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Books to Read with Children on the Topic of the Environment
What Can I do to Make a Difference (available for check-out)
Richard Zimmerman
This book provides project ideas on a number of topics: environment, animal rights, human welfare, human rights, health, and peace.
Sharing and Learning (available for check-out)
National Helpers Network
This book gives service-learning ideas by subject area: health and medicine, environment, communication and the arts, and citizenship.
Keepers of the Earth (available for check-out)
Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac
This book contains Native American stories and environmental activities for children.
Come Back, Salmon (available for check-out)
Molly Cone
This book is a true story about how a group of dedicated kids adopted Pigeon Creek and brought it back to life. (picture book)
The Gardener (available for check-out)
Sarah Stewart
This book is about intergenerational connections and how a young girl made a difference in the lives of others with her garden. (picture book)
Wildlife Forever (available for check-out)
A comprehensive teacher’s guide to conservation education and wildlife
What It’s Worth to Save the Earth (available for check-out)
Betsy Mcallister, Sundra B. Pitts, Margaret Finney, and Kelley L. Graves
This is an interdisciplinary Unit on Environmental Awareness
The Kids Can Help Book (available for check-out)
Suzanne Logan
This book is written for kids to give them ways to help the homeless and hungry, the elderly, the sick or disabled, other kids in need, and the planet and animals.
The Helping Hands Handbook (available for check-out)
Patricia Adams and Jean Marzollo
This is a guidebook for kids who want to help people, animals, and the world we live in.
A Student’s Guide to Volunteering (available for check-out)
Theresa Digeronimo
This book is a guide for teens to volunteering. It offers information about six fields of public service: education, environment, health care, the needy, politics, and substance abuse.
The Little Driver
Martin Wagner
A thought provoking anti-car book for kids. Eight year old Joe wants nothing more than to have his own shiny, red car. When the dream comes true he discovers the perils of petrol, car salesmen, accidents, congestion and a host of social issues involving driving. The book leaves you thinking about our car mad culture - how did we get here, where will we go? - reading age 7 and up.
One Child
Christopher Cheng and Steven Woolman
From the back cover - One child saw a world full of problems and thought, "I know what to do". One child did all that she could. Just imagine if all the children of the world did all that they could. - A powerful book showing that we can all make a difference. Lovely artwork and simple text.
The Great Kapok Tree
Lynne Cherry
A man approaches the great kapok tree to chop it down - he falls asleep and all the animals who live in the tree visit him and plead with him to leave their home intact.
Brother Eagle, Sister Sky
Susan Jeffers. In the 1850s Chief Seattle delivered a message to the American government, who wanted to buy his peoples' land. This book is an interpretation of that message for children. Beautiful illustrations accompany the words of love and respect for the Earth.
Dreams of Dolphins Dancing
Joan Bourque
This is the story of a young girls encounter with a dolphin - environmental concerns are combined with spirituality and facts about the sea and sealife. The book comes with a workbook which gives advice on reading the book.
Why Should I Recycle?
Jen Green and Mike Gordon
A good introduction to the subject of recycling - showing how even small things we do help to change and preserve our world. Humorous artwork throughout with parents and teachers notes at the end for getting the most out of the book.
Air Pollution
Acid Rain (Our Planet in Peril)
by Louise Petheram
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Library Binding: 32 pages
Publisher: Bridgestone Books (November 2002)
ISBN: 0736813608
Air Pollution (True Books: Environment)
by Rhonda Lucas Donald
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 48 pages
Publisher: Children's Press (CT) (March 2002)
ISBN: 0516259989
Soot. Smoke. Smog. When you think of air pollution, you probably think of one of these "S" words.
Air: A Resource Our World Depends on (Heinemann Infosearch, Managing Our Resources)
by Ian Graham
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Heinemann (August 2004)
ISBN: 1403456224
Air (Our Endangered Planet)
by Lisa Yount, Mary M. Rodgers
Different types of soils, how they are formed and depleted, how they can be protected and built up, and why they are so important to life on earth. With a strong environmentalist perspective, the authors describe how soils are endangered all over the world--by overuse in poor countries, wasteful practices in rich ones, and chemical pollution everywhere. They are also careful to present plenty of possibilities offering hope: better farming practices, integrated pest management, and suggestions for personal action by readers. Heavily illustrated, with one or more color photos on each page, the text clearly conveys important concepts, while terms mentioned in the glossary are in boldface for easy reference. A model of effective science reporting. List of concerned organizations; glossary; index.
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Library Binding: 64 pages
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group (October 1995)
ISBN: 0822525100
Clean Air (Action for the Environment)
by Rufus Bellamy
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Library Binding: 32 pages
Publisher: Smart Apple Media (July 30, 2005)
ISBN: 1583405941
Cleaning the Air (Our World, Our Future)
by Sharon Dalgleish
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Library Binding: 32 pages
Publisher: Chelsea House Publications (August 2002)
ISBN: 0791070190
Environmental Experiments About Air (Science Experiments for Young People)
by Thomas R. Rybolt, Robert C. Mebane
Uses text and experiments to provide information about the air around us and about pollution and other problems related to our atmosphere.
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Library Binding: 96 pages
Publisher: Enslow Pub Inc (April 1993)
ISBN: 0894904094
Keeping the Air Clean (The Junior Library of Ecology)
by Rosa Costab-Spau
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Library Binding: 31 pages
Publisher: Chelsea House Publications (January 1994)
ISBN: 0791021033
The Ozone Layer (True Books: Environment)
by Rhonda Lucas Donald
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 48 pages
Publisher: Children's Press (CT) (March 2002)
ISBN: 0516273558
Reducing Air Pollution (Improving Our Environment)
by Jen Green ($24.67)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Library Binding: 32 pages
Publisher: Gareth Stevens Publishing (January 2005)
ISBN: 0836844289
Water Pollution
Come Back, Salmon
by Molly Cone, Sidnee Wheelwright
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 48 pages
Publisher: Sierra Club Books for Children; Reprint edition (May 31, 2001)
ISBN: 0871564890
An inspiring story of young scientists in action, featured on Nova: how schoolchildren in Everett, Washington, worked with their teachers to clean up Pigeon Creek and reclaim it as a salmon spawning ground. Candid color photos of boys and girls of several ethnic groups, plus a text based on recorded conversations with the kids, lend drama and immediacy; additional scientific facts (e.g., how salmon scales tell the age of the fish; how salmon build a nest or ``redd'') appear in boxes.
The Day They Left the Bay
by Mick Blackistone, Lee Boynton (Illustrator)
Deeply worried about the polluted condition of the Chesapeake Bay, all the creatures that live in and around it go away until the humans can learn to appreciate and preserve the Bay's natural beauty.
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Acropolis Books (NY) (December 1988)
ISBN: 0874918901
Hannah West in Deep Water
by Linda Johns
Hannah West may look like any other funky, artistic, street-smart Seattletwelve-year-old, but there’s more to her than meets the eye. In addition to being a detective, adopted, and having a sixth sense for bus schedules, Hannah’s also homeless, a fact that she and her single mom deal with by moving from one house-sitting job to the next. This time, they’re taking care of a houseboat on the tranquil waters of Lake Washington. Before long, someone starts making waves, and before you can blink an eye, Hannah West is on the case. Hannah’s not sure who is dumping chemicals in the water—or why—but one thing’s for sure: if Hannah doesn’t get to the bottom of things soon, they’ll all be in deep water!
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Puffin (October 5, 2006)
ISBN: 0142407003
Let's Save Water! (Pebble Books)
by Sara Elizabeth Nelson
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 24 pages
Publisher: Pebble Books (July 15, 2006)
ISBN: 0736863222
The Mystery of the Forbidden Forest(Earthkeepers, No 3)
by Steve Swanson
When Chadand Penny see a heavily loaded truck enter Wickner's Woods at night and come out empty, they decide to solve the mystery of what's being dumped.
Paperback: 119 pages
Publisher: Zondervan (September 1994)
ISBN: 0310398215
Oil Spills (Our Planet in Peril)
by Jillian Powell
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Library Binding: 32 pages
Publisher: Bridgestone Books (November 2002)
ISBN: 0736813632
Water Pollution (Science Matters)
by Melanie Ostopowich
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 24 pages
Publisher: Weigl Publishers (June 2005)
ISBN: 1590363132
Water Pollution (True Books: Environment)
by Rhonda Lucas Donald
Did you know that a dinosaur might have waded in the water you drink today?
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 48 pages
Publisher: Children's Press (CT) (March 2002)
ISBN: 0516273574
Recycling
Aluminum (Recycle, Reduce, Reuse, Rethink)
by Kate Walker
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Library Binding: 32 pages
Publisher: Smart Apple Media (August 2004)
ISBN: 1583405593
Earth-Friendly Crafts for Kids: 50 Awesome Things to Make with Recycled Stuff
by Joe Rhatigan, Heather Smith
Grade 5-9-Youngsters are challenged to look for recyclable items and create a wide range of useful, playful, and decorative items. Projects range from simple, decorative butterflies to a disco ball, musical instruments, jewelry, and whimsical pocket people. Along the way, the authors provide information on how to become "earth friendly," and how to salvage and reuse all kinds of materials from plastic grocery bags and paper to used computer parts. Many of the crafts call for tools, glue guns, spray paint, nails, and broken pottery and glass; several are labeled "Adult Assistance Necessary." Each project is illustrated with attractive color photos of young people involved in making and using the crafts. This appealing volume is not only a craft book; it also educates users to be more aware of packaging, waste, and of making conscious decisions about how products are used and discarded. Years of Earth Day ideas flow from between the covers of this creative book.
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 144 pages
Publisher: Lark Books; 1st edition (September 28, 2002)
ISBN: 1579903401
Garbage Disposal (Action for the Environment)
by Deborah Jackson Bedford
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Library Binding: 32 pages
Publisher: Smart Apple Media (July 30, 2005)
ISBN: 158340595X
Household Waste (Recycle, Reduce, Reuse, Rethink)
by Kate Walker
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Library Binding: 32 pages
Publisher: Smart Apple Media (August 2004)
ISBN: 1583405615
I Heard the Willow Weep
by Toni Albert, Margaret Brandt (Illustrator)
Grade 1-4-Albert combines a didactic poem with a set of ecological activities for children. Those who make it through the first part of the book will find spreads on which each verse of the poem is repeated along with a small copy of its illustration and related facts, a project, and a list labeled "What Can We Do?" Activities include recycling old crayons, making a compost pile, and creating a mini-rain forest, all accompanied by small color photographs. Unfortunately, this worthwhile section is overwhelmed by bad verse.
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Trickle Creek Books (April 22, 2000)
ISBN: 1929432011
Johnny & The Old Oak Tree (Hands on the World Environmental Series)
by Rachael P. Paulson, Delton Gerdes (Illustrator)
"The story line is interesting and it portrays the issue in an accurate manner." Steven Levy
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 40 pages
Publisher: Crestmont Pub. (November 8, 1995)
ISBN: 0964229609
Let's Recycle! (Pebble Books)
by Anne L. Mackenzie
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 24 pages
Publisher: Pebble Books (July 15, 2006)
ISBN: 0736863230
Recycling (True Books: Environment)
by Rhonda Lucas Donald
The typical American throws away 4 pounds (1.5 kilograms) of garbage every day.
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 48 pages
Publisher: Children's Press (CT) (March 2002)
ISBN: 0516273566
Recycling (Your Environment)
by Jen Green
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Library Binding: 32 pages
Publisher: Stargazer Books (July 30, 2005)
ISBN: 1596040599
Recycling a Can
by Cynthia MacGregor
Follows an aluminum can from the time it is collected for recycling, through ninety days of different processing steps, to a new can that is ready for use.
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Library Binding: 24 pages
Publisher: Rosen Publishing Group; 1st library ed edition (January 2002)
ISBN: 0823937445
Reducing And Recycling Waste (Improving Our Environment)
by Carol Inskipp
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Library Binding: 32 pages
Publisher: Gareth Stevens Publishing (January 2005)
ISBN: 0836844297
Trash Action : A Fresh Look at Garbage
by Ann Love, Jane Drake, Mark Thurman (Illustrator)
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: The dynamic author team of Ann Love and Jane Drake offers readers innovative ways to rethink their relationship with nature and reduce their ecological footprints. Ever aware of our impact on the environment, the authors suggest ways to reduce waste, eliminate over-consumption, and see garbage in the bigger picture. This exploration of a timely topic introduces three characters — Rolly, Can-it, and Bright Bulb — whose quirky personalities and playful interaction both inform and entertain. Learn the connection between your lifestyle, your garbage, and your planet, and how your choices make a difference. Mark Thurman’s exuberant illustrations, along with photographs from the authors’ own collections and a helpful glossary and index, make this a must-have and a call-to-action for anyone who cares about the earth.
