Earth Day reading

Earth Day is next week, April 22. So today I’m sharing two books about the Earth, and how we can live more in tune with our planet.

Themes: Earth Day, environment, nature

My Friend Earth
by Patricia MacLachlan; illus by Francesca Sanna 
44 pages; ages 3-5
Chronicle Books, 2020

My friend Earth wakes from a winter nap.

And when she does, she has a lot to do. She’s got animals to attend to, large and small. She cares for the creatures of the tundra, the prairies, the ocean. She pours rain from the clouds and blows autumn leaves from trees. She sprinkles snow across the land before snuggling down for another long nap.

What I like about this book: The die-cut pages are fun to explore – though sometimes hard to turn – and I love the lyrical text. A sweet book to read for Earth Day.

My Green Day: 10 Green Things I Can Do Today 
by Melanie Walsh 
40 pages; ages 3-7
Candlewick, 2020

When I wake up I eat a free-range egg for breakfast.

Over the course of a day we follow the main character as she does simple things, from putting breakfast eggshells into the compost bin to helping hang the laundry. 

What I like about this book: I like how it shows concrete, simple things kids can do to help the Earth. From recycling scraps to make Earth Day cards to remembering the cloth bags for the trip to the grocery store, this book highlights 10 things any kid can do. I also like the bold illustrations.

Beyond the Books:

Do some Earth Day activities ~ here’s a list of 50 ideas from Tinker Lab.  

Make a list of some things you can do to help the Earth. Could you take smaller portions so you finish all the food on your plate? What about hanging laundry on a line or drying rack? Taking a short shower instead of a bath? Putting on a sweater instead of turning up the heat?

Visit a nearby state park and take a walk. If you can’t travel, try a virtual tour of one of our gorgeous national parks. Here’s a link to Yellowstone National Park and one to the Grand Canyon. Find more here.

Go outside and hug a tree. Ask someone to take a photo of you hugging your tree, then print it out so you can remember Earth Day 2021. Remember to visit your tree every now and then to see how it’s doing.

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Earth Day ~ Wangari Maathai

Wangari Maathai: The woman who planted millions of trees
by Franck Prevot; illus by Aurelia Fronty
48 pages; ages 6-9
Charlesbridge, 2015

Earth Day is Wednesday, and what better way to celebrate than to read about a real Earth hero. Wangari Maathai is known as the woman who encouraged other women to plant trees. She was born in a tiny village in Kenya, and learned to dig and plant her gardens in the shade of the big mugumo - a fig tree. Her mother taught her that a tree is worth more than its wood- wisdom Wangari remembered for the rest of her life.

Wangari is a fortunate daughter; she is sent to school. She attends college in the US, and when she returns to Kenya she sees that forests have been cut and wildlife is rare. Small farms have given way to large plantations, families can no longer grow food to feed their children, and rivers run muddy. Wangari sees her country eroding before her eyes. What can she do?

She begins planting trees. Traveling from village to village, she speaks on behalf of the trees, and the animals, and the children. She asks people to think of the future, and creates tree nurseries to provide women with saplings. She starts the Green Belt movement. Tree by tree the women plant forests. But that is not enough.



Wangari tells the president that he must stop cutting trees to put up buildings. She is threatened and jailed but still she believes that trees are important. She dreams that one day Kenya's children will be able to play in forests. She is the "mother of forests" and in 2004 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work.  Review copy from local library.

Glamorous Garbage

Glamorous Garbage
by Barbara Johansen Newman
40 pages; ages 5-8
Boyds Mills Press, 2015

theme: cleaning up your bedroom; recycling, Earth Day

Bobbie and Joanie are cousins. Best cousins. You met them a couple years ago when Joanie needed glasses.

Now Bobbie has a problem. She loves to invite Joanie over to play in her bedroom, but Bobbie's bedroom is too messy! It's no fun to play there because toys get lost and there's no room to sit down.

So Mom lays down the law: "I'll give you two weeks to decide what stays and what goes. After that, I get to decide."

