And by “we” I mean historian Howard Zinn, scholar and educator Ed Morales, and, to a much lesser extent, me. At the time I wrote this post, our book has been in the #1 spot in several Amazon categories since it was published on January 3.

The late Howard Zinn published the indispensable A People’s History of the United States in 1980 and updated it in 2003. A few years after that, with Howard’s encouragement and support, I had the great honor and pleasure of adapting the book for young readers. The Young People’s History of the United States was published in 2007 and has remained in print ever since. It’s deeply gratifying to know how many young people it has introduced to Howard’s important work.

Earlier this month, Seven Stories Press released a new edition of the Young People’s History. The text was updated to reflect the language we now use when talking about various groups within the American population. Ed Morales contributed two new sections that greatly expand coverage of the histories and roles of Latino immigrants and their descendants in the United States. Finally, I added new material on Asian American activism and on today’s young activists and their causes.

Helping to make Zinn’s work accessible to young readers has been an extraordinary privilege. I’m delighted to see this new edition of the Young People’s History already making a mark. I’m even more excited to report that a Spanish-language version of it will be published later this year.

Have you ever heard of Freedom Summer? Maybe your history book says something about how, in 1964, dozens of young people went south to Mississippi to help Black citizens register to vote. That summer brought a wealth of new experiences for both the young people–mostly white college kids–and the Mississippians they met and lived with. Some experiences were terrifying. Violence stalked the state, and multiple murders took place. But others were inspiring. The heroism, courage, and dignity of people who simply wanted to exercise their right to vote still inspires us today.

Journalist Bruce Watson wrote Freedom Summer to tell the story of this important chapter in the Civil Rights movement. His book reveals the behind-the-scenes maneuvers of everyone from a racist local sheriff to the President of the United States when confronted by people who demanded their rights . . . and didn’t back down. It also tells the stories of some of the young volunteers, describing that season of hope and fear in their own words. I am proud to have been chosen to adapt Freedom Summer into this version for young readers, published this month by Seven Stories Press.

I’m proud to have been chosen to write the Young Readers version of a great book: Lies My Teacher Told Me, by James W. Loewen. It’s about U.S. history–and the parts of it that our textbooks leave out, or get wrong. If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re learning the full story about Christopher Columbus, or the Pilgrims, or the Vietnam War, or much, much more, I hope you’ll check this book out. Many students have shared it with their history teachers and changed the way history is taught in their schools.