“Most people don't realize how important librarians are. I ran across a book recently which suggested that the peace and prosperity of a culture was solely related to how many librarians it contained. Possibly a slight overstatement. But a culture that doesn't value its librarians doesn't value ideas and without ideas, well, where are we?”
Neil Gaiman

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Is There Really Enough Food To Feed The World?


Food: The New Gold
By Kathlyn Gay

School librarians are always challenged with finding new and interesting non-fiction books that will capture the interest of young readers.  With the current focus on Core Curriculum requirements, we are doubly challenged to expand our non-fiction collections to support curriculum needs in reading for information. Kathlyn Gay’s new book makes an excellent addition to any middle or high school library collection. 

Drawing attention to the global food crisis, it opens with opulence of political leaders dining in style at the G8 summit and contrasts it with the number of people starving each day.  She goes on to cover up-to-date relevant issues such as climate, factory farming, and genetic modification and the impact on food production. Throughout the book Gay poses poignant questions that engage young readers to think about the world they live in and consider alternative viewpoints.  While Gay clearly has her own viewpoint in this book, it is still a wonderful resource that would sit well on any school library shelf.

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