Back to school brings a barrage of reminders to read to your child or have them read for themselves everyday. With the emphasis on EVERYDAY.
Anyone else get a little sick of reading your child's favorite books over and over and over again? If you are looking for something new and are thinking that a little earth-loving and tree-hugging would be a welcome topic, then here are a few books to consider. Check them out of the library or think about buying them as gifts - they are all hardcover - and two of them are printed on recycled paper. And just to be up-front about it, I was sent review copies of these books - all by different publishers. I have no vested interested in promoting them - but I truly did enjoy them all.
10 Things I Can Do To Help My World by Melanie Walsh is a really sweet book that gently reminds kids about the little things they can do to help the earth...like turn off the water when they are brushing their teeth or use both sides of the paper when drawing a picture. The illustrations are bold and bright and the pages have cut-out parts that kids can turn themselves. My 3 year old picks it up and reads it himself all the time! This one would make an especially nice gift....for a child or a classroom...and it is made from 100% recycled material.
William is Going Green by James Martin II is a story about an old garbage truck named William who is fired from his job for polluting and being too loud. He eventually finds a new way of life...as a hybrid recycling truck...painted green of course! He meets some new friends along the way and the story is set up to be the beginning of a series. Lessons about being both kind to the earth and to others are woven throughout the story. Watch out Bob the Builder - William just might boot you out of the spotlight someday! This book works for both preschool and early readers - ages 3-8 years. (printed on FSC certified mixed sources paper that is 25% recycled.)
I had to laugh when I read the promotional material for Templeton Turtle Goes Exploring by Ron Pridmore (and beautifully illustrated by Michele-lee Phelan). It claims that the average 8 year old can identify 25% more Pokemon characters than wildlife species. Well, I have an 8 year old and I have to admit that we have a little Pokemon obsession going on here. (and he doesn't understand why I won't buy him a game boy?!!)
This book is meant to encourage your little ones to explore the outdoors and learn about nature. It tells the tale of Templeton, a tiny little turtle who goes off to explore the great big pond all by himself for the first time. He is surprised to find that not all of the animals are friendly to him and some of them are big and scary. In the end he learns an age-old lesson - that all the animals by the pond, whether they have fur, flippers, wings, scales or shells, all help each other out in times of need. It's a sweet little adventure - but I think Liam was relieved when the Templeton was safe back with his mother!
Now it's time to hit the library in search of more good, green books....any recommendations?
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Those a really cool!!!!!
Posted by: Renee | September 13, 2008 at 02:19 PM
What a great blog!
Happy to have stumbled upon it!
I am a mom of 3 who is always looking to live a little better and pass on the info to my kidlets!
Thanks for helping to save the Earth!
Posted by: Michelle Kemper Brownlow | September 13, 2008 at 08:38 PM
There's a new 'green' series of books for kids that launched a few months ago. Here's an example of one of them: http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=4&pid=625912 .. thought you might be interested! :)
"I Can Save the Earth! One Little Monster Learns to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle (Little Green Books)"
Posted by: Jo-Ann | September 17, 2008 at 10:47 AM
Actually, here's a list of all of the 'little green books': http://www.simonsays.com/content/destination.cfm?tab=1&pid=626525&wsref=3&num=571
Posted by: Jo-Ann | September 17, 2008 at 10:58 AM
You should check out Bayard and their series of StoryBoxBooks, AdventureBoxBooks and DiscoveryBoxBooks.
There's lots going on too:
This Month Storybox has guest illustrator Helen Oxenbury fetured ( http://storyboxbooks.com/helen-oxenbury.php ).
There's a Readathon happening in Uk and Ireland - http://discoveryboxbooks.com/readathon.php
There's a Ghost Drawing competition in AdventureBoxBooks assiciated with the Polka Theatre ( http://www.adventureboxbooks.com/competition.php )
Posted by: bookdude | September 18, 2008 at 03:26 AM