Brilliant Books to Inspire Action in the IB PYP

Our aim is, through inquiry, to have the children come up with responsible, thoughtful and meaningful action that will make an impact. This impact does not have to be earth-shattering for the world. It does have to connect with their learning, giving a sense of purpose to their learning  through experience and enabling their voice to shine through. This is extremely empowering. Think about the impact that taking action has on yourself; from checking off your daily to-do list, to accomplishing a marathon event. ( or a marathon! Haha! )  The impact begins with how you feel about yourself and, depending on the action, can have a domino effect in that it affects others in your immediate community, wider community or even globally. Regardless of the extent of the ripple effect of your action, it becomes empowering. So, how do we transfer this to the children?

Making it Happen The best way to encourage student action is to begin by giving  children the knowledge of what action looks like. We want them to be able to identify appropriate action. I like to narrow it down to two forms:

• Personal Action – What can I do for myself to make a change that will benefit me?
• Action for Others – What can I do for others? (local community, wider community, global action)

[caption id="attachment_1226" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Posters for developing an awareness of taking action.[/caption] One of the simplest ways to introduce children to what action looks like, well, in action, is through stories. This collection of books all bring action to life through characters doing, feeling, having, saying and being.

Through a global perspective, the following books look at issues across time and place that have examples of different forms of taking action. The first few books are better suited for older children, either as class read alouds or for independent reading. The last four books are perfect for lower grades yet can also be impactful for our older students too. 

Take a look at the list below. These are easy to integrate into many concepts within our themes and certainly as examples of our Learner Profile attributes. You can link directly to Amazon through the images and titles. And, if youre looking for further suggestions for ways to INSPIRE student-led action, take a look at this blog post too.

Boy Overboard and Girl Underground is a set of two books by Morris Gleitzman, an Australian author.

Boy Overboard is the story of Jamal and Bibi, football-crazy siblings from Afghanistan. They discover one day that their family might be in trouble with their fundamentalist government because their mother runs a school for girls, which is against their law. They leave their country on a boat as refugees. After a perilous journey where they face pirates, hunger and other dangers, they reach Australian waters. But disaster strikes and Jamal is thrown overboard. Fortunately, he is rescued by an Australian ship. He and Bibi are separated from their parents and sent to a detention centre. The second book, Girl Underground, is about Bridget, an Australian girl whose family are criminals . She is sent to a new school where she makes friends with Menzies, whose father is a Minister in the government. He is pen pals with Jamal at the Detention Centre. Together, Bridget and he appeal to the Government to release the refugees. When they fail to get a response, they make a bold and risky plan to rescue Jamal and his family themselves.

Because, sometimes, when the right thing needs to be done and no one helps, you must dig deep and take the action yourself!

Shadow, by Michael Morpurgo

Shadow is the tale of a young boy Aman, his faithful, life-saving dog Shadow, and their escape from Afghanistan to England. During a dangerous journey from their country Shadow helps to guide Aman and his mother away from danger before he gets separated from them. They finally reach England seeking asylum and are kept in a detention centre that resembles a prison for a long period of six years, until they can be deported to the dangers that await them in their home country. Matt, an English boy, convinces his grandfather, a journalist, to write about the conditions in which Aman and his mother have been held. Matt and his grandfather’s actions gather hundreds of supporters who stage a protest outside the detention centre. Eventually, the government decides that Aman and his mother will be allowed to stay on in England. Shadow, the dog, whose original name was Polly is reunited with Aman too.

Sometimes a strong belief in fighting a wrong can give you strength and support that leads to the right results.

WRINGER by Jerry Spinelli

A book for upper grades, this looks at taking action for self and standing for your own beliefs and values. Young boy Palmer’s town of Waymer has an annual family fest, Pigeon Day, when pigeons are released, only to be shot down. When boys turn 10, it is the tradition that they are given the status of becoming pigeon wringers, which means they wring the necks of the wounded pigeons to release them from pain, to a quick death. Palmer is dreading his tenth birthday because he does not believe in this practice that repulses him but is scared to voice it because he hasn’t many friends, and will be socially ostracized. One day, when he is nine, he gives shelter to a pigeon who knocks at his window. The course of events that follow lead him to realize that he must learn not to be afraid, and with his friend Dorothy, stands up for what he believes in to stop this cruel practice.

