The Kids Guide to the Shocking Truth About Communism

Communism has promised a world without rich or poor, where everyone shares equally and no one is oppressed. But The Kids Guide to the Shocking Truth About Communism takes young readers beyond those promises to explore how communist ideas developed and what happened when leaders attempted to put them into practice. Through colorful, age-appropriate lessons, kids examine the guide’s central question: Does concentrating power in the hands of government eliminate oppression—or simply create a new ruling class?     

Beginning with the struggle against kings and absolute rulers, the guide explores the American Revolution and the principles of individual rights, limited government, and free markets before introducing Karl Marx and the rise of communism. Kids then journey through major events and figures in communist history—including Vladimir Lenin and the Russian Revolution, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, the Cold War, and the collapse of the Soviet Union.