Earth Day on April 22 is a great way to celebrate our relationship with the natural world. These book picks from Dagny Felker of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will help young ones appreciate and connect with the outdoors all year long!
Board Books
“One Earth”
by Eileen Spinelli
Celebrate our planet and count the ways little ones can help it with this board book about caring for the Earth. In this conservation-themed book, gentle verse reminds the reader of Earth’s beauties — starting with “one wide sweeping sky, two honey bees” and continuing all the way to “ten fields to plow.”
“Like So”
by Ruth Forman
Just as the sun loves the day and the moon loves the waves, a grandmother shows how her family’s love is natural and connected to the world around them.
Picture Books
“Bud Finds Her Gift”
by Robin Wall Kimmerer
When young Bud sees people bustling around, intent on their chores and their screens, she is certain they must be doing important things — and she wants to be included. But wise Nokomis, her grandmother, shows her that there is a different way to find belonging, one that relies on stillness and observing the natural world.
“Arctic Adventure”
by Alexandra Cook and Jyoti Rajan Gopal
A young fox explores the Arctic tundra alongside her mother, encountering the sounds, animals and conditions of her environment.
First Chapter Books
“Neecy and Nay Nay and the Green Thumbs”
by Simone Dankenbring
When Neecy and Nay Nay start their own kids’ garden, they dive into learning about plants, composting and worms — but chaos erupts when hundreds of worms spill into their bedroom!
“Eliza and the Flower Fairies”
by Megan McDonald
Eliza is transported to a world where flower fairies perch on every bloom, but things go awry after Eliza tries to pick a strange flower and her friend Poppy must rescue her before the Demon Wind steals the flower fairies’ scents.
Graphic Novels
“Save Our Forest!”
by Nora Dåsnes
How can the PTA expand the parking lot when it means razing the forest? With help from her lifelong friends, Tuva and Linnéa, Bao will do whatever it takes to save it.
“Diary of a Nature Nerd”
by Tiffany Everett
Nine-year-old Brooke is a nomad, traveling from national park to national park with her botanist mom, and she documents her adventures in her nature diary.
Children’s Fiction
“Gracie Under the Waves”
by Linda Sue Park
Gracie loves snorkeling! She loves it so much, she convinces her parents to let her plan a family vacation to Roàtn, Honduras, where they can all snorkel together. Then, Gracie hurts her leg, and all her carefully made plans start to come apart.
“All Ears”
by Stuart Gibbs
Resident sleuth Teddy Fitzroy is on the case to find a missing African elephant and clear his friend Xavier of vandalizing a bulldozer.
