Being Green
Suggestions from Mt. Lebanon Public Library, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
www.mtlebanonlibrary.org
Books about protecting our environment.
Suggestions for children in preschool – grade 8
picture books / older fiction / non-fiction (includes activites) / DVDs, music, websites
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Picture Books
(for children in preschool – second grade)
OK go / Carin Berger (j Em BERGER)
In this almost wordless picture book, car drivers stuck in traffic under smoggy skies seek "greener" alternatives to driving, including riding bicycles, walking, and playing.
The curious garden / Peter Brown
Liam discovers a hidden garden and with careful tending spreads color throughout the gray city.
Tin Lizzie / Allan Drummond (j Em DRUMMOND)
Grandpa loves working on old cars, especially his Model T Ford, and he passes along to his grandchildren not only the history of automobiles and all of their benefits, but also his concerns about traffic, pollution, and the problems of relying on foreign oil.
The wolves are back / Jean Craighead George
For over a century, wolves were persecuted in the United States and nearly became extinct. Gradually reintroduced, they are thriving again in the West, much to the benefit of the ecosystem.
The trouble with dragons / Debi Gliori
When dragons cut down too many trees, blow out too much hot air, and do other environmental damage, the future looks grim, but other animals advise them on how to mend their ways and save the planet.
Bag in the wind / Ted Kooser
One cold, spring morning, an ordinary grocery bag begins blowing around a landfill, then as it travels down a road, through a stream, and into a town, it is used in various ways by different people, many of whom do not even notice it.
The great trash bash / Loreen Leedy
The animal citizens of Beaston discover better ways to recycle and control their trash.
Stuff! : reduce, reuse, recycle / Steven Kroll
Pinch is a pack rat who does not want to give up the possessions that are cluttering his house, but when he finally is persuaded to sell them at a neighborhood tag sale, he discovers the beauty of recycling. Includes tips on "reducing, reusing, and recycling."
Dinosaur Woods : can seven clever critters save their forest home? / George McClements
To save their homes from being destroyed by developers, a fanciful group of endangered animals constructs a fearsome dinosaur.
The apple-pip princess / Jane Ray
In a land that has stood barren, parched by drought and ravaged by frosts since the Queen's death, the King sets his three daughters the task of making the kingdom bloom again, and discovers that sometimes the smallest things can make the biggest difference.
Curious George plants a tree / Monica Perez (j Ea REY)
The mischievous monkey learns about protecting the environment by planting trees and recycling paper. Includes tips on conserving energy and resources.
The Lorax / Dr. Seuss
The Once-ler describes the results of the local pollution problem.
Ballyhoo Bay / Judy Sierra
Mira Bella mobilizes her art students, from grandmothers to children, crabs to seagulls, to stop a dastardly plan for turning the beach at Ballyhoo Bay into an exclusive resort, and offers an alternative--leave the beach as it is.
Miss Fox's class goes green / Eileen Spinelli
The students in Miss Fox's class lead their school in making choices to help keep the planet healthy, such as turning off lights when leaving a room, taking shorter showers, and using cloth bags instead of plastic ones.
The gardener / Sarah Stewart
A series of letters relating what happens when, after her father loses his job, Lydia Grace goes to live with her Uncle Jim in the city but takes her love for gardening with her.
Just a dream / Chris Van Allsburg
When he has a dream about a future Earth devastated by pollution, Walter begins to understand the importance of taking care of the environment.
The dumpster diver / Janet S. Wong
Once a month--every week in the summer--Steve the electrician dons special gear and, with the help of youngsters who live in his building, dives into a dumpster seeking useful objects that they can transform into imaginative new ones.
My forever dress / Harriet Ziefert
Grandma sews an environmentally friendly party dress for her granddaughter that can be recycled as she grows up.
Fiction (for readers in grades 2 – 8)
Cam Jansen and the green school mystery / David A. Adler (gr. 2 - 4)
On Green Day, Cam and her classmates discuss ways to protect the environment, but when money collected for the school's new skylights disappears, Cam uses her photographic memory to solve the mystery.
In memory of Gorfman T. Frog / Gail Donovan (gr. 3 - 6)
When irrepressible fifth-grader Josh finds a five-legged frog in his backyard pond, it leads to him learning a lot about amphibians--and himself.
Operation Redwood / S. Terrell French (gr. 5+)
In northern California, Julian Carter-Li and his friends old and new fight to save a grove of redwoods from an investment company that plans to cut them down.
Toad away / Morris Gleitzman (gr. 4 - 6)
In his third adventure, Limpy the cane toad goes to the Amazon to learn the secret of living in harmony with humans.
