Cramm This Book (YA Nonfiction)

     You gotta read a book that starts with "I was twelve years old when I decided I needed to change the world."

     It was the 2016 presidential election that provided preteen Olivia Seltzer with this epiphany. Before, although she'd watched the news with her parents she'd never felt that what she saw directly impacted her. Overnight she lost this sense of safety and security. 

     Talking to her peers she realized that very few of them read or watched traditional news, probably because it wasn't written with younger people in mind. She saw this as a very real problem. 

     "Every day, something happens in the world that impacts countless lives. And if we don't know about these things, we're doing a serious disservice to the people who most need our help."

     She began writing newsletters translating current events into generationally friendly language. Pretty soon she was reaching millions of people from over one hundred countries, many of whom were getting involved in issues that matter. And then she recognized another problem. Traditional media, writing for older people, presumes a historic background that younger people lack. And you can't understand today's events without grasping their history.

     So Seltzer, then seventeen, wrote Cramm This Book: So You Know WTF Is Going On In The World Today, a book I totally recommend for its target demographic and those beyond who don't want to be bored. Frankly I love the way Seltzer talks and I think you will too.

     Cramm This Book is divided is divided into four sections: The Isms and The Phobias  (irrational fears and biases taken to the extreme), The Wars (World War II and the conflicts it set the stage for), The Movements (from women's suffrage to Me Too and Black Lives Matter), and The Disasters (like those out of control hurricanes and wildlifes). Each chapter combines a deep dig into a major  issue with rich historical background. And although issues have their own chapters they aren't siloed due to Seltzer's grasp of intersectionality. 

     Seltzer hopes her book "forces you (readers) to reckon with not only the state of the world today, but also how and why it came to be this way. I hope it empowers you and inspires you to take the future into your own hands. 

     And, above all, I hope it gives you the insight you need to ensure that history doesn't repeat itself--and to dismantle or improve the systems that have allowed so many of our worst prejudices to continue to thrive and to impact the  forces that have caused such devastation to occur."

     Amen to that!!!

On a purrrsonal note, Olivia Seltzer would have approved of what I did Saturday. I'm a member of Black Bear Mutual Aid Fund. We raise money to help UMaine students with expenses they can't afford. We did a yard/crafts sale that raised funds as well as awareness. It was a gorgeous autumn day. We had lots of people. I got a chance to hang out with my good friend Catherine. I got some great bargains. And one vendor who gave BBMAF 50% of her profits gave me a beautiful pair of 🐢 earrings. When I got 🏡 it was warm enough to read outside near my 🌼 🌸 🌻 🌹. 

A great big shout out goes out to all who participated. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

     

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone