Take a Peek at These Environmentally-Minded Children's Books:
Gardening | |
 | Blue Potatoes, Orange Tomatoes by Rosalind Creasy. Creasy’s gardening guide in picture book format offers step-by-step instructions for planting heirloom and little-know variety of produce. From ordering seeds to soil preparations to weeding and harvesting, Creasy provides easy to follow advice for gardeners of any age. |
 | Kids’ Container Gardening, Year-Round Projects for Inside and Out by Cindy Kretzel. Are your children gung-ho to test their green thumbs, but you don’t have the space, time, know-how, or patience for a huge garden? This book provides clever ideas for “contained” garden projects. |
 | Garden Fun! Indoors & Out; In Pots and Small Spots, by Vicky Congdon. Dig right in to green-thumb fun with 28 garden projects, from planting a window sill salad buffet to a creating blooming flag of flowers. |
Water Cycle/Water Conservation | |
 | Did A Dinosaur Drink This Water? By Robert E. Wells. The water we drink today isn’t new. It’s the same water that dinosaurs once lapped up at watering holes billions of years ago. With simple text and lively comic-book illustrations, this book encourages readers to protect our precious resource so that there will always be water to drink- even if a dinosaur drank it first! |
 | Water Dance by Thomas Locker. From rain to river to sea to clouds and around again, water dances through its cycle in Thomas Locker’s free verse picture book. Blending poetry, Locker’s stunning landscape paintings, and science, Water Dance reveals the beauty and power of the most common substance on earth. |
 | One Well: The Story of Water on Earth, by Rochelle Strauss. “Whether you are turning on a faucet in North America or bathing in a river in India, it is all the same water.” One Well celebrates the interconnectedness of the water on our planet. Each colorful double-page spread covers topics such as the sources of water, the water cycle, our dependency on water for survival, and the threats “the well” is facing. Brimming with surprising facts and statistics, this book encourages readers to become “well aware” and protect Earth’s precious well. |
 | Drizzle, by Kathleen Van Cleve. A fantasy novel with a water conservation message at its heart. Polly Peabody and her family have lived on a rhubarb farm for generations. Not any old rhubarb farm. Here the rhubarb tastes like chocolate, diamonds sprout from the ground, and every Monday, at exactly 1pm, it rains. Until one day it doesn’t. The rhubarb starts to whither, and so does Polly’s brother, who has contracted some mysterious illness. Polly must uncover some magic to save her brother and her farm. |
 | Why Does it Rain? By Wil Mara. Did you ever wonder why some days are sunny and dry and others are cloudy and rainy? With clear language and engaging photographs, this nonfiction book helps young learners understand why and how rain falls from the sky. |
 | The Wonders of Water, by Melissa Stewart. This nonfiction book encourages young readers to look at water the way a scientist would. Readers are invited to observe water in different settings, ask questions, and then perform experiments. The book is filled with engaging activities, including collecting water from a potato, floating an egg in water, and creating condensation. A great introduction to the properties of water and the scientific method. |
 | Flush, by Carl Hiaasen. In this eco-mystery/comedy, Noah Underwood and his younger sister Abbey must do some sneaky sleuthing to prove the Coral Queen, a floating casino, is dumping raw sewage into the harbor. Will Noah’s plan, “Operation Royal Flush,” succeed in nailing the bad guys, saving the local beaches, and freeing their environmental-activist father from jail? By the author of Hoot, a great green-themed novel for young adults. |
Habitat Conservation | |
 | Kids’ Easy to Create Wildlife Habitats, by Emily Stetson. You don’t have to have a big yard-or even a yard at all- to make a welcoming home for wildlife. This book is packed with information, activities and games to learn about, attract, and protect wildlife. |
Butterflies and Butterfly Gardens | |
 | Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly, by Alan Madison and Kevin Hawkes. With two “practically perfect” older sisters, Velma can’t help but feel a bit overshadowed. When she starts first grade, Velma misbehaves to get attention, but then she becomes fascinated with butterflies in science class. A trip to the butterfly conservation gives Velma he chance to prove she is way cool. Factual information is woven into this delightful story, making it a nice companion to a unit on butterflies. |
 | The Butterfly Book: a kid's guide to attracting, raising, and keeping butterflies,by Kersten Hamilton. Packed with facts about butterflies. Learn about butterfly life stages, body structures, and habits, as well as the best plants to add to a garden to attract butterflies. As a bonus, the book includes a field guide for 20 butterflies common to North America. |
 | A Place for Butterflies, by Melissa Stewart. This picture book highlights twelve North American butterflies and their habitats. With an emphasis on conservation, the author suggest specific actions people can take to help these insects “live and grow.” A great book to introduce children to the variety of butterflies and the concept of habitat protection. |
 | Fly, Monarch, Fly!, by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace. Join Mom and Dad bunny, and their children, Minna and Pip, on a trip to the Butterfly Place. Bert, the butterfly guide, teaches both bunnies and readers about the life cycle and habits of the Monarch butterfly. The book includes butterfly projects, jokes, and instructions on planting a butterfly garden. With cheerful cut-out paper illustrations and an easy-to-follow format, this book is a great introduction to all things Monarch. |
 | Waiting for Wings, by Lois Ehlert. With vibrant cut-paper illustrations and simple rhyming text, Lois Ehlert shows readers the wonder of metamorphosis for four types of butterflies: the Buckeye, Painted Lady, Monarch, and Tiger Swallowtail. The book concludes with specific information on butterfly and host plant identification and how to grow a butterfly garden. |
 | Are You a Butterfly?, by Judy Allen. Readers imagine themselves as an insect starting life in a tiny egg, then take a up-close journey through the life cycle of a butterfly. With a fun, conversational tone and simple colored pencil drawings, this book introduces young readers to butterfly metamorphosis. |
 | Butterflies in the Garden, by Carol Lerner. With clearly labeled illustrations of over 30 butterflies and their host plants, this book is a great reference tool for butterfly watching and starting a butterfly garden. Information on butterfly families, habit and life cycle is also included. |
 | It’s a Butterfly’s Life, by Irene Kelly. A butterfly’s life is full of twists and turns, dips and dives. Peppered with little-know-facts about butterflies, this book explores the awe-inspiring lives of these exquisite winged creatures. |
Celebrating Trees | |
 | We Planted a Tree by Diane Muldrow. A family in Brooklyn plants a tree in their small yard. Half way around the world, a family in Kenya does the same. The book follows those trees through the seasons and years, showcases the many benefits trees provide. With simple poetry this book celebrates the beautiful connection between trees and people. |
 | This Tree Counts, by Alison Formento. The kids in Mr. Tate’s class decide that the lone oak behind their school needs some friends. Before planting new saplings, the students must first listen to the story the old tree has to share. A counting book with an environmental message: every tree matters. |
Celebrating Local/Seasonal Eating | |
 | Applesauce Season, by Eden Ross Lipson. “My grandmother says there’s no reason to start eating apples when peaches are perfect. Applesauce season starts just about the time school opens,” thus the narrator takes readers step by step through the joys of making applesauce. Taste the simmering, cinnamon-kissed, applesauce and feel the warmth of family in this book that celebrates seasonal eating, farmer’s markets, and family traditions. |
 | Bring Me Some Apples and I’ll make you a Pie, a Story about Edna Lewis, by Robbin Gourley. “Time to get up! I hear the whippoorwill. That means it's gathering time." Thus begins the celebration of one family’s year of harvesting and enjoying local produce. Wild strawberries in springtime, garden-warmed tomatoes midsummer, crisp apples when school bells ring, these are the childhood memories that inspired famous New York chef Edna Lewis and her field-to-table cooking philosophy. |