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 80 pages
Publisher: Tundra Books (March 7, 2006)
ISBN: 0887767214
Waste Disposal (Earth Watch)
by Sally Morgan
Examines the different kinds of waste, from household trash to industrial waste, describing where it goes and how it affects the environment.
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Library Binding: 32 pages
Publisher: Franklin Watts (September 2000)
ISBN: 0531145573
Endangered Animals
Endangered Animals (True Books: Environment) (Paperback)
by Rhonda Lucas Donald ($6.95)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 48 pages
Publisher: Children's Press (CT) (March 2002)
ISBN: 0516259997
Gorilla Doctors:Saving Endangered Great Apes (Scientists in the Field Series) (Hardcover)
by Pamela S. Turner ($17.00)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (May 27, 2005)
ISBN: 0618445552
Grade 5-8 -Turner introduces the work of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP) as a group of scientists attempts to save endangered animals in Rwanda and Uganda. The readable text records their efforts to treat the great apes in the field as they encounter poachers, meet with loss of habitat, and face their newest threat: human diseases that can cross species lines. The author follows the team as its members go about their demanding work, foster an orphaned baby gorilla, and visit local schools and villages to explain the creatures' endangered status, and to promote positive reactions to their needs. The whole is accompanied by striking, full-color photographs and includes a list of other resources, a postscript, and an index.
Hey! Get Off Our Train (Dragonfly Books) (Paperback)
by John Burningham ($7.99)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 48 pages
Publisher: Dragonfly Books; Reprint edition (July 5, 1994)
ISBN: 0517882043
One night, as a little boy goes to sleep clutching his pajama-case dog, he drifts off into an elaborate, imaginative journey by train. But what's this? One endangered animal after another--an elephant, a seal, a tiger--tries to join the boy and his dog on their global junket.
The Junkyard Dog (Paperback)
by Erika Tamar ($5.50)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Yearling; Reprint edition (October 28, 1997)
ISBN: 0679885617
Demonstrating a deep understanding of preadolescent concerns, Tamar (Fair Game) produces a tough-edged but tender story about an 11-year-old and the dog she befriends. Big-hearted Katie can't stand to see a junkyard dog being starved by its owner and abused by a gang of boys in her "mud-flat" neighborhood. Her burly new stepfather, Jim Grady, will let Katie feed the dog, so long as she gets permission from its owner and pays for the dog food herself. Later, under Jim Grady's supervision and with the unlikely assistance of a rowdy classmate named Daniel, she constructs a waterproof dog house. Besides conveying a strong message about neglectful pet owners, Tamar deftly introduces a range of issues affecting her heroine-accepting a step-parent, coping with peer pressure and the vagaries of puberty; living in a housing project. Katie learns to make sacrifices and overcome frustrations, in the process gaining self-confidence and trust in others. This character truly earns the happy ending to her story, and it is one sure to satisfy readers. Ages 8-12.
My Life with the Chimpanzees (Paperback)
by Jane Goodall ($4.99)
Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Aladdin; Revised edition (April 1, 1996)
ISBN: 0671562711
Grade 4-6 Goodall's autobiography pre sents a fascinating insight into her per sonal life, her research, and her philos ophy. A major part of the book covers her work at the Gombe Stream Re search Center in Tanzania and includes observations of a chimp family through several generations. Many of the pho tographs from this period were taken by her first husband, Hugo van Lawick. Their son, Grub, is a focal point of many of her anecdotes about life in the camp at Gombe. Goodall completes her story by encouraging young people to nurture an interest in nature, giving ad vice on how to observe animals and stressing the importance of preserving wildlife. Her autobiography reflects on the importance of friends and family and the need for humans to coexist with nature. The writing flows smoothly, and the progression of stories blends well to present to readers a sincere, al though sometimes sentimental, human being.
by Jean Craighead George, Christine Herman Merrill (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 133 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; 1st ed edition (September 1995)
ISBN: 0060248912
Jean Craighead George is well known in children's literature for her ability to combine fiction and nonfiction stories with lots of information about the natural world. In THERE'S AN OWL IN THE SHOWER, George tells us about the plight of the snowy owl in the disappearing northern redwood forests and what it means to the loggers who have survived for decades by cutting down those very trees the owls need to survive. Intending to shoot the snowy owls so his father can return to work, Borden inadvertently brings an owlet home, and learns about caring for owls, why the forests need to be protected. Ed Sala does a nice job portraying the various characters, using slight changes in intonation and energy level. But he excels as Borden's father--gruff, slow, and angry at first, then mellower and more involved as he comes to understand the owl, and what it will take to keep him alive.
