BooksforTopics Reading for Pleasure Recommendations
Book Title: What Can a Citizen Do? (Available here)
Author: Dave Eggers
Illustrator: Shawn Harris
Publisher: Chronicle Kids
Publication Date: September 2018
Most Suitable for: EYFS & KS1
Reviewed By: Claire, Headteacher
Citizenship is a really complex topic to discuss with young children, so What Can a Citizen Do? would be a welcome addition to any library bookshelf. It’s written as a series of answers to the question; ‘What can a citizen do?’ and, as such, explains how children can show good citizenship through their actions. It gives meaningful examples, that even the youngest children can understand, such as ‘plant a tree’, as well as more thought provoking concepts, such as ‘a citizen can be a bear.’
The illustrations are just brilliant. They look like paper cut outs, so have a child-like quality to them. They also feature a diverse range of children, ‘a land of latticed people’, which further emphasises the concept of citizenship. The book finishes with the original sentence, almost as a call to the children to develop as a citizen, which really makes a positive impact upon the reader.
It would be perfect to accompany any citizenship scheme of work, or just to have as a resource within a classroom library.
(It is a book written for an American audience, so there are a couple of American spellings to watch out for.)
Curriculum Links: PSHE, Citizenship, All about Me
———————
You can order What Can a Citizen Do? online or from your local bookshop or library.
Many thanks to the publisher for sending us a review copy of this book and to Claire for reviewing it.