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Hey Kidz! Buy This Book: A Radical Primer on Corporate and Governmental Propaganda and Artistic Activisim for Short People
 | Hey Kidz! Buy This Book: A Radical Primer on Corporate and Governmental Propaganda and Artistic Activisim for Short People Moore, Anne Elizabeth lllustrated by Megan Kelso Date: 2005-07-10 20:13:33 — 12.95 — Book Rating: |
Hey Librarianz! Buy This Book! Seriously, stop what you are doing RIGHT NOW and RUN to buy multiple copies of this book for your libraries and every kid age 10 and up you know. If part of our goal as young adult librarians is to meet developmental needs of teens to raise literate, participating citizens who think critically, we need to get this introduction to media literacy into classrooms and libraries across America.
In a compact format (and probably on recycled paper printed with organic ink) Moore exposes the devious practices of big media to influence their largest demographic. In a jouncy tone, she defines product placement, branding and co-opting, and encourages
kids to make a game of shouting "Advertisement!" whenever they see one. She brings to light such classic events as big tobacco's knowledge of the carcinogens in their product, and greedy Nestle's baby killing in third world countries as they promoted formula. Along the way, she reminds young activists to mind their manners, avoid prejudice and remain addiction free.
The second half of the book is concerned with what to do with the information gleaned from using your newly honed media savviness. Instructions on how to contact elected officials, call a meeting, write a press release, and stage a demonstration give kids the tools to effect real change. The accompanying activities do in fact, fit very nicely into the frameworks of the search institutes developmental assets categories of support, empowerment, constructive use of time, commitment to learning, positive values, social competitions and personal identity.
The excellent appendices include a directory of addresses for Big Media and a chart to show who owns what, and extensive resources in print and on the web. The only two flaws I could find are encouraging the use of Google instead of library databases to do research, and the cute illustrations, which are both too far and few between and too juvenile and cutesy for the intended age group. The pie and salsa recipes at the back (the best way to get others involved in your cause are to provide food, and they will come) are the perfect panacea to the f-bomb she drops (merely for effect) and the fact that she makes no attempt to hide where her politics lie.