Environmental
The Berenstain Bears Don't Pollute (Anymore) (Paperback)
by Stan Berenstain, Jan Berenstain ($3.99)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (September 3, 1991)
ISBN: 0679823514
When careless citizens pose a threat to Bear Country's environment, Brother and Sister Bear form the Earthsavers Club. Their spirited ecological efforts deliver a timely message about the urgent need to mend our polluting and wasteful ways.
Brother Eagle, Sister Sky (Hardcover)
by Susan Jeffers, Chief Seattle ($17.99)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Dial; 1st ed edition (September 2, 1991)
ISBN: 0803709692
Chief Sealth (called "Seattle" by Jeffers) may not, in fact, be the historical source of the speech commonly attributed to him, and abridged and adapted here. But the message it conveys has never been more pointed, poignant, and powerful. Jeffers's popular pen-and-color style means that the illustrations are romantic and attractive. Alas, her entire stock of characters appears to have come from Sioux Central Casting, complete with Plains ponies and tipis (and one incongruous birchbark canoe lifted from the Algonquians). The beautiful and important words of the text ("The earth does not belong to us. We belong to the earth. . . All things are connected like the blood that unites us.") are not well served by images that ignore the rich diversity of Amerindian cultures (even Sealth's own Northwest people) in favor of cigar-store redskins in feathers and fringe. Where Jeffers's book is used, it should be supplemented with others more sensitive to Native American heritage.
Dr. Art's Guide to Planet Earth: For Earthlings Ages 12 to 120 (School & Library Binding)
by A. Sussman ($24.85)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Publisher: Rebound by Sagebrush (April 2000)
ISBN: 0613353803
Vividly, clearly and concisely...Sussman explains how our planet works and what can happen when the balance of nature is upset."
Earth Book for Kids: Activities to Help Heal the Environment (Paperback)
by Linda Schwartz ($12.99)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 184 pages
Publisher: Learning Works (June 1990)
ISBN: 0881601950
Creative ideas with easy-to-follow instructions show kids how to make their own paper, compare phosphate levels in detergents, test the effects of oil pollution, conduct a recycling survey, create a trash sculpture, redesign a package, chart a flush, measure acidity and make a difference in many other exciting ways.
Empty Lot, The (Paperback)
by Dale H Fife, Jim Arnosky (Illustrator) ($7.95)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Sierra Club Books for Children (November 1, 1996)
ISBN: 0871568594
Harry has come to look over a lot he's selling--his buyers plan a parking garage or a factory--but finds that the area already has plenty of tenants: a tree is an apartment house for birds; frogs and insects share the stream; children have built a tree house. Henry changes his sign: ``Occupied Lot. P.S. Every square inch in use.'' Didactic but not aggressively so. Reverting to his earlier cartoon style, Arnosky lightens the mood while still observing the wildlife with a practiced eye.
The Fire Bug Connection (Ecological Mystery) (Paperback)
by Jean Craighead George ($5.99)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: HarperTrophy; Reprint edition (February 3, 1995)
ISBN: 0064404749
Maggie Mercer has a passion for bugs, a passion she gets to indulge every summer when she accompanies her scientist parents to a mountain research laboratory in Maine. While her mother and father study soil and plants, she collects insects and observes the behavior of a rich assortment of wildlife. When a graduate student from Czechoslovakia gives her a terrarium full of exotic, brightly hued fire bugs for her 12th birthday, Maggie is ecstatic. Unfortunately, the bugs soon begin to die. Someone, or something, is killing them. Maggie, and 10-year-old Mitch, a pesky computer hacker, investigate the bugs' "murder," using computer databases and scientific reasoning to examine every possibility
Flush (Library Binding)
by Carl Hiaasen ($18.99)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Library Binding: 272 pages
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (September 13, 2005)
ISBN: 0375921826
Carl Hiaasen's second novel for young readers is filled with his usual quirky characters, environmental themes, and Florida landscapes. Hiaasen's books translate well to audio with his short sentences and dialogue-driven plots. Noah's dad is so mad that the Coral Queen casino boat is dumping raw sewage into the waters of the Florida Keys that he sinks it. When the boat is refloated and his Dad goes to jail, Noah aims to succeed where his father failed. Michael Welch's youthful voice captures that combination of confidence and bewilderment that characterizes a teenager, and his timing is impeccable. This production just rips along--children and adults alike will get a kick out of it.