What I like: This is a subject we can all identify with: clutter. And the need to declutter. And dreaming about what your room could look like given a chance to do-over. Bobbie, though, starts collecting things for her "new" room before she even gets rid of all the junk on her floor and under her bed and spilling out of the closet. Finally she asks her mom for help and together they clean and paint and fix and finally.... Bobbie has space to create the room she wants.

Beyond the book: This book is perfect to read before Earth Day (which is next Wed). Why? 
Reuse. Bobbie and her mom strip and re-paint old furniture, making it "good as new". Bobbie also finds old barrels and crates that she "glams" up to use in her room.

Reduce. Cut the clutter, Bobbie's mom says. Use less. Or at least figure out what you really need to keep, and a good way to store it (whether it's sports equipment, shoes, or unfinished manuscripts...). Do you really need all your stuff? What do you have in your room that you can get rid of?

Recycle. One way to recycle is to figure out a new use for things. Like turning a box into a doll house, or making a stool by belting a stack of magazines together and putting a cushion on top. But there's only so many sock puppets and tin-can flower vases you can make, so sometimes you need to think of recycling outside the house. That's what Bobbie does. She holds a yard sale, but there are other ways of sharing old things that are still useable. What ways do people in your town use to recycle old furniture, tools, and other stuff?

 Today is PPBF (perfect picture book Friday) in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books.  Review copy from the publisher.

Another Great Earth Day Book: The Great Big Green

Ready for some Earth Day riddles? And a different take on "going green"?

The Great Big Green
by Peggy Gifford; illus. by Lisa Desimini
32 pages; ages 4-7
Boyds Mills Press, 2014

What's really big and green? Not sure? Then follow the clues in this lyrical, poetic, perfect-for-Earth-Day book which begins:

The thing is,
the thing is green.
And the green is,
the green is green.

Confession: green is was not my favorite color. Until I opened the pages and discovered "dragon green", and "anaconda green", "turtle green" and "tornado green". I'm a gardener, and while I appreciate the subtle differences between "grass green" and "kale green" and "ears-not-quite-ripe-corn green" I never really thought about them belonging to the same family as the crayon-box green. They don't - and neither do the other amazing greens captured in this puzzle-poem book. The pages are full of details that will keep you looking - and bring you back to look some more.

But there's more than natural greens captured in these pages. There's a green door, socks, traffic lights and a snippet of a familiar folk song (with a title containing "green" in it).  And at the very end, when you have all the clues, you might possibly guess what this very green thing is. I won't give it away, but I will say that the last page is a wonderful surprise.

Click over to Archimedes Notebook for an Earth Day scavenger hunt - and other activities and resources this week. Review copy provided by the publisher.

A Great Book for Earth Day: Last-But-Not-Least Lola Going Green

Today and tomorrow Sally's Bookshelf is celebrating Earth Day with two new "green" books.

Last-But-Not-Least Lola Going Green

by Christine Pakkala; illus by Paul Hoppe

192 pages; ages 7 - 10

Boyds Mills Press, 2013

Lola Zuckerman has a problem… she’s always last. At least in Mrs. D’s class where roll call is done by alphabetical order. Why can’t her name be Albertson, wonders Lola.

What Lola would like to do is be first. If she can’t be first on the roll call list, maybe she can be first in the Going Green contest. Lola covets the Going Green captain’s vest and the chance to eat lunch in the teacher’s lounge where (whispers her older brother) all they serve is candy.

But there’s a problem. When the teacher starts asking her classmates for “going green” ideas she begins at the top of the list, with A. And that means Lola has to wait for last to tell her idea….and all the good ones will be taken! But she does come up with something different – something that can be done right in the classroom, and something that will make a difference. I don’t want to ruin the surprise for you, but it has to do with slimy spinach. And runaway worms.

Come back tomorrow for a review of Another Great Book for Earth Day! And check out Archimedes Notebook all week for Earth Day resources and activities.

  

Today is Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday round-up. Drop by to see what other bloggers are reviewing.  Review copy provided by publisher.