cover image Stand Up! Be an Upstander and Make a Difference

Stand Up! Be an Upstander and Make a Difference

Wendy L. Moss. Magination, $14.99 (112p) ISBN 978-1-4338-2963-5

This guidebook tackles how to be an “Upstander”—a “positive bystander” who “stand[s] up for themselves and others”—through explaining positive self-talk, self-regulation, judicious intervention, realistic goals, teamwork, and persistence. Chapters open with multiple-choice quizzes, and Moss deploys direct-address questions to engage readers: “If you decide to work toward your goal in a group, do you think that you should allow everyone who is interested to join?” But formal language (“Connor struggled with... frustration tolerance”) tells instead of shows, and Moss’s composite examples feel institutional, obviously constructed to impart lessons. More problematic is the sense of equivocation—in the age of Greta Thunberg, Moss’s emphasis on small steps and manageable goals may not appease kids eager to spark change. Ages 13–up. (Dec.)