BOOK INFORMATION (CHILDREN AND TEEN)

365 Ways to Live Green for Kids: Saving the Environment at Home, School, or at Play--Every Day!

Sheri Amsel

“In the greenconscious world we live in today, parents realize the importance of teaching the lessons of green living, early on. With this book, parents can encourage their children to be ecologically friendly with fun lessons such as:

• The three Rs: reducing waste, reusing materials, and recycling
• Why we should keep the air, oceans, and forests pollutionfree
• Why organic food is tastier?and better?for you
• How to protect plants and animals
• Earth Day celebrations

Complete with tips for every day of the year?and activities for home, school, and during playtime? This book reveals how easy it is to be an ecofriendly family and prepare for a better future together.” (from amazon.com)

Down-to-Earth Guide To Global Warming

Laurie David and Cambria Gordon

“Irreverent and entertaining, DOWN TO EARTH is filled with fact about global warming and its disastrous consequences, loads of photos and illustrations, as well as suggestions for how kids can help combat global warming in their homes, schools, and communities. Engagingly designed, DOWN TO EARTH will educate and empower, leaving readers with the knowledge they need to understand this problem and a sense of hope to inspire them into action.” (from amazon.com)

Eco-Fun: Great Projects, Experiments, and Games for a Greener Earth

David T. Suzuki

These 48 activities are designed to stimulate understanding, knowledge, and appreciation of our ecosystem. They are organized into five chapters: "A Breath of Fresh Air," "Waterworks," "Earthborn," "All Fired Up," and "Our Fine Feathered (and Leafy) Friends." A two-page explanatory overview precedes each section. Activities include making a solar water heater, paper, a composter can, and natural cleansers. Each project has a list of supplies needed, step-by-step instructions, an explanation of what's going on, and "More ideas-" that offers additional things to do. Safety tips are included and the more dangerous procedures recommend adult assistance. Illustrations enhance the lively text, which can be used in the classroom or at home. (from School Library Journal)

Everything Kids’ Environment BookLearn how you can help the environment-by getting involved at school, at home, or at play

Sheri Amsel

Everything we do has an impact on the world around us--from the clothes we wear and food we eat to the gardens we grow and the trash we throw away. And to take the best care of the earth--and ourselves--it's important to make smart choices. With The Everything® Kids' Environment Book, you'll find out what you can do every day to help protect our planet. You'll also learn why the rainforest is so important to us, how animals go extinct, and what environmentalists can tell us about taking good care of our world. (from amazon.com)

Green Teen, The: The Eco-Friendly Teen's Guide to Saving the Planet

Jenn Savedge

Jenn Savedge's book is packed with tips that teens can easily do to green up the world that they inhabit. Thee are also a few more challenging actions (like starting a school recycling program) for those ready to take their environmentalism up a notch. Jenn has done an impressive job creating a straightforwrd, well-organized reference book full of tips, resources and advice for eco-friendy teens. She not only explains the how's of going green; she explains the why's too, and helps teens to understand the importance of the part they can play in caring for the planet. - Robin Shreeves, Mother Nature Network

Today’s teenagers are standing at the crossroads of environmental history. Global warming will fundamentally change the world as they know it within their lifetime. But how to keep their healthy environmental awareness from becoming environmental anxiety? The secret is to provide them with education and tools for positive action.

Written in easily accessible language, The Green Teen combines simple and quick eco-friendly tips, interviews with “green teens,” ideas for organizing and communicating environmental change, and a host of resources in a handy “grab-and-go” format. Teens will learn:

• How the choices they make each day impact the environment
• How to fit eco-friendly decisions into their tight schedules and budgets
• How to effectively get today’s decision makers involved in environmental stewardship

Teens want to learn how to minimize their environmental impact at home, at school, and in their communities and get their concerns recognized by school officials, politicians, media, and even their own parents.

