The best 30 actions, which tackle issues ranging from climate change and social exclusion to obesity and animal rights, are featured in a groundbreaking new book, entitled Teach Your Granny to Text & Other Ways to Change the World.
This book is the latest project from We Are What We Do - the organisation behind the bestselling Change the World for a Fiver and the "I'm not a plastic bag" project with designer Anya Hindmarch - and has been produced with their trademark originality, creativity and wit. It includes contributions from some of the biggest names in children's books: Anthony Horowitz who has provided an exclusive Alex Rider short story to encourage kids to read with a pal; Sam Stern, who has provided a recipe to enable kids to cook a meal from scratch; and Where's Wally? who makes an exclusive guest appearance to get kids to look closer. The interactive book also includes seeds, maps, stickers and much more.
As part of its partnership with We Are What We Do, the DCSF is making one copy of the book available to every maintained school in England - around 22,000 schools in total. The book will be delivered to schools in the first week of October to coincide with the national launch.
We Are What We Do co-founder Eugenie Harvey said today: "We're really excited about our new book and cannot wait for it to arrive in schools this October. We know that the next generation is going to inherit some huge challenges. This project has provided an opportunity for children to speak up about what matters to them and the small actions that we can all take to make a big difference to them.
Erica Ritchie, aged 10, who contributed the title action "Teach your granny to text" explains where her idea came from: "It's nice for grandparents and children to keep in touch in an easier way than e-mail and writing a letter and quicker and cheaper than a phone call - especially if they live far away like mine!"
For more information about We Are What We Do and to get involved you can contact their Newham organiser, Frances Clark by e-mail or by phone: 020 7473 9642. You can also visit their website: www.wearewhatwedo.org
