Curl up with your favorite young environmentalists and one of these great green reads to celebrate Earth Day:
by Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Seuss Geisel
The Lorax is THE quintessential eco-book for kids. This classic tale is an ecological warning that is as true today as it was when it was published in 1971. Only Dr. Suess could write about the dangers of clear-cutting, pollution, and disregard for the earth's environment in a whimsical style that gets the message across without being scary.
by Joanna Cole
In The Magic School Bus and the Climate Challenge, the latest in the Magic School Bus series, Ms Friz tackles the "hot" topic in going green ... climate change. I was excited to read this book with my girls because I know how good they are at taking complicated subject matter and breaking it down into easy-to-understand bits. I was a little nervous when the Friz started talking about gas molecules and the greenhouse effect, but my girls really got the book's message, and in the end that's what it's all about.
by Jane O'Connor
This is a good book for beginning readers that teaches kids a few simple tips for going green. In true Fancy Nancy style, it can be a little overwhelming at times. But the bottom line is that if your kids like Fancy Nancy, they will love this book, and they will come away with the message that it is truly fabulous to go green.
by Pattie Schnetzler
Written in the style of The Twelve Days of Christmas, Earth Day Birthday celebrates Earth Day and 12 different creatures that inhabit the planet. The lyrics begin, "On the first Earth Day Birthday the wide world gave to me … A bald eagle in the sky." Other species spotlighted include grizzlies, panthers, salmon, fawns, and owls ... all with vibrant double-page paintings that depict the animals in their native habitats.
by Jill Ammon Vanderwood
Everybody's talking about "going green," but what does that really mean? And does anyone really do it? This book tells kids concrete steps they can take to go green, in lessons taught by other kids who are actually doing it, like the teenage girl who learned to drive with a car fueled by used cooking grease or the 7-year-old boy who raised funds to build his first well to provide clean water for a whole village.