Children's Books - Environmental Preservation
Please note: Many of these titles could go in multiple categories, so we've added keywords to each title to help you find the books that will work best for your needs.
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Character Education/Citizen Activism
Animal Protection
Food and Diet
Media, Culture & Consumerism
Human Rights
Environmental Preservation:
Fiction - Picture Books:
Aani and the Tree Huggers by Jeannine Atkins. 1995. (32 pgs) Gr. 1-4.
Aani and her community rely on the trees in their forest for their survival. When men come and start cutting down the trees, Aani takes drastic action to save the trees…and her village.
Citizen activism. Conservation. Courage. India. Trees.
Gus is a Tree by Claire Babin. 2008. (32 pgs) Gr. Pre-K – 2
Gus falls asleep under a tree and dreams of becoming one of them, experiencing life through the lens of a tree. Great for building reverence.
Empathy. Forests. Reverence. Trees.
Common Ground: The Water, Earth, and Air We Share by Molly Bang. 1997. Gr. 2-5
How do our individual actions affect the world? The author uses a parable about sheep to explore “a disturbing paradox about our relationship with the environment that sustains us.”
Consumerism. Parables. Sharing.
Uno’s Garden by Graeme Base. 2006. (40 pgs) Gr. 2-5.
Uno loves the forest and plants a garden and builds a home amongst all the plants animals. But things aren’t so great when others start to move in.
Conservation. Habitats. Mathematics. Nature. Pollution. Responsibility. Urban sprawl. Wildlife.
Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel. 2008. (28 pgs) Gr. K-3.
A rhyming story about Michael Recycle, who descends upon a town and inspires them to clean up their trash and go green.
Consumerism. Environmental protection. Recycling.
The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry. 2000. (40 pgs) Gr. PreK-3.
A man who walks into the Amazon rainforest, planning to cut down a tree, is visited by animals who plead with him to save their home.
Conservation. Ecology. Habitats. Nature. Rainforests. Wildlife.
What Planet Are You From, Clarice Bean? by Lauren Child. 2002. (32 pgs) Gr. 1-4.
When Clarice's brother decides to save their neighborhood tree from being chopped down, the whole family gets involved, and Clarice's school project gets more complicated.
Citizen activism. Environmental protection. Nature. Trees.
Jack’s Garden by Henry Cole. 1997. (32 pgs). Gr. Pre-K-3.
A cumulative tale that traces Jack’s garden from tilling the soil to enjoying the flowers, while also showing the interconnectedness of nature.
Gardening. Nature.
Where Once There Was a Wood by Denise Fleming. 1996. (32 pgs) Gr. Pre-K-3.
Shows the plants and animals who lived in the woods before they were displaced by a housing development.
Conservation. Consumerism. Habitats. Nature. Wildlife.
This Tree Counts! By Alison Formento. 2010. (32 pgs) Gr. Pre-K-2.
“Trees sure can do a lot!” Mr. Tate takes his class behind the school to plant more trees, but before they do, he has students listen to the tale of the lone tree who lives there.
Conservation. Counting.Trees.
Our Big Home: An Earth Poem by Linda Glaser. 2000. (32 pgs) Gr. K-2.
Describes the sun, earth, water and other elements of the natural world shared by all beings.
Ecology. Nature.
The Dancing Deer and the Foolish Hunter by Elisa Kleven. 2002. (32 pgs) Gr. K-3.
When a hunter kidnaps a dancing deer to sell her to the circus for money, he comes to discover just how interconnected everything is and learns the joy of dancing himself.
Dancing. Ecology. Forest. Hunters. Interconnectedness.
The Tree by Dana Lyons. 2002. (32 pgs). Gr. Pre-K-3.
This song turned into a rhyming story tells of an 800 year old tree that reflects on its life as bulldozers come to cut it down. What will happen?
Citizen activism. Conservation. Trees.
A Drop of Water by Gordon Morrison. 2006. (32 pgs) Gr. K-4.
Follows the journey of how water from rain flows through various bodies of water, feeding the different animals and habitats that depend on it, until it ends as a drop of water on the tip of a boy’s finger.
Ecology. Habitats. Sense of wonder. Water.
We Planted a Tree by Diane Muldrow. 2010. (40 pgs) Gr. K-3.
Simple poetic text shares the benefits of planting a tree.
Ecology. Environmental protection.Trees.
