Books have the power to inspire young people to take action and make a difference in the world. They open doors to understanding, creating awareness of real-world challenges while fostering a deep, personal connection to these struggles.

In this episode, we explore stories that motivate and encourage action. Linda Sue Park and Salva Dut describe the journey that inspired A Long Walk to Water, Brian Pinkney returns to discuss the companion book, Nya's Long Walk: One Step at a Time, and Jasmine Warga emphasizes the connection between awareness and activism.

To learn more about Linda Sue Park’s, Jasmine Warga’s or Brian Pinkney’s books, visit

harpercollins.com/search?q=linda+sue+park

harpercollins.com/search?q=jasmine+warga

harpercollins.com/search?q=Brian+Pinkney

Do you have a story about how a classic book changed your life? Tweet @readingpod or email us at [email protected]. Learn more at rememberreading.com. And, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

[2:34] Believing young people should know Salva Dut’s journey, Linda Sue wrote A Long Walk to Water.

[7:10] In Houston, Texas, Jasmine Warga’s sixth-grade students had an immediate connection to Salva’s story.

[8:14] After eleven years of displacement, the chance to go to the U.S. presented Salva with new cultural challenges.

[12:40] In her book, Other Words from Home, Jasmine reveals the stark contrast between life in Syria before and after the war.

[17:30] Brian Pinkney discusses the challenge of depicting the emotional quality of caring for a younger sibling in his illustrations for the picture book, Nya’s Long Walk: One Step at a Time.

[19:13] Salva’s Water for South Sudan project educates Sudanese people to maintain the more than 600 wells drilled by the non-profit.

[24:10] In Gracie Under the Waves, Linda Sue raises awareness of an environmental issue and calls young people to action.

Continue Your Journey:

Linda Sue Park

Jasmine Warga

HarperCollins

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Shareables:

“What meeting Salva did was turn The Lost Boys of Sudan from a news headline into something personal.” — Linda Sue Park, author of A Long Walk to Water

“Salva's readers have literally raised millions of dollars. You know, they are responsible for hundreds and hundreds of wells that are now serving hundreds of thousands of people.” — Linda Sue Park, author and Newbery Medal winner

“There is an activism component woven into Gracie's story because we only have one planet, and it's in big trouble.” — Linda Sue Park, author and Newbery Medal winner

“What would it be like for me if my cousins from Jordan had come to live with me when I was in seventh grade? Would I have been welcoming to them?” — Jasmine Warga, author of Other Words from Home

“A big part of the book is, do you see what I see? Have you found what I put there for you?” — Jasmine Warga, author of A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall

“After you work that hard and come back the next year to see that the water has really changed life there, people are happy, and they are using it, and they are healthy.” — Salva Dut, Co-founder of Water for South Sudan