Earth Day is a great opportunity to share amazing books that celebrate the beauty of this amazing planet. Books about nature, plants, animals, weather and seasons can help children understand how beautiful our world is.
1) Thank You, Earth by April Pulley Sayre is the perfect book to read on Earth Day. It is filled with beautiful photographs and points out all of the things we should be grateful for...including the tiny little bugs and plants.
2) 10 Things I Can Do to Help My World by Melanie Walsh provides simple ideas children can do to be environmentally friendly. I encouraged my students to choose one that they could do, or they could think of their own.
3) Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals and illustrated by Ashley Wolff is an alphabet book that gives a list of items that can be composted. This was a fun read and could be used as a model to create a new Earth Day themed alphabet book.
4) Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner and illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal is part of a series of amazing books! You could really read any of them to celebrate Earth Day. They are all beautifully illustrated and really show the wonder of nature.
5) Outside In by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Cindy Derby encourages us to get outside more, and to bring nature into our home. It is a great one to prompt a walk and brainstorm other ways to be outdoors.
6) I Am the Rain by John Paterson shows the water cycle and is written by water in first person. We enjoyed the beautiful illustrations and it prompted some great discussions about weather.
7) Because of an Acorn by Lola M. Schaefer and Adam Schaefer and illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon shows the interconnectedness of an ecosystem. This is an important concept for Earth Day, as it shows that things would not be the same if one piece of the system is missing.
8) Treasure by Mireille Messier and Irene Luxbacher is a story of siblings who go on a treasure hunt to find treasures that are mysterious and precious. They learn that some treasures are too big to fit in their pockets. It is beautifully illustrated and highlights the beauty of nature.
So, those are eight EARTH DAY books for children.
Have you read any of these? Which book would you add to the list? Let me know in the comments!
