Winner Golden Kite Award!
The Twenty-One
The True Story of the Youth who Sued the
U.S. Government over Climate Change
Drought is driving Jaime off her native land.
Isaac, Sahara, Miriam and Aji gasp for breath as wildfire smoke fills the air.
And 8-year-old Levi’s home will be swallowed up by rising seas in his lifetime.
The U.S. government knew all this would happen and did nothing about it. Worse, they actively contributed to the problem. Young people have no vote, no voice. So, these 21 felt they had no choice. They sued the federal government. It’s the future suing the present. It’s an on-going landmark legal battle that could end the climate crisis. It’s Juliana v. United States.
Join award-winning author Elizabeth Rusch on a gripping journey through America’s courts that just might transform how you think about climate change.
"Must-read"
– People magazine
“Nail-biting…
A moving and
absorbing account
of an urgent case.”
– Kirkus, starred review
“Action-packed…vivid…inspiring”
– Booklist, starred review
"Compelling and timely...empowering"
– Horn Book
Junior Library Guild
Gold Standard Selection
Author, magazine writer, and speaker Elizabeth Rusch tackles vital, high-interest topics such as life-saving science, young people taking on climate change, space exploration, women’s battle for equal pay, and the state of our democracy. Her work for young readers offers cutting-edge information and fresh approaches to popular topics. Her longer narrative nonfiction, which reads like fiction, often blurs the boundary between current events and history, covering important recent moments that have the potential to change the future in surprising ways.
Rusch is the award-winning author of more than 24 books, which have received multiple starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Horn Book, Booklist, School Library Journal, and the BCCB, among others. Her work has won the Golden Kite Award, the Subaru Prize, the Cook Prize, the Green Earth Award, and the Oregon Book Award, and has landed on many notable and best of the year lists produced by ALA, NCTE, NSTA, Bank Street College of Education, Kirkus, SLJ, NBC News and the New York and Chicago Public Libraries.
Rusch also the author of more than a hundred articles in publications such as The New York Times, Smithsonian, Harper's, Backpacker, American Craft, Mother Jones, and Portland Monthly, among many others.
Liz visits schools across the country and speaks widely on the joy of writing, youth activism,
science heroes, climate change, and the state of our democracy.
She also offers creative retreats from her beach house on the Oregon Coast.
Learn more at secondstoryretreats.com.
Elizabeth Rusch
New in 2024!
“I would recommend this to parents and educators who want to teach their kids about color in a much deeper way than you typically see presented, and this book will also be thought-provoking and eye-opening for many adults.”
--goodreads five star review
Junior Library Guild
Gold Standard Selection
Just in time for the
2024 Olympics!
Read the inspiring tale of the
U.S. Women's National Team's
battle for victory on the soccer field and equality in their paycheck.
Junior Library Guild
Gold Standard Selection
“Mind-bending, horizons-broadening”
— Shelf Awareness
“Promotes deep thinking and reflection” — Children’s Literature
“’Nothing’ matters, after all”
— Horn Book
YALSA Finalist
NYPL Best Book
Kirkus Best Book
Oregon Book Award finalist
Stepping Stone Award winner
"Fascinating"
— New York Times Book Review
"A riveting must-read."
—Kirkus, starred review