The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest (Paperback)
by Lynne Cherry ($7.00)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 40 pages
Publisher: Voyager Books; Reprint edition (March 13, 2000)
ISBN: 0152026142
In this breathtakingly beautiful picture book, Cherry combines illustrations that reveal a naturalist's reverence for beauty with a mythlike story that explains the ecological importance of saving the rain forests. The text is not a didactic treatise, but a simply told story about a man who falls asleep while chopping down a kapok tree. The forest's inhabitants--snakes, butterflies, a jaguar, and finally a child--each whisper in his ear about the terrible consequences of living in "a world without trees" or beauty, about the interconnectedness of all living things. When the man awakens and sees all the extraordinary creatures around him, he leaves his ax and "walks out of the rain forest." A map showing the earth's endangered forests and the creatures that dwell within ends the book which, like the rain forests themselves, is "wondrous and rare."
Helping Hands Handbook (Hardcover)
by Jean Marzollo ($11.99)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 151 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (December 1, 1992)
ISBN: 0679928162
Describes ways in which children can help at home, in their community, with the environment, and around the world.
Hoot (Paperback)
by Carl Hiaasen ($6.50)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Yearling (March 14, 2006)
ISBN: 0440421705
With a Florida setting and pro-environment, antidevelopment message, Hiaasen (Sick Puppy) returns to familiar turf for his first novel for young readers. Characteristically quirky characters and comic twists will surely gain the author new fans, though their attention may wander during his narrative's intermittently protracted focus on several adults, among them a policeman and the manager of a construction site for a new franchise of a pancake restaurant chain. Both men are on a quest to discover who is sabotaging the site at night.
It's Our World, Too! (Paperback)
by Phillip Hoose ($13.00)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); Reprint edition (September 25, 2002)
ISBN: 0374336229
Containing more than a dozen accounts of children who have worked for everything from racial equality to world peace, this book demonstrates how youth have fought for what's right, then offers ideas about how to get involved. In a starred review, PW called it "absorbing and energizing."
Just a Dream (Hardcover)
by Chris Van Allsburg ($18.95)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (October 29, 1990)
ISBN: 0395533082
Walter, an environmental ignoramus of a 10 year old, is careless or scornful of such elementary actions as recycling or tree planting. One nightmarish evening, however, he visits a future where his daydreams of technological paradise are demolished. Instead, there is merely a horrifically exacerbated continuation of today's eco-problems: landfills, expressways, smog, lifeless oceans, and vanished wilderness. Walter awakens reformed, and is rewarded with another dream: the future redeemed.
Life In The Rainforests (Life in the Series) (Paperback)
by Lucy Baker (5.99)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks; Reprint edition (April 1, 1993)
ISBN: 0590461311
Describes the importance of rain forests, types of plant and animal life that live there, and how rain forests are threatened by deforestation.
The Lorax (Classic Seuss) (Hardcover)
by Dr. Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel ($14.95)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 72 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (August 12, 1971)
ISBN: 0394823370
Long before saving the earth became a global concern, Dr. Seuss, speaking through his character the Lorax, warned against mindless progress and the danger it posed to the earth's natural beauty.
One Day in theTropical Rain Forest (Paperback)
by Jean Craighead George, Gary Allen (Illustrator) ($4.25)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 64 pages
Publisher: HarperTrophy (September 30, 1995)
ISBN: 0064420167
George has again taken a microscope to a typical day in a natural region. An Indian boy leads a scientist who is trying to locate a previously unknown butterfly that the scientist hopes will halt the destruction of this particular rain forest. At the same time, a horde of army ants moves across the forest floor; a sloth comes down from a tree for its weekly visit; and other animals go about their daily business. Such ordinary happenings make an exciting sequence of events that holds readers' attention as they also learn facts about the flora and fauna of the rain forest. There may not be enough material here for a report, but the book is an example of nonfiction writing at its best, for readers learn facts and get a sense of the rain forest in diary form rather than straight factual writing. The description of the relationship between the destruction of the rain forest and the greenhouse effect is easy to understand, and the index helps readers wanting specific facts. The drawings are clear, but do not expand the textual information.
