Can We Help?

Real kids make a real difference in their communities in this vibrantly photographed chronicle by George Ancona.

George Ancona celebrates the joy of kids giving back. In one after-school program, middle-school students mentor and tutor younger children. Via a special partnership, schoolchildren help professionals train assistance dogs for people with disabilities. At a community farm, families plant, grow, and harvest produce for soup kitchens and charities. In these and other examples of volunteering, kids of all ages work together knitting hats and scarves for those who could use warm clothes, packing hot meals to deliver to housebound people, and keeping roadways clean. Young humanitarians reading these accounts may well be inspired to find ways that they can help, too.

“Kids don't often get a chance to help others outside their families in meaningful ways. This book may change that....It's a sure bet for groups and families focused on doing some community service. --Kirkus Reviews This encouraging book presents examples of children volunteering to help others and enjoying the process...Clearly, the answer to the title's question is an emphatic "Yes!" --Booklist A good choice for schools with a strong emphasis on community service. --School Library Journal The clear project descriptions and lively photographs show that volunteering is something that any youngster can do, with a little adult supervision. Hopefully it will encourage readers to become active, contributing members of their own communities. --School Library Connection”

Kids don't often get a chance to help others outside their families in meaningful ways. This book may change that....It's a sure bet for groups and families focused on doing some community service.
—Kirkus Reviews

This encouraging book presents examples of children volunteering to help others and enjoying the process...Clearly, the answer to the title’s question is an emphatic “Yes!”
—Booklist

A good choice for schools with a strong emphasis on community service.
—School Library Journal

The clear project descriptions and lively photographs show that volunteering is something that any youngster can do, with a little adult supervision. Hopefully it will encourage readers to become active, contributing members of their own communities.
—School Library Connection

George Ancona (1929-2021) was an award-winning author and photographer of more than one hundred books for children, many about arts and culture. He wrote and photographed Boys Dancing: From School Gym to Theater Stage; Can We Help? Kids Volunteering to Help Their Communities; and It’s Our Garden: From Seeds to Harvest in a School Garden.

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