 | Your Food, A Green Team book by Sally Hewitt. The Green Team is a series that shows young people around the globe taking action to make the world a more sustainable place. In Your Food, readers learn about gardening, composting, fair trade, counting food miles, and other ways to make food choices that are healthy for both kids and the planet. |
Guides to Going Green | |
 | Dinosaurs Go Green! A Guide to Protecting our Planet, by Laurie Krasney Brown and Marc Brown. Don’t be a slobosaurus, full of excuses for why you can’t help the earth. Instead, join the friendly dinosaur characters in this book as they show readers ways to conserve resources, find new uses for old things, and give back to the earth. |
 | Miss Fox’s Class Goes Green, by Eileen Spinelli. One morning Miss Fox rides her bicycle to school instead of driving. This sparks a chain of events that has the entire school thinking of ways they can go green too. Spinelli’s book provides readers with plenty of easy and fun ways help keep the earth healthy. |
 | 10 Things I Can Do to Help my World, by Melanie Walsh. With friendly, simple text and bold illustrations, this book invites even the youngest children to care for the earth. Readers learn that small action by small hands can make a big difference! |
 | Help Your Parents Save the Planet: 50 Simple Ways to Go Green Now!, by playBac publishing. Switch to cloth napkins. Start a compost pile. Wash clothes in warm water. These are just a few of the eco-conscious ideas presented in this kid-friendly guide to going green. With brightly colored photographs, easy to follow text, and many project ideas, this book would be a great companion to a classroom unit on the environment. |
 | Not Your Typical Book About the Environment, by Elin Kelsey. No doom-and-gloom messages in this eco book. Instead, Kelsey focuses on the surprising connections between kids’ lives and the rest of the planet. Through engaging language and comic-book-style graphics, this book shows kids that they have amazing power to leave a positive footprint on the planet. |
 | Recycle This Book: 100 Top Children’s Book Authors Tell You How to Go Green, edited by Dan Gutman. Rick Riordan recharges his batteries. Shannon Hale drives a hybrid car. Instead of running the dryer, Lois Lowry lets her sheets flap in the breeze. Find out what hundreds of your favorite authors are doing to help the environment by reading this collection of short green-minded essays. |
 | Generation Green: The Ultimate Teen Guide to Living an Eco-Friendly Life, by Linda and Tosh Siversten. This mother/son writing team has put together a hip, teen-friendly guide to living green. The book offers practical tips on how teens can shop, dress, eat, and travel in more eco-savvy ways. |
Middle Grade/YA Green Reads | |
 | Generation Green: The Ultimate Teen Guide to Living an Eco-Friendly Life, by Linda and Tosh Siversten. This mother/son writing team has put together a hip, teen-friendly guide to living green. The book offers practical tips on how teens can shop, dress, eat, and travel in more eco-savvy ways. |
 | Recycle This Book: 100 Top Children’s Book Authors Tell You How to Go Green, edited by Dan Gutman. Rick Riordan recharges his batteries. Shannon Hale drives a hybrid car. Instead of running the dryer, Lois Lowry lets her sheets flap in the breeze. Find out what hundreds of your favorite authors are doing to help the environment by reading this collection of short green-minded essays. |
| Flush, by Carl Hiaasen. In this eco-mystery/comedy, Noah Underwood and his younger sister Abbey must do some sneaky sleuthing to prove the Coral Queen, a floating casino, is dumping raw sewage into the harbor. Will Noah’s plan, “Operation Royal Flush,” succeed in nailing the bad guys, saving the local beaches, and freeing their environmental-activist father from jail? By the author of Hoot, a great green-themed novel for young adults. |
| Drizzle, by Kathleen Van Cleve. A fantasy novel with a water conservation message at its heart. Polly Peabody and her family have lived on a rhubarb farm for generations. Not any old rhubarb farm. Here the rhubarb tastes like chocolate, diamonds sprout from the ground, and every Monday, at exactly 1pm, it rains. Until one day it doesn’t. The rhubarb starts to whither, and so does Polly’s brother, who has contracted some mysterious illness. Polly must uncover some magic to save her brother and her farm. |
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