Twenty-Two Cents: Muhammad Yunus and the Village Bank

In detailed and inviting prose, Yoo shares the story of activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Yunus, beginning with his childhood in the city of Chittagong (then part of India). Yoo describes Yunus’s growing awareness of the injustice of global poverty and of the power of peaceful protest to incite change. Scenes include Yunus’s presence on the steps of Capitol Hill, where he rallied for peace between Bangladesh and Pakistan, and his return to a ravaged Bangladesh following the war, where his compassion and economic knowledge lead to the development of Grameen Bank. Akib’s grainy, jewel-toned chalk pastels contrast a sense of scarcity and deprivation with one of warmth and humanity. Yoo makes the significance of Yunus’s contributions understandable, relevant, and immediate. Ages 6–11. (Aug.)