Saturday is Earth Day and to get ready for it, we have been having fun with many different books that go along with the Earth Day theme. I started sharing some on butterflies with you last night. Today we have many more on different themes. We will start with 23 Ways to be an Eco Hero by Isabel Thomas.
This book has 23 things a child or family can do to help the earth in step to step instructions written for the child to understand. It has things for the animals, planting trees to recycling crafts as well as experiments to understand how nature works. This book has it all and is perfect for Earth Day or for any day really!! It even has ideas for using food up like overripe fruit. Many of the ideas in this book are new and fresh and it is a great resource for environment-minded kids or to get your kids more environment-minded.
Now an important discussion for Earth Day is alternate energy sources. To help kids understand wind we have What on Earth? Wind by Isabel Thomas and Pau Morgan. This book has information, experiments and activities to help kids understand wind and its energy and uses. Some of the activities are common like a tornado in a bottle or a windsock and others take it a step further. It is written for a child to be able to read and do the activities him/herself. It is another great resource for Earth Day. We also got What on Earth? Water by Isabel Thomas and Pau Morgan to explore another energy source.
From erosion to deep sea and more, this book is all about water. It has information, experiments and crafts as well. What I love about these books is they also have poems and a multicultural legend in them. They are packed full of great information and ideas. They are written so a child can explore and understand what is presented. Did you know a cat sneezing is a sign of coming rain? I didn't and I have had a cat all my life. What on Earth? Water goes through the states of water, the weather, the water on Earth as well as in our bodies and so much more. Talk about a great resource!!
We all know one thing we can do for Earth Day is not to drive, fly, etc. as much as we do. Our next book is Pedal Power by Allan Drummond. This book shares how Amsterdam became the bicycle capital of the world. It started with a mom and her child and of course gathering friends to help. Now Amsterdam has more bicycles on its streets than cars. Talk about an Earth friendly city!! This book tells how it happened and how the mom and child did it. Plus the idea is spreading to other cities.
Next we will look at some amazing animals. Our next book is Science Comics: Bats by Falynn Koch.
Hazel was so excited to get a comic book that has facts about animals in it. This book is a comic book but has information mixed in with the comics. Do you know why vampire bats eat blood? It is in this book.
This comic book has everything you might want to know about bats and presents it in a manner that most kids will love!!
Our next book is for younger children. It is Trees by Lemniscates. This book teaches young children about trees: how they grow, their different parts and how they are used. The pictures are simple yet colorful and so are the words.
For older children and adults to learn about plant life there is Botanicum curated by Katie Scott and Kathy Willis.
This book is like taking a class on plant life or perhaps visiting a museum. It has information about everything from algae to orchids and trees. It looks at nature from all over the world and gives details and beautiful illustrations.
This is a great resource for any classroom studying plants or any gardener.
Our last two books are more about the need of nature. The first is The Promise by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Laura Carlin.
This story is about passing on the desire to plant acorns in the city. The narrator is poor and desperate and robs an old woman. The old woman gives the bag up only when the robber makes a promise to plant them. The robber not knowing what was in the bag made the promise and was shocked later to find it was full of acorns. She keeps the promise and eventually grows old and passes the bag of acorns on to another young person. The trees she plants begins to bring some happiness and color to the world. It is a wonderful tale and a reminder that we need nature in our lives and need to protect it.
Our last book for today is Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep by Eleanor Farjeon
This may seem a like a strange book to choose for my Earth Day collection. It has magic and fairies in it. It is a classic tale about a young girl who was born to skip rope (or jump rope). She is so good that by the age of seven the master fairy skipper (who is mentioned in the children's rhyme) sends for her to learn to skip with the fairies. Eventually Elsie Piddock becomes a legend and people do not remember if she was alive or not. However when a lord threatens to take the footpaths and the hilltop where the fairies skip rope away from public use a very old Elsie shows up to save it for all. It is a wonderful tale to remind us that nature is for everyone and we should not keep people away from it. It shows that we need to preserve it for future generations and isn't what Earth Day is all about?
I hope you find some wonderful ways to celebrate Earth Day and check out these wonderful books!!
