Posted by Angie on Wednesday, Apr 20, 2016
Help your little one celebrate and learn more about our planet for Earth Day coming up this Friday, April 22nd! While I believe we should celebrate Earth Day everyday, books are a great way to help kids learn about it in an exciting and relatable way! Here is a great list of earth friendly picture books to honor this day with your child through reading:
Take Care of The Earth Everyday by Tammy Gagne. While not a picture book, it is a short book showing how Earth is our home and how to care for it on a daily basis, including recycling, planting trees, and caring for plants and animals.
The Earth Book by Todd Parr. A great book that is simple and gives clear examples for how to save the earth as well as easy to understand reasons for why we need to.
Big Bear Hug by Nicholas Oldland. This book about a bear who hugs everything in sight is sure to elicit giggles from young audiences, but it also has an important message about preservation.
10 Things I can Do to Help My World by Melanie Walsh. This super child-friendly book has beautifully die-cut pages filled with ways that even young children can help the environment, from planting seeds to turning off the lights when they leave a room.
Gabby and Grandma Go Green by Monica Wellington. This book introduces to little ones what it means to be green with Gabby and her grandma who have a ‘green day’ together.
The Green Mother Goose : Saving the World One Rhyme at a Time by Jan Peck. Mother Goose has gone green-and this playful picture book invites kids to join the fun. These are delightful "recycled” rhymes, perfect for Earth Day.
Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel. Michael Recycle tells the adventures of a young superhero whose power allows him to teach people about recycling. The rhyming text and a child superhero is perfect for reading aloud together.
The Little Recycler by Jan Gerardi. This board book makes the concept of recycling fun and exciting for your little ones, and there’s plenty of machinery interest for those little engineers!
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. Last, but not least, the classic Dr. Seuss book that is synonymous with Earth Day. Even though is a long read, is a perfect story on the importance of taking care of our place no matter how big or small you are.
Remember to make Earth Day everyday!
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About the Author
Angie is the Children's Services Coordinator at the Iowa City Public Library. You can find her in the Ellen Buchanan Children's Room or occasionally on the Bookmobile.
Last week Publisher’s Weekly announced their best books of 2017 list. While looking over the children’s list I came across a couple titles that I had somehow missed, so I have set out to read them before the end of the year. The first one I grabbed was Real Friends by Newbery Honor author Shannon Hale, with artwork by LeUyen Pham. This graphic novel is a semi autobiographical account of Shannon growing up from Kindergarten to fifth grade and finding her real friends. If I told you this book did not bring up memories of my own childhood and finding friends or that I am now going through this with my own 10 year old daughter, I would be lying. I can vividly remember my mother soothing my tears and giving me her best advice on how to deal with the cruel words or actions of the girls. I now have her advice and this book to talk to my daughter with when situations, like being a part of the club arise’s. Like Shannon in the book, there were days when I was part of the club and other days when I suddenly found myself on the outs. That said, I still really enjoyed this book and Shannon’s story. LeUyen did a wonderful job with her artwork to bring out the emotions from Hale’s characters with facial expressions. You will truly feel Shannon’s insecurities, her happiness, her sadness, and her confusion. More importantly, though, you will feel. You’ll be feeling the entire time, but you’ll root for Shannon, and a lot of that comes from Phan’s artwork. This story was perfect for my 10-year-old and really for any child. Real Friends looks at the complex relationships among elementary school girls and by reading it together we were able to discuss important feelings and our reactions. The book echoes to readers that good friends don’t treat you badly and that in the end, all the hard work and the journey that comes with it are worth it. -Angie