The Last Wild: A Trilogy by Piers Torday

This trilogy is a dystopian tale set in the future, about a boy named Kester who lives in a quarantine land after being taken away from his family home under mysterious circumstances. He is locked up in a miserable and oppressive home for children with special needs. Kester is unable to speak but finds he can communicate with animals. A deadly virus has killed all the animals in the world except pests and it is expected to be equally dangerous to humans. It appears the animals see him as their saviour. He is first approached by a cockroach who helps him escape the home by digging a tunnel out for him. A flock of pigeons then helps him fly to a distant land where the last of the animals are still alive. Together with a girl called Polly they set off to find his Dad, a very good vet, and then go on to rescue the last of the animals to safety. But he then finds that the animals want to rise against humans for their cruelty. He has a lot of saving to do, and as he accomplishes one task, another seems to arise.

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena

This is a lovely story and especially for younger grades. It focuses on action through mindfulness, which connects with our Self Management skills. On Sundays after church, CJ and his grandma leave the church and walk to the bus stop to wait for the ride across town. As he waits for the bus, he wonders why they don’t own a car, but then has a giggle when the bus driver pulls a coin from behind his ear. Along his way, he marvels a tree drinking up the rain from the ground. He wonders why he doesn’t own an iPod like the other kids on the bus but then finds he enjoys the music from the guitar man on the bus instead. He sits next to a blind man on the bus and learns how you can appreciate the world through sounds and smells too. He asks why they always get off in the dirty part of town, when he sees a beautiful rainbow in the sky and the happy smiles on the faces of all those who eat at the soup kitchen where he helps to serve meals with grandma. For each question he asks his grandmother gently guides him to an answer that shows him how you can find beauty and fun in routines and ordinary things, if only you learn to look for them.

Action is also found in thinking positively and having a perspective

that looks at the brighter side.

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin

In this funny tale, PERFECT for little ones, it is about animals on a farm. We see how the cows become great communicators and seek action from Farmer Brown who owns their farm. When the cows were cold, they found an old typewriter in the barn and typed a letter to the farmer to ask for electric blankets. When he said no, they went on strike and refused to give him milk! Next, the hens said they were cold too and the cows sent a letter asking for some blankets for them as well., or else they wouldn’t lay any eggs. The farmer was furious. He sent a reply through Duck saying he would give them blankets if they gave the typewriter back to him. They agreed, but when the duck came back, instead of the typewriter Farmer Brown got a note from the ducks asking for a diving board for their pond!. And so poor Farmer Brown had to meet more demands from his animals again!

Sometimes, when things are not to our liking, it’s right to take action and ask for what is justly due to us, so long as we use the right means to communicate.

The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig 

Simple acts of kindness are the easiest way to take impactful action. This lovely story is a beautiful message for younger years. Brian is the invisible boy in his class – not physically invisible of course. But never noticed by his teachers or included in games and parties by his classmates. So quiet Brian eats lunch on his own and spends his time drawing pictures of fantastic creatures like dragons and superheroes while the others play. One day, Justin, a new boy joins the class. His lunchbox has unfamiliar food so the other students laugh at it, but Brian extends a kindness to Justin telling him his food looks good. Justin admires Brain’s drawings. For a project in class, Justin asks his partner Emilio to include Brian in their group so he can make some amazing drawings for their story. At lunch time, Justin asks Brian to sit with them. And Brian is no longer so alone anymore.

Small gestures of kindness can go a long way in giving a shy or quiet child the confidence and acceptance to help them flourish.

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox

Little Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge lives next door to an old people's home and is a frequent visitor there. He is friends with all its residents, but his most special friend is 96-year-old Miss Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper because she has four names like he does. When Wilfrid Gordon finds out that she is losing her memory he sets out to find out what a memory is. He asks several people, and when he acquires some understanding of it, he gathers objects from around his house and his precious belongings and brings them to Miss Nancy in the hope she will find some of that lost memory. Each little item he has collected sparks a little recall for Miss Nancy who relives her old happy and sad times.

Both Wilfrid Gordon and Miss Nancy feel so happy at the end of the morning because his kind and thoughtful act has helped her find much of her memory again.

I hope you find this useful and find something that you can use. Happy clicking!

P.S. Hop on over to our amazing international community on Instagram @pypteaching, where we are sharing lots more ideas from schools around the world.  Please do come  and introduce yourself.