Akron Public Library

"As a young girl leads a cast of characters on a musical journey, they learn that they have the power to make changes -- big or small -- in the world, in their communities, and in most importantly, in themselves."--

Maritza is Bolivian on her mother's side, Mexican on her fathers' side, and 100 percent American soccer player. She dreams of playing for the U.S. women's soccer team and even coaching it one day. Her teammate Violeta has those dreams too, but she worries she may never reach them because her family immigrated to the United States from El Salvador and may be sent back there. Maritza believes that families belong together, and with her new friends Makena...

Makena has a passion for fashion and clothes are a way for her to connect with others -- especially when she shares her OOTD (outfit of the day). But some people don't see her for who she is. They only see her as a Black girl and make unfair assumptions. When she experiences a racist incident in her own neighborhood, she decides to use fashion to speak up about injustice. She teams up with her new friends, Evette and Maritza to raise awareness about...

"Olive, meet Natasha. There’s a new kid in town! From the moment Natasha sets foot in class, it’s clear she’s one of the coolest kids in sixth grade. Everyone wants to be her friend, including Olive ... but things might not be so easy. Olive tries her best to befriend Nat, but it seems like the only thing they have in common is that they both want to hang out with Olive’s friends! Watching as Natasha gets closer with some of her best buds,...

When eighth-grader Cameron Boxer creates the Positive Action Group at school he intends it as a diversion to fool his parents, teachers, and sister into letting him continue to concentrate on his video-gaming--but before he knows it other kids are taking it seriously, and soon he finds himself president of the P.A.G., and involved in community service, so the boy who never cared about anything is now the center of everything, whether he likes it or...

One child who wants to make a difference joins with another and, through a series of simple actions and others' help, succeeds in making the world a better place. Includes a mindfulness exercise and notes about the importance of taking one first step.

Changing the world means changing the story, the names, and the language with which we describe it. Calling things by their true names cuts through the lies that excuse, disguise, avoid, or encourage inaction, indifference, obliviousness in the face of injustice and violence. In this powerful and wide-ranging collection, Solnit turns her attention to battles over meaning, place, language, and belonging at the heart of the defining crises of our time....

Upon leaving an oppressive summer camp, twelve-year-old Margaret Rose Kane spearheads a campaign to preserve three unique towers her grand uncles have been building in their back yard for over forty years.