Arguing that advocacy is an ethical responsibility of the early childhood field, this text discusses local and global contexts of advocacy for young children and their families, and provides specific guidelines for developing an advocacy agenda. Part I lays out a definition and rationale for advocacy as a job responsibility of all early childhood professionals, and describes multiple contexts for advocacy action, including advocacy for the child, for the profession, for a specific program, political activism, and advocacy in the global arena. Part II details information gathering and mobilizing skills for becoming an effective advocate, and Part III looks at advocacy as a lifestyle. Learning features include profiles of professionals, chapter summaries, key concepts, web links, reflection and discussion questions, and suggestions for activities. Kieff teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of New Orleans. Merrill is an imprint of Pearson. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)