Celebrate Earth Day with these seven books that inspire a love for the environment and warn readers against the dangers of pollution.
All That Trash: The Story of the 1987 Garbage Barge and Our Problem with Stuff
Written and illustrated by Meghan McCarthy
Learn about the 1987 garbage barge and a failed plan that inspired a nation to start recycling. When Lowell Harrelson decided to turn trash into methane gas, he rented a barge to collect waste from New York, and bring it to North Carolina. Except, no state would let him dock the barge! Instead, it sailed the sea for forty-five days before a solution could be found.
Reading Age: 4-8 years
Hoot
Written by Carl Hiaasen
This Newbery Honor winner follows the story of friends trying to save a colony of endangered owls that live in a site marked for construction.
Reading Age: 10-12 years
One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia
Written by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon
The amazing true story of one woman in Njau, Gambia, and the change she made in her community. Isatou Ceesay found a way to recycle plastic bags that were killing her community into a product that could help it grow.
Reading Age: 5-9 years
Over and Under the Pond
Written by Kate Messner and illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
Readers will discover a secret underwater world in this entertaining and educational book about the beauty of ecosystems. A glossary provides further information on animals that live in, near, and around mountain ponds.
Reading Age: 5-8 years
A Symphony of Whales
Written by Steve Schuch and illustrated by Peter Sylvada
Told through the eyes of a young girl, this beautifully illustrated picturebook is based on the true story of the rescue of beluga whales by the people of the Chuchki peninsular.
Reading Age: 4-7 years
We Are Water Protectors
Written by Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade
Winner of the 2021 Caldecott Medal, this beautifully illustrated picture book tells the story of a black snake that threatens to destroy the Earth and the young water protector who stands beside her people to stop it.
Reading Age: 3-6 years
World Without Fish
Written by Mark Kurlansky and illustrated by Frank Stockton
Readers will learn about what is happening in the world’s oceans and how they can help stop fish from disappearing. Interwoven with biology, economics, evolution, politics, climate, history, culture, nutrition, and more, readers will be astounded with the complex problem fishermen and scientists are facing.
Reading Age: 10-18 years
As a reminder this Earth Day, please do not feed wild animals processed foods as their stomachs cannot digest them. For more information on how to take care of your backyard visitors, please check out the humane society at https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/feeding-your-backyard-birds