Customer Reviews

Generation Fix: Young Ideas for a Better World

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Rusch shines a spotlight on hope at a time when many are worried about the future we will be able to give our kids. She illustrates - by example - how strong, loving parenting can go a long way towards helping Generation Fix make their way in the world. I'll be looking out for her next book.

Compiled and written by Elizabeth Rusch, Generation Fix: Young Ideas For A Better World is an impressive anthology of true-life stories of young people whose ideas and tireless efforts are helping to change the world for the better. Presenting upbeat, positive role models ranging from a 14-year-old boy who started a successful "Breakfast Bonanza" cereal drive for food pantries, to a 10-year-old girl who started a support program for homeless kids called AfterShare Kids, to a 16-year-old girl who invented a sensor to monitor sulfur dioxide (the most destructive component of acid rain), Generation Fix is very highly recommended for young readers of all ages, especially those with an interest in participating in resolving contemporary social and environmental issues.

I read the book cover-to-cover in one night. Although it's written for kids, all parents who care about the world and want their kids to care too should read it as well.

It convinced me that the author is right in calling the next generation Generation Fix. There's hope for our mixed up world yet.

Generation Fix is for parents who want their children to take charge of their world, teachers who want to help students tackle our most pressing problems - and kids who see themselves as a true force for good. This book has been a Smithsonian magazine Best Book of the Year, IRA Book Award Finalist, Oregonian Junior Book Club Selection July 2003, and Children's Bookwatch Reviewer's Choice 2002.

I'm building a youth volunteering program at a volunteer center, and I would highly recommend this book to both kids and adults. The format is engaging and easy to read, and the stories will inspire you to want to make a difference. The book is organized into areas of concern including hunger, environmental concerns, and the need for peace. Each chapter includes data on the problem, stories of successful kid-driven solutions, ways more kids can help, and space for reflection.
Studies show that kids who volunteer are more than twice as likely to volunteer as adults, and more likely to contribute generously to charitable causes. This book is a great way inspire a new generation of volunteers!

This book is very good for young people, and older, because it teaches that even kids can make a difference. The author is VERY good at telling the true stories of kids and it is very uplifting, I encourage anyone to read it!

In Generation Fix, Liz Rusch presents the reader with case studies of children who learn not only with their heads, but with their hearts and hands. These are stories of kids taking action to solve problems, provide assistance, effect change. Between case studies, Rusch lists quotes from additional children whose brief comments offer big ideas. From collecting school supplies to oil recycling and building a commemorative statue to standing up against school district policy, Generation Fix is not only an inspiration, but a motivator for change with concrete ideas for projects kids can really accomplish.

from Blue Jean Online

by Truc Doan, Teen Editor

Society loves to label teenagers. Each generation is studied, packaged, and shipped out with a name. What will this generation of the new millennium eventually be called? Will it be Generation Destruction, Generation Party, or Generation Privileged? To prove that teenagers in America aren't just a bunch of lazy couch potatoes, Elizabeth Rusch has put together a collection of stories about young people who have done something to change the world for the better. These stories vary--for example, one is about a young girl who gave an intelligent speech, while another is about a boy who managed to collect hundreds of cereal boxes for the hungry.

After every story, there is a "What You Can Do" list and quotes from other young people with ideas. The common thing among all the stories (and the thing that makes each story so endearing) is that these kids did not start out wanting to change the world. They just saw something wrong and decided to fix it. After every story there is "Your Solution," a blank page where you can write how you would or could change the world.

What I found particularly inspiring about this book is that none of the kids even considered the possibility that their ideas would not work. They just knew it could be done. Some of these kids had intelligence on their side, others just plain courage. It doesn't matter, though, because in the end all of their dreams became a reality. We know because their stories are in this book.