Fancy Nancy: Every Day is Earth Day by Jane O'Connor. 2010 (32 pgs) Gr. K-2.
Nancy helps her family learn to make greener choices, while she learns to be less bossy.
Citizen activism. Environmental protection.
Winston of Churchill: One Bear’s Battle Against Global Warming by Jean Davies Okimoto. 2007 (32 pgs) Gr. 2-5.
Winston the polar bear has realized that the bears’ habitat is being destroyed by human-generated global warming, so he organizes the bears for a protest to encourage people (and bears) to make better choices.
Citizen activism. Global warming. Polar bears.
Big Bear Hug by Nicholas Oldland. 2009. (32 pgs) Gr. K-2.
A bear is so filled with love and happiness that he hugs everyone he meets -- including the trees. When he meets a man with an ax, though, he has to decide whether he can stay true to himself while protecting the trees he loves.
Bears. Environmental protection. Kindness. Trees.
My Mom Hugs Trees by Robyn Ringold. 2006. (20 pgs) Gr. K-3.
A girl learns that her mom's "silly ways" are because she has such love and respect for the natural world.
Compassion. Nature. Respect. Reverence. Sense of wonder.
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. 1971. (72 pgs) Gr. Pre-K – 3.
As the Once-lers happily chop down Truffula Trees to make into items, the Lorax, who speaks for the trees, warns the people what will happen if they don’t stop. Will it be too late?
Citizen activism. Forests. Morality plays. Nature. Trees.
The World That We Want by Kim Michelle Toft. 2005. (32 pgs) Gr. Pre-K-3.
A cumulative story about the interconnectedness of Earth’s air, forests, rivers, mangroves, beaches and so on to the ocean.
Conservation. Environmental protection. Habitats. Sense of wonder.
Just a Dream by Chris Van Allsburg. 1990. (48 pgs) Gr. 2-5.
When he has a dream about a future Earth devastated by pollution, Walter begins to understand the importance of taking care of the environment.
Environmental protection. Pollution.
Fiction - Chapter Books:
Green Boy by Susan Cooper. 2002. (208 pgs) Gr. 4-7.
A magical window between two worlds leaves Trey with a difficult decision: stay and fight for his island as it's threatened with overdevelopment or take his chances in the dark otherworld he's stumbled upon.
Environmental protection. Fantasy.
Operation Redwood by S. Terrell French. 2009 (368 pgs) Gr. 4-7.
When Julian intercepts an angry email meant for his uncle, it sets him on a journey to try to stop the destruction of a redwood forest.
Environmental protection. Trees.
Flush by Carl Hiaasen. 2005. (263 pgs) Gr. 4-8.
No one believes that the boat their dad sank was dumping sewage. Noah & Abby vow to get proof.
Environmental protection. Waterways.
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. 2002. (292 pgs) Gr. 4-8.
Roy Eberhardt, the new kid at school, joins an unlikely alliance of kids committed to saving owls in danger from a proposed development.
Environmental protection. Owls. Wildlife.
Scat by Carl Hiaasen. 2009 (384 pgs) Gr. 5-9.
Nick and his friend Marta decide to investigate when a mysterious fire starts near a Florida wildlife preserve and a teacher goes missing.
Conservation. Environmental protection. Wildlife.
Non-fiction - Picture Books:
A River Ran Wild by Lynne Cherry. 1992. (40 pgs) Gr. 1-4.
An environmental history of the Nashua River, from its discovery by Indians through the polluting years of the Industrial Revolution to the ambitious clean-up that revitalized it.
Citizen activism. Nature. Rivers. Water pollution.
The Magic School Bus and the Climate Challenge by Joanna Cole & Bruce Degen. 2010. (48 pgs) Gr. 3-6.
Mrs. Frizzle & her class journey around the world learning about global climate change, it's causes, and how people can make a positive difference. (Not a good read-aloud.)
Environmental protection. Environmental science. Global warming.
Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai by Claire A. Nivola. 2008. (32pgs) Gr. K-6.Tells the story of Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, and her creation of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya to help the health and well-being of her fellow citizens (especially women).
Changemakers. Conservation. Trees. Politics. Women’s issues.
One Well: The Story of Water on Earth by Rochelle Strauss. 2007 (32pgs) Gr. 4-6.Using the lens of all water on earth as “one well,” the author explores how we use – and abuse – our precious resource.
Conservation. Water.
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