environment

Nibbles: A Green Tale

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978076145791602

Nibbles: A Green Tale by Charlotte Middleton

The guinea pigs of Dandeville loved eating dandelion leaves.  Nibbles loved eating them even more than he loved playing soccer.  He ate them for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.  But then dandelion leaves started to run low.  Cabbage began replacing it on restaurant menus and dandelion leaves became a hot commodity on the Internet.  Eventually, there were no more dandelion leaves because they had all been eaten.  All but one dandelion that was growing outside of Nibbles’ window.  Even though Nibbles wanted badly to eat the leaves, he didn’t.  Instead he started to do research on dandelion and began to take very good care of his dandelion.  He waited patiently until it grew seeds and then headed to a tall hill where he blew the seeds into the air.  Soon the fields were filled with dandelions again, and Nibbles had found something besides eating dandelions that he loved.  Growing them!

This is a very appealing book that takes the lesson of renewable resources to a level that even small children can understand.  Middleton’s brilliant choice was to use dandelion greens as the scarce resource, because we all have dandelions taking over our lawns and gardens.  In this way she made something that we see as a nuisance into a commodity.   Middleton’s mixed media art is friendly, filled with round-bellied guinea pigs and plenty of green.  The hair tufts and whiskers done in real fuzz and string make the illustrations engaging and interesting. 

A great choice when talking with preschoolers about going green or gardening, this book will be a welcome addition to units and story times.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Marshall Cavendish.

Seeds of Change

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Seeds of Change by Jen Cullerton Johnson, illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler

We have already seen two incredible picture books about Wangari, so I was hesitant to pick this one up.  I should never have hesitated.  This book adds to Wangari’s story by telling the story of her youth growing up in the bounty of Kenya.  Her mother teaches her about each tree and what it offers.  Though it was unusual for girls in Kenya to be educated, Wangari’s parents saw how bright she was and sent her to school.  After she graduated from elementary school, Wangari went to the city to continue her education, eventually heading to the United States to study biology.  Throughout her travels, she thought often of Kenya and her home.  Kenya had changed with the land being harvested for timber by big foreign companies.  Wangari returned to Kenya and taught women and children to plant trees, giving the people a way to feed themselves and turning the barren land green again.  In 2004, Wangari won the Nobel Peace Prize, the first African woman or environmentalist to receive it. 

Johnson has taken the time to really reveal where Wangari came from and what created the seeds of environmentalism within her.  Other picture books pick up where Wangari is seeing the damage done in Kenya, but this addition of her childhood and education make for a more complete understanding of her.  Sadler’s illustrations use thick white lines which remind me of batik or stained glass.  The images show interesting design choices that are often dreamlike. 

I would recommend pairing this with both Mama Miti by Donna Jo Napoli and Planting the Trees of Kenya by Claire A. Nivola.  The three together offer a strong environmental message combined with a complete view of the woman behind the movement.

Highly recommended, this book tells the powerful story of Wangari and her legacy in Kenya.  It shows readers that one person can definitely make a difference.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Lee & Low.

Also reviewed by:

Mama Miti

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Mama Miti by Donna Jo Napoli, illustrated by Kadir Nelson

Wangari grew up in a Kenya covered in trees.  When she moved and lived in the city, she still planted tress in her backyard.  They refreshed her spirit whenever she sat under them.  Poor women started coming to Wangari for advice and it was always the same, she advised them to plant trees.  Trees could feed them, give them fire wood, feed animals, provide medicine, keep out predators, and build new homes.  The trees returned to Kenya and so did the strength of the country.

Beautifully illustrated by Kadir Nelson, this version of Wangari’s story is delightful.  Napoli tells the true story with nod towards oral storytelling.  Her text reads aloud beautifully with a rhythm and cadence that really work well.  Her use of repetition is done with restraint, adding to the sense of heritage and lore.  Nelson’s illustrations are exquisite.  Done in oil paints and fabrics, they too are about heritage and a sense of place.  The faces of the people throughout the book have a strength and a presence that will have readers lingering over them. 

