To Make a Better World” encourages children to believe they have the power to change the world. Their contribution is important and visible within their own community, humanity as a whole and our environment. The books points out that first and foremost you must take care of yourself in order to maximize your effect. The illustrations are eye-catching and detailed. The pages are packed with a wealth of information but the illustrations and layout make the information flow well without being overwhelming. It offers great advice including how to relate to others respectfully when you’re not in agreement and ways to become invested in the community. It ranges from self care to human rights to environmental activism. It’s a very well rounded book that I feel will greatly benefit older elementary to junior high students. I will definitely share this with my own children.

Thanks to NetGalley and DK Children did the opportunity to read this and offer my honest opinion.

I found this title to be attractively packages, well laid out and full of information. This book will be a great resource for my students as they research student activism and make a difference in their own community.

This book is a needed resource in every single elementary school in the country. Considering the current climate within our media and politics, this is a necessary resource for our young children to have. Right now, our children are being told that they need to make changes in the world and be an active voice and then told by the same people to sit down and be quiet. That discrepancy needs to end now, and Kelly Swift is trying to make that happen.
Swift breaks this book down into four categories: you, community, humanity, environment. Then she puts a small 1-2 page chapter talking about subsections like self-care, volunteering, activism, etc. that help kids to understand all of these things on their levels. There is even an entire page dedicated to diffusing an argument that has the potential to escalate because of different opinions, essentially teaching kids that it is ok to agree to disagree and that you can still be friends!
I cannot stress how strongly I feel that every child in the country needs to have access to this book. I will be buying copies for the children in my life.

WOW! I loved this book! I can't wait to buy this one to read with my kids at home. So much is covered about how kids can make the world a better place, starting with self-care which I thought was a great starting point. Engaging content and illustrations!

I received a free digital ARC through NetGalley. I love the concept of this book, but there is an over abundance of them being published lately.

This book is so great. How to Make a Better World shows kids how to start by loving themselves and learning how to deal with their emotions and hits on major topics like the environment, discrimination, and rights.

I not only WANT the physical copy of this book but NEED it. The relevance and information provided is so powerful and presented so beautifully. This is like a guide book for kids. I love it.

THIS WAS SOOOO CUTE! This is an amazing children's book all about the ways in which one can create a better world, even on the smallest level. There are chapters on self care, community, humanity, and the environment. The illustrations are so adorable and incredibly diverse. I loved that the first chapter focused on self care and home life and stated that in order to care for others or the world, you first have to start with taking care of yourself. The importance on loving yourself and understanding your emotions was an incredible addition. I loved the proper definitions throughout the book and the glossary at the end that could help children understand main, but possibly difficult, concepts. I also loved that throughout every chapter, there was a friendly reminder that no one is perfect and that it's okay to fail. Overall, I just loved this book. I would LOVE for the young kiddos in my life to have a hard copy of this. I think it was just fantastic all around and inspired even me to take more initiative towards making the world a better place.

As adults, we are very aware of the many issues in the world. From politics to climate change, from bullying to plastics, there are so many areas that stress us. That stress can easily be passed on to kids.

How to Make a Better World offers an optimistic alternative for children by empowering them to make a difference. There are so many suggestions and roadmaps for what can be done in this book. Divided into sections on You, Community, Environment and more, the book helps children to look at what they might like to achieve. The author starts with one's self stressing the need for good care, mindfulness, sleep, etc. Then the author moves out to things to do in the world from how to be a good friend to writing to elected officials and to going on a protest march, to name just a few. Brightly illustrated with inclusive art, the pages of the book are quite appealing. All in all, this is an inspiring book for elementary school aged children.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this title in exchange for an honest review.

A colorful and cheerful book encouraging kindness in children. The first chapter is about self-kindness, because "the power to make a better world begins inside YOU". It goes on to sections including environment and community activism. Information is presented in bright graphics, making for eye-catching reading. I liked the
examples of kids who have made a difference and the ways every kid can do the same (from being a good friend to starting a Little Free Library!). This book is informative without being depressing and I walked away from it feeling super-inspired!