The Green Teenis the book that will help them do it, and it is also a must-read for parents, grandparents, teachers, and school administrators who want to help the next generation make environmentally responsible choices. (from amazon.com)

 

Magic School Bus and the Climate Challenge, The

Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen

Like it or not, global warming is a hot topic, and it will affect the younger generation the most. So why not turn to the teacher kids like the most, Ms. Frizzle! Only the Friz can boil all the hoopla down to the scientific facts in a fun and informative way.

With trademark simplicity and wit, Joanna Cole explains why the earth is getting warmer, and Bruce Degen's bright, action-filled illustrations make the science easy to understand and fun to learn. This team brings a new, improved understanding to climate change, engaging kids and empowering all. Teachers will cheer!

Kids already love the Magic School Bus, and the love to do what's right by the planet. At last, a way to teach the curriculum and make an impact! (from amazon.com)

 

New 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth, The

Sophie Javna

“The world's a better place with EarthWorks Group's John Javna in it. He, along with his daughter, Sophie, help kids go from aware to active with simple (but inspiring) projects, tips, and little-known facts that puts a kid's own carbon footprint into perspective.

In The New 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth, Sophie and John have revised the original best-selling book for a concerned and vibrant Web 2.0 youth market. It's easy-to-do and kid-friendly projects show that kids can make a difference, and each chapter is packed with tons of links to groups and resources. What makes this book stand out, though, is that it doesn't just inform kids, it encourages them to make a difference by providing them, their friends and their families the tools to take action.

Together, John and Sophie enlighten, educate, and encourage our children with easy and smart ways to save the earth. Pretty darn cool, huh? We thought so. What you can do: Order now and help save the only earth we've got. Mother Earth needs our help now.” (from amazon.com)

 

Where Does the Garbage Go?

Paul Showers

(Grades 1-4)

An update of the 1974 title (HarperCollins), not only in content but also in terminology. In the original, the narrator's grandfather buried their trash on his farm and fed garbage to the hogs. "Garbage and trash" were taken together to the dump, or, in the case of big cities, incinerated, resulting in air pollution. Separating trash for recycling was only a hopeful prospect. Gone is the family farm in the 1994 edition. Children learn in school about how things "used to be." They take a field trip to a landfill where garbage and trash (brought in from a nearby big city) are still being buried, but they refer to recycling as a commonplace activity in which the whole town participates. A pie chart breaks down the composition of a landfill by percentages. Showers mentions toxic ash and smoke generated from incinerators and the basic problem of too much trash. The pictures are also more sophisticated in content, if not style. How a landfill is built and how an incinerator works are more fully portrayed than in the previous edition, and more detailed drawings are used to show the processes involved in paper, glass, and plastic recycling. Suggestions for what individuals can do to help the environment are appended. Touches of humor are added via dialogue balloons, making this title an enjoyable and useful introduction to the subject. (from School Library Journal)

Polar Bears are Hungry, The

Carol Carrick

(PreSchool-Grade 2)

“In the spring, a polar bear emerges from hibernation and hunts for seal. As the weather warms, she has difficulty finding food for her two cubs and ends up scavenging in a village. Carrick presents the facts of the story in simple, realistic terms. Tension builds as the bears are captured and detained by wildlife officers but, unfortunately, a visual jump in the story line at the height of conflict may have readers checking to be sure they didn't miss a page. Small technical blip aside, the concept of this book is important and timely, and the author's deliberately spare, graceful text is excellent, as are Paul Carrick's acrylic paint renderings. In several breathtaking scenes, the illustrator outlines his subjects in luminous electric blue, capturing the waning northern sun reflecting the cool water and sky in the whiteness of landscape and animal. The answer to the title's intrinsic question (Why are the polar bears hungry?) is provided in the author's note at the end of the story where readers learn of the effects of global warming and other undue human interferences on the lives, and ultimately the future, of the polar-bear population. An excellent discussion starter.”
Carol L. MacKay, Camrose Public Library, Alberta, Canada