It’s been an indisputably sombre year, but the youngest among us have been particularly discombobulated by global events, gloom and grim predictions emanating from every news source, including via osmosis from their worried adults. Good News by Rashmi Sirdeshpande is here to redress the balance, a book stuffed full of happy real-life stories, including good people in power, businesses making a difference and the collective determination of everyday people. It will change the way the kids in your life think about both the media and the world.
‘Just one thing before we kick off…,’ Sirdeshpande is not here to provide false comfort. She tells us that bad news is useful, we need to know what’s going on in the world, but we also need to know that good news is out there too, lots of it. At this point, we’re launched into a ‘super-quick but highly useful’ guide on how to spot fake news. This excellent chapter covers misinformation as opposed to disinformation, clickbait, confirmation bias, and other fishy business that needs to be on every fake news detective’s radar.
Brimming with energy and humour, Sirdeshpande brings us some of the best news from around the globe. We learn how during the Covid-19 pandemic, many wonderful people dedicated time, money, compassion, and even communal music-making, in a bid to help their fellow citizens. Other good news stories that need to be shouted from the rooftops include the fact that more children go to school now than ever before and 86% of them will be vaccinated against serious disease. A mere forty years ago, the figure was just 20%.
As a whole, the world is actually experiencing a time of great international cooperation in matters such as human rights and global health. Sirdeshpande shares some wonderfully spirit-lifting stories and tells us that yes, there’s a lot that needs fixing, but ‘There’s hope. You just need to know where to look for it.’
This indispensable book points you in the right direction.
Good News by Rashmi Sirdeshpande is published by Wren & Rook, 160 pages.
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