A lovely book about an inspiring figure who teaches us that each person can have an enormous impact upon their nation and the environment.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.

Also reviewed by Homegrown Families, The Booknosher, Jump Into a Book, Books for Kids, Kiss the Book, Advice from a Caterpillar, and Brimful Curiosities.

A Place for Frogs

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A Place for Frogs by Melissa Stewart, illustrated by Higgins Bond

This book is filled with fascinating information and facts about frogs.  It is less about the transformation from egg to tadpole to frog and more about individual species, specific habitats, and what we can do to help save frogs.  The book can be read two ways.  One way is less wordy and offers a chance to share the book with younger children.  The other way, incorporates the detailed information on frog species, which tells the story of how they live and what they need to survive.  Readers will be astonished to discover the different habitats that frogs live in and the wide variety of species. 

Stewart has a gift for offering scientific information in an inviting way for children.  She never talks down to them, but keeps the facts interesting and brief.  The focus on the environment makes this book a good one for green units or programs.  The information offered gives children a way to make a difference for these fascinating creatures.

Bond’s illustrations are almost photographic in detail, but better.  She is able to offer perspectives that would have been impossible to photograph.  Her use of long views of habitat combined with close-ups of animals makes the theme of the book even clearer.  These animals cannot survive without this place. 

Highly recommended, this book belongs in every public library.  Children will pick it up for love of the animal and in the process learn about their own impact on frogs.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Peachtree Publishers.

Here Comes the Garbage Barge!

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Here Comes the Garbage Barge! by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Red Nose Studio

This is the true story of what happened in 1987 when the town of Islip had 3,168 tons of garbage that they had no room for.  So it was placed on a barge to be taken to North Carolina.  Captain Duffy St. Pierre used his small tugboat to pull the barge down to North Carolina, but it wasn’t that simple.  North Carolina refused to take the garbage!  Captain Duffy was then sent to New Orleans.  Nope, they didn’t want it either.  Mexico?  No.  Belize?  No.  Texas?  No.  Florida? No.  The garbage was getting older, smellier and more horrid by the day.  Finally Brooklyn agreed to take the garbage and incinerate it.  It was 162 days after the barge first set out. 

This book could have been a dry look at recycling, garbage and waste, but it definitely is not.  Instead Winter and Red Nose Studio have created a book filled with humor and character that tells the garbage story with more style than the facts could have offered.  Winter’s writing is ideal for reading aloud.  There are plenty of accents, lots of exclamations that fill the book with energy and fun.  Red Nose Studio’s art is three-dimensional, witty and filled with found objects.  His art is humorous, detailed and a delight to look at.  It is a testament to Winters’ writing that it is a great match to this art. 

A perfect book for Earth Day or any eco-friendly event, this book will get children thinking about how many pounds of garbage they create and exactly what happens to it.  Even if it’s not headed for a garbage barge.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Check out the video below of the making of the art for the book:

Reviewed from copy received from Random House.

OK Go

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OK Go by Carin Berger

This whimsical tribute to recycling and the environment is perfect for toddlers and young children.  The book shouts Go! immediately and readers are off following bright red sports cars as they race across the page, each filled with strange pointy nosed or beaked creatures.  Turn the pages and they get more crowded with vehicles, all clever and funny, but all pouring out exhaust.  Eventually the page is simply filled with the word “go” repeating over and over again.  Then come the dark clouds of smog, filling the page and a declaration to Stop!  The little creatures figure out many ways that they can help the environment and still get around. 

The words here are so very simple and accessible.  Older children will enjoy the fold-out page with its short rhymes about what to do to be more green.  Younger children will enjoy the cars screeching across the page.  Berger’s illustrations, all done in recycled materials, are very clever.  Even the final tips on the last page are done in a friendly tone just right for children.  Berger has taken a complex subject and made it clear, clever and concise. 

A very successful green picture book, this could easily be incorporated into preschool units on nature and storytimes as well.  Appropriate for ages 2-5.