Earth Day favorites

In honor of Earth Day this month, I thought I'd put together a list of some of our favorite Earth Day books.  While none of them is specifically about Earth Day itself, each reflects a respect for, appreciation of, and/or connectedness to our beautiful planet its creatures.  To me, those are messages worth sharing with our children every day of the year.

To read my full review of each title, please click the links below.  What will you be reading this Earth Day?

For the littlest of readers (babies and up):

Listen, Listen by Phyllis Gershator:  A lovely book about the sights and sounds of the changing seasons.  Great for babies and preschoolers, alike.  

Baby Beluga by Raffi, illustrated by Ashley Wolff:  A perfect book to share and sing with even the very youngest of readers. 

Age 1 and up:

We're Roaming in the Rainforest by Laurie Krebs and Anne Wilson:  A wonderful tribute to one of our planet's most magical places:  The Amazon Rainforest.

Slowly, Slowly, Slowly Said the Sloth by Eric Carle:  Another fabulous rainforest book, complete with an informational foreword by the one and only Jane Goodall.






Over in the Jungle:  A Rainforest Rhyme:  Author Maryanne Berkes and illustrator Jeanette Canyon combined to create a brilliant singalong book about some of the incredible creatures that call the rainforest home.  

Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef by Maryanne Berkes: Join parrotfish, stingrays, seahorses, and more on an amazing journey through a coral reef.  Set to the same tune as Over in the Jungle (and equally as awesome), this is a long-time favorite in our house.

We're Sailing to Galapagos by Laurie Krebs:  This fabulous story is bursting with fun information about this unique part of the world and the creatures who live there.  Restelli's collage artwork is bold, colorful, and wonderfully intricate, and is the perfect accompaniment to Krebs' rollicking story.  A favorite in our house.


Preschool and up:

Me... Jane:  We love this beautiful story by Patrick McDonnell about the life of a young Jane Goodall.  Perfect for any animal or nature lover, this book reminds us that we each have the power to make a difference in the world.  Not to be missed.



A Leaf Can Be... In this lovely book, Author Laura Purdie Solas takes us on a "poetic exploration of leaves throughout the year," from the gently unfurling new leaves of spring to the frost-tipped leaves of winter.  Creative, beautifully illustrated, and informative, this is a wonderful book to read as part of Poetry Month, as well!

The Water Hole by Graeme Base:  An all-around amazing book that introduces children to animals and habitats around the world, as well as the delicate balance of nature and the crucial role that water plays in supporting all life.  Don't be fooled into thinking this is simply a counting book full of beautiful creatures; it's so much more than that.  Proof that a picture really is worth a thousand words.

Ranger Rick and Ranger Rick Jr. (formerly Your Big Backyard):  Not a book, I know, but this series of magazines is awesome!  Always full of fabulous ideas and information about animals and our planet, my son can't wait to read each new edition.  Most libraries subscribe to these, too.  Check them out!  

The Beeman by Laurie Krebs and Valeria Cis:  A fantastic story that teaches all kinds of great facts about bees, beekeeping, and making honey.  

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney:  What could be more relevant to Earth Day than reading a story that encourages each of us to make the world a more beautiful place?  One of my all-time, absolute favorite picture books.  Hands down.

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown:  A gorgeous story about the difference each of us can make in the world.  One of our favorites.

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen:  This is probably not on many other Earth Day reading lists, but I love the way this story makes me feel what it's like to be out in the woods on a cold winter night.  This falls under my Earth Day "connecting with nature" category.

The Barefoot Books World Atlas:  If you want to spark your child's curiosity about the diversity and wonder of our amazing planet, take a look at this world atlas.  It's loaded with information and fabulous illustrations and is bound to appeal to children (and adults) of all ages.  While the amount of text might be too much for preschoolers, they will certainly be drawn to the maps and illustrations.  The iPad app for it is pretty incredible, too!

Day 151: We're Roaming in the Rainforest

Looking for a fabulous Earth Day book?  Check out the beautifully illustrated and fantastically educational We're Roaming in the Rainforest by Laurie Krebs and Anne Wilson.  Follow along from sunrise to sunset as parrots squawk, monkeys chatter, sloths doze, caimans snap, and jaguars growl in one of the most magical places on earth:  the Amazon Rainforest!  We've had this book for a few months now, and my son absolutely loves it.  He is obsessed with animals at the moment, so loves learning about some of the exotic creatures that call the Amazon home.  My daughter is always fascinated by the bold, colorful illustrations and can't wait to spot the animals on each page.  Among (many) other things, I love that she and my son are both so engaged while we read it.  (It's not always easy to find books that appeal equally to 4 year olds and 20 month olds!)  We especially love learning about some of the lesser known rainforest animals that are featured in this book, such as pink river dolphins and giant river otters.  Did you know that poison dart frogs are smaller than your thumb nail, or that green iguanas can grow to be six feet long?  I didn't, either, until I read this story.  Like so many of our favorite books, We're Roaming in the Rainforest features all kinds of fabulous educational extras once the story itself has ended.  The endnotes cover a range of topics, including the peoples and native tribes of the Amazon, the role of the rainforest as a vital global resource, conservation efforts, and interesting facts about each of the animals featured in the book.  And, of course, there is a map!  You can see why this book is so great now, right?  It's fun to read, teaches us all kinds of new things, and appeals to kids of all ages.  What's not to love?  If you're looking for a book to read with your child or class this Earth Day, this is one we highly recommend.