The People Who Hugged the Trees (Paperback)
by Deborah L Rose ($7.95)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Roberts Rinehart Publishers (November 2001)
ISBN: 1879373505
Beautifully retold, the story of how Amrita saves the village trees from the woodcutters.
Projects for a Healthy Planet : Simple Environmental Experiments for Kids (Paperback)
by Shar Levine, Allison Grafton ($10.95)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 96 pages
Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (April 24, 1992)
ISBN: 0471554847
Simple and fun activities that inspire understanding and respect for the environment…
· Discover what pollution is and what it does
· Learn how you can limit pollution through conservation and recycling
· Make your own environmentally friendly products
The activities in this book will show you things like how to make scratch-and-sniff paper, how to build your own greenhouse, and how to sprout seeds in old tea bags. Each activity is fun to read and is explained in step-by-step drawings that are easy to follow, and all materials are readily available household items.
Rain Forests (Magic Tree House Research Guide) (Paperback)
by Will And Ma Osborne, Sal Murdocca (Illustrator) ($4.99)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (September 25, 2001)
ISBN: 0375813551
What is the strangest plant in the rain forest? Which rain forest animal is the creepiest? What medicines have been discovered there? How can we save our rain forests? Find out the answers to these questions and more in Magic Tree House Research Guide: Rain Forests, Jack and Annie’s very own guide to the mysteries of the rain forest. Includes information on rain forests around the world; fun facts about rain-forest bugs, birds, plants, and animals; maps and photographs; and much more!
Save Our Planet: 750 Everyday Ways You Can Help Clean Up the Earth/25th Anniversary (Paperback)
by Diane Maceachern
Paperback: 228 pages
Publisher: Dell (December 16, 1991)
ISBN: 0440294037
The Sierra Club's Michael McCloskey, in the introduction to this book, says that MacEachern "pulls the whole picture together as no one has ever done." This is only partially true. She does cover a wide range of environmentally protective actions in home, garden, garage, supermarket, school, office, community, apartment, and on vacation, but some of her checklists' effectiveness are not clear. MacEachern gives insufficient detail on several points (e.g., energy-saving tree planting around houses); accepts some solutions with little exploration (e.g., banning foam packaging); and ignores how solutions conflict or overlap. Buy this book now, but hope for better.
50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth (Paperback)
by The EarthWorks Group (($7.95)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 156 pages
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing; 1st ed edition (January 1, 1990)
ISBN: 0836223012
Explains how specific things in a child's environment are connected to the rest of the world, how using them affects the planet, and how the individual can develop habits and projects that are environmentally sound.
A Walk in the Rainforest (Paperback)
by Kristin Joy Pratt (7.95)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Dawn Publications (CA); 1st ed edition (March 1992)
ISBN: 1878265539
A Walk in the Rainforest is an alphabet book written and stunningly illustrated by a 15 year old Kristin Joy Pratt
The Wartville Wizard (Hardcover)
by Don Madden (Illustrator) ($6.99)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Aladdin; Reprint edition (March 31, 1993)
ISBN: 0689716672
PreSchool-Grade 4 A tidy old man spent his time cleaning up the litter that the thoughtless slobs of Wartville left behind. One day, tired of his lot, he gives up, and Mother Nature gives him ``power over trash.'' He then commands that litter ``go back and stick to the person who threw you.'' The townspeople are dismayed, and the Wizard agrees to release them from their trash if they promise not to litter again. Madden's ecology lesson is humorous, and his breezy, colorful illustrations add to the comic and trash-laden predicament in which the citizens of Wartville find themselves.
Waterman's Boy (Hardcover)
by Susan Sharpe
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 96 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; 1st ed edition (April 30, 1990)|
ISBN: 0027823512
Two boys from a small town on the Chesapeake Bay help a scientist interested in cleaning up the water for the benefit of animals, plants, and people, while risking parental disapproval of people with too much education and of outsiders' interference in their means of earning a living.