My life in pink & green / Lisa Greenwald (gr. 5+)
When the family's drugstore is failing, seventh-grader Lucy uses her problem solving talents to come up with solution that might resuscitate the business, along with helping the environment.
Mr. Granite is from another planet! / Dan Gutman (gr. 2 - 4)
New third grade teacher Mr. Granite has so many strange ideas about how to make Ella Mentary School environmentally friendly that the students are sure he must be an alien.
Night of the spadefoot toads / Bill Harley (gr. 5+)
When his family moves from Tucson, Arizona to Massachusetts, fifth-grader Ben has a hard time leaving the desert he loves, but when he finds a kindred spirit in his science teacher and ends up trying to help her with some of her problems, he finally begins to feel at home.
Just Grace goes green / Charise Mericle Harper (gr. 3 – 5)
Grace can do a lot of things...but can she save the planet? Or at the very least, can she help her best friend Mimi get her favorite stuffed animal back.
Skullduggery / Pete Hautman (gr. 6- 9)
During a field trip in the local woods, Roni and Brian find the local archaeology professor, Andrew Dart, knocked unconscious in a cave, which leads them to investigate a land development scheme.
Scat / Carl Hiaasen (gr. 5+)
Nick and his friend Marta decide to investigate when a mysterious fire starts near a Florida wildlife preserve and an unpopular teacher goes missing. (Also Hoot & Flush by this author)
Jackie's Wild Seattle / Will Hobbs (gr. 5+)
Fourteen-year-old Shannon and her little brother, Cody, spend the summer with their uncle, helping at a wildlife rescue center named Jackie's Wild Seattle.
Ark angel / Anthony Horowitz (gr. 6 - 9)
After recovering from a near fatal gunshot wound, teenage spy Alex Rider embarks on a new mission to stop a group of eco-terrorists from sabotaging the launch of the first outer space hotel.
The last wild place / Rosa Jordan (gr. 5+)
With problems mounting at home and with his best friend, when sixth-grader Chip discovers a family of Florida panthers in the marshy woods behind an abandoned farm, he puts aside his own predicaments and concentrates on finding a safe home for the wild animals.
Clarence Cochran, a human boy / William Loizeaux (gr. 3 – 5)
With the threat of extermination looming, a cockroach who has been transformed into a tiny human learns to communicate with his human hosts, leading to an agreement both sides can live with, and a friendship between Clarence and ten-year-old Mimi, a human environmentalist.
Judy Moody saves the world! / Megan McDonald (gr. 2 - 5)
When Judy Moody gets serious about protecting the environment, her little brother Stink thinks she is overdoing it, but she manages to inspire her third grade class to undertake an award-winning, environment-saving project.
Jackson Jones and Mission Greentop / Mary Quattlebaum (gr. 3 - 5)
His plot in a community garden brings 10-year-old Jackson Jones more zucchini than he cares to see and the unwanted attention of a bully, but when a company plans to destroy the garden, Jackson turns his attention to trying to save it.
The white giraffe / Lauren St. John (gr. 4 – 7)
After a fire kills her parents, eleven-year-old Martine must leave England to live with her grandmother on a wildlife game reserve in South Africa, where she befriends a mythical white giraffe. Sequel: The Last Leopard
Sammy Keyes and the wild things / Wendelin Van Draanen (gr. 5+)
While on her first hiking and camping trip, thirteen-year-old Sammy tries to solve a mystery involving endangered condors while avoiding scorpions, ticks, and embarrassment.
My contract with Henry / Robin Vaupel (gr. 5+)
A mission that begins as an eighth-grade project on Henry David Thoreau's experimental living at Walden Pond becomes a life-changing experience for a group of outsider students who become budding philosophers, environmental activists, and loyal friends.
A brand-new day with Mouse and Mole / Wong Herbert Yee (gr. 2 – 4)
As best friends Mole and Mouse try to solve the problem of Mole's moth-eaten clothes, they also find new uses for old things.
Our Earth
Our living Earth : a story of people, ecology, and preservation / Yann Arthus-Bertrand
j 363.7 Art
Uses aerial photography to detail how people affect their environment.
Common ground : the water, earth, and air we share / Molly Bang
j 363.7 Ban
Imagines a village in which there are too many people consuming shared resources and discusses the challenge of handling our world's environment safely.
Earth watch: Protecting Our Planet / David Burnie
j 363.7 Bur
Reducing and recycling waste / Carol Inskipp
j 363.728 Ins
Takes a close look at what is trash and what is not, how we handle rubbish, and what we can do to reduce waste in the landfills.
