The Bookseller.com

14th October 2008

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Short Books and Walker combine on new book

26.06.08 Jo Young

Independent publishers Short Books and Walker Books have joined forces to launch a children's sequel to Short's bestseller, Change the World for a Fiver, in September.

The new book, Teach Your Granny to Text and Other Ways to Change the World (£10, p/b), is targeted at children aged eight to 12, and like the adult-oriented original, has been produced by the social change movement We Are What We Do using contributions from children around the country. It lists 30 simple and humorously titled actions that children can take to improve their social and environmental behaviour, such as "walk your dad", "find out how happy your meal was", "talk rubbish to your parents", "ask why?", "read with a pal", "stand up for something" and "cook a meal from scratch".

The book is the third in the successful series, following the release of a second title by Short Books in 2006, Change the World 9 to 5, aimed at office workers. The inaugural Change the World for a Fiver book, which has been released in several international markets including South Africa, China and Germany, has now sold one million copies around the world, according to Short Books.

The development of Teach Your Granny to Text was researched and funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) following a national competition, called smallactionsbigchange, held in 2007. Throughout the year, pupils at schools around the country were asked: "What would you ask one million people to do to change the world?" The DCSF received more than 1,500 responses from children at more than 1,000 participating schools, and the book's content was collated from the best suggestions. The book's title was taken from the answer given by one 10-year-old respondent.

The DCSF has committed to buying 24,000 copies of the book on its release, and will distribute one free copy to every primary school in England. Eugenie Harvey, We Are What We Do's co-founder, is now in negotiations with the government department to provide additional complementary copies for schools in Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

"Short Books is hugely proud to have published Change the World for a Fiver, a book which has genuinely made a difference—and we are delighted, for the children's edition, to be teaming up with Walker," said Aurea Carpenter of Short Books.

Book children's Walker Books Short Books Jo Young