February
04
Tags
There Is No Planet B: Ten Books about Global Warming for Young Readers by Keila V. Dawson
As children witness and or experience catastrophic weather events, they may become anxious and overwhelmed by emotions. Being sad, stressed, concerned, and fearful about the future because of environmental disasters is called eco-anxiety.
Lindsay, Jeanette, and I collaborated on another poetry anthology, NO WORLD TOO BIG, for kids with big feelings and questions. We wanted anxious kids to know they are not alone in their concerns. And to acknowledge the impact of climate change on their future. We hope that sharing stories and experiences of young climate activists will inspire other young people to act, too. Taking action and engaging with the natural world are ways to help the planet and ease eco-anxiety.
From these ten recently published and forthcoming nonfiction and fiction books, young readers learn how the climate crisis affects different places in different ways. They show how interconnected all living things are sharing the same planet. And that this is a global problem that needs each of us to be the someone who does something to fight climate change.
NO WORLD TOO BIG: YOUNG PEOPLE FIGHTING GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE by Lindsay H. Metcalf, Keila V. Dawson, Jeanette Bradley, illustrated by Bradley, 40 pages (Charlesbridge, March 14, 2023). Grade level: K – 4
From the publisher:
Climate change impacts everyone, but the future belongs to young people. No World Too Big celebrates twelve young activists and three activist groups on front lines of the climate crisis who have planted trees in Uganda, protected water in Canada, reduced school-bus climate footprint in Indonesia, invented alternate power sources in Ohio, and more.
THE PLANET WE CALL HOME by Aimee Isaac, illustrated by Jaime Kim, 32 pages (Philomel Books, March 21, 2023) Grade level: Preschool – 3
From the publisher:
A lyrical and loving ode to Planet Earth and the ways in which its many features are interconnected–to each other and to us–told in the cumulative style of “This Is the House that Jack Built.”
NATURE’S BEST HOPE: HOW YOU CAN SAVE THE WORLD IN YOUR OWN YARD by Sarah L. Thomson and Douglas W. Tallamy, 264 pages (Timber Press, April 4, 2023) Grade level: 3 – 7
From the publisher:
This middle grade edition of the groundbreaking bestseller by Doug Tallamy will inspire kids to use their backyard to help save the planet.
OUR ROOF IS BLUE by Sara E. Echenique, illustrated by Ashley Vargas, 32 pages (Charlesbridge, April 11, 2023) Grade level: PS – 3
From the publisher:
This heartfelt story of resilience follows two siblings as they work to recover and rebuild after Hurricane Irma destroys their home in Puerto Rico.
BLACK BEACH: A COMMUNITY, AN OIL SPILL AND THE ORIGIN OF EARTH DAY by Shaunna & John Stith, illustrated by Maribel Lechuga, 40 pages (little bee books February 21, 2023) Grade level: Preschool – 3
From the publisher:
This true story of the first Earth Day – told through the eyes of a fictional child – will inspire readers of all ages to stand up for their planet.
MRS PEANUCKLE’S EARTH ALPHABET by Mrs. Peanuckle and Jessie Ford, 28 pages (Rodale Kids February 7, 2023) Reading age: Baby – 3 years
From the publisher:
Mrs. Peanuckle shares everything that makes Earth so special—and all the important ways we can protect our home from climate change in her latest tour of the ABCs!
THE FIRST RULE OF CLIMATE CLUB by Connie Firestone (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers July 5, 2022). Grade level: 5 – 6
From the publisher:
An eighth grader starts a podcast on climate activism and rallies her friends to create lasting change in their local community and beyond, in this companion to Dress Coded.
TO CHANGE A PLANET by Christina Soontornvat, illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell, 32 pages (Scholastic Press, August 2, 2022). Grade level: Preschool – 2
From the publisher:
A lyrical and loving ode to Planet Earth and the ways in which its many features are interconnected–to each other and to us–told in the cumulative style of “This Is the House that Jack Built.”
TWO DEGREES by Alan Gratz (Scholastic Press, October 4, 2022) Grade level: 3 – 7
From the publisher:
#1 New York Times bestselling author Alan Gratz (Refugee; Ground Zero) is back, tackling the urgent topic of climate change in this breathtaking, action-packed novel that will keep readers turning pages while making their own plans to better the world.
MELTDOWN: DISCOVER EARTH’S IRREPLACEABLE GLACIERS AND LEARN WHO YOU CAN DO TO SAVE THEM by Anita Sanchez, illustrated by Lily Padula (Workman Publishing Company, November 1, 2022) Grade level: 3 – 7
From the publisher:
Meltdown: Discover Earth’s Irreplaceable Glaciers and Learn What You Can Do to Save Them is a kids’ guide to the glorious but endangered world of glaciers. Glaciers may not be as well-known as rain forests or coral reefs, but they are just as vital to the health of the planet, and just as threatened by climate change.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Keila V. Dawson worked as a community organizer, educator, and advocate for children with disabilities before becoming a children’s book author.She writes fiction and nonfiction picture books. Dawson is coeditor of No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making History, and the companion title, No World Too Big, Young People Fighting Climate Change. She is the author of Opening the Road: Victor Hugo Green and His Green Book, The King Cake Baby and the forthcoming Yumbo Gumbo. Find more about her and her books at www.keiladawson.com
Nerdy Book Club 
My middle grade novel HAVEN JACOBS SAVES THE PLANET (Aladdin, 2022) is about a seventh grader with eco-anxiety—anxiety centered around climate change. When a teacher advises her to focus on a specific, local issue as a way of coping, Haven discovers that a local river is being polluted, presumably by the new factory where her dad works. I’m honored that School Library Journal named HAVEN JACOBS one of the Best Books of 2022.