Recycle! : a handbook for kids / by Gail Gibbons
j 363.7282 Gib
Explains the process of recycling from start to finish and discusses what happens to paper, glass, aluminum cans, and plastic when they are recycled into new products.
Clean planet : stopping litter and pollution / Tristan Boyer Binns
j 363.73 Bin
Pollution / Clive Gifford
j 363.73 Gif
Examines how pollution has become a worldwide issue and discusses the debate over possible solutions.
Nobody particular : one woman's fight to save the bays / Molly Bang
j 363.738 Ban
Describes a female shrimper's attempt to stop a large chemical company from polluting a bay in East Texas.
Oil spill! / Melvin Berger
j 363.7382 Ber
Explains why oil spills occur and how they are cleaned up and suggests strategies for preventing them in the future.
Tracking trash : flotsam, jetsam, and the science of ocean motion / Loree Griffin Burns
j 551.46 Bur
Describes the work of a man who tracks trash as it travels great distances by way of ocean currents.
Pale Male : citizen hawk of New York City / Janet Schulman
j 598.944 Sch
A family of red-tailed hawks spark animal-protection debates after Manhattan residents threaten to remove their nests.
What's so bad about gasoline? : fossil fuels and what they do / Anne Rockwell
j 665.538 Roc
More books
Look for books about gardening under this call number: j 635
Look for books about the rain forests under this call number: j 577.34
Green Activities
Try this at home : planet-friendly projects for kids
j 333.72 Try
Planet Earth : 25 environmental projects you can build yourself / Kathleen M. Reilly
j 363.7 Rei
Provides an engaging guide to the natural world and encourages children ages 9 and up to get their hands dirty and actively connect with the environment.
Mission, save the planet : things you can do to help fight global warming / Sally Ride & Tam O'Shaughnessy
j 363.7 Rid
This book is packed with fun facts, activities, and practical things to do to live a greener life.
Smart shopping : shopping green / Jeanne Nagle
j 363.737 Nag
Eco-fun : great projects, experiments, and games for a greener earth / David Suzuki
j 577 Suz
What can you do with an old red shoe? : a green activity book about reuse / Anna Alter
j 745.584 Alt
Make it! / Jane Bull
j 745.584 Bul
Presents a variety of projects making use of paper, plastic, metal, or fabric trash.
Recycled crafts box : sock puppets, cardboard castles, bottle bugs & 37 more earth-friendly projects & activities you can create / Laura C. Martin
j 745.584 Mar
Earth-friendly crafts : clever ways to reuse everyday items / Kathy Ross
j 745.584 Ros
Earth-friendly crafts for kids : 50 awesome things to make with recycled stuff / Heather Smith with Joe Rhatigan
j 745.584 Smi
People who made a difference
Listening to crickets: a story about Rachel Carson / Candice F. Ransom
j 92C CARSON Ran
Examines the life of the marine biologist and science writer whose book "Silent Spring" changed the way we look at pesticides.
Planting the trees of Kenya : the story of Wangari Maathai / Claire A. Nivola
j 92M MAATHAI Niv
Biography of Kenyan activist Wangari Maathai, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her environmental and human rights achievements.
John Muir : America's first environmentalist / Kathryn Lasky
j 92M MUIR Las
The life of the naturalist who founded the Sierra Club and was influential in establishing the national park system.
Curious George goes green / j DVD CURIOUS GEORGE
Curious George explores new things like recycling, gardening, and helping the environment.
He's got the whole world in his hands : and more stories to celebrate the environment / j DVD Hes
A collection of 7 stories about the environment and the joy that can be found in nature.
Schoolhouse rock! Earth / j DVD SCHOOLHOUSE
Featuring classic characters including Interplanet Jane and Mr. Morton, this animated collection uses music to teach a new generation of fans about recycling, biodiversity, solar energy, and more.
Fred Levine's where the garbage goes / j DVD 363.72
Discover equipment used at state-of-the-art waste-handling facilities, where children learn important facts about recycling.
Respect yo' mama: here comes Mr. Recycle Man! / j DVD 363.7282
Shows how different materials are recycled and how everyone can find creative ways to recycle.
Music
This pretty planet / Tom Chapin
j CD Music CHAPIN
Evergreen everblue: an ecology album / Raffi
j CD Music RAFFI
Websites
EekoWorld
http://pbskids.org/eekoworld (k-3)
The Green Squad
www.nrdc.org/greensquad (5-8)
Kids’ Planet
www.kidsplanet.org
Environmental Kids Club
http://www.epa.gov/kids/index.htm
Look for these and other green books in
The Children’s Library
Mt. Lebanon Public Library
16 Castle Shannon Blvd.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15228
412.531.1913 3/10
www.mtlebanonlibrary.org
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