20 Inspiring Picture Books For Earth Day

The classic Earth Day picture book is of course The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss. Though the Lorax’s home has been almost destroyed by environmental abuse, it ends on a hopeful note, with the Lorax telling the readers that if they care a whole awful lot, they can change things for the better. Here are some more recent picture books about people (both real and fictional) who cared enough to make a difference, and whose stories will inspire young readers to do the same.

We are the Gardeners, by Joanna Gaines and Julianna Swaney
Once the last thaw is in the rearview, it’s time to scatter seeds…and then add Joanna Gaines’ first picture book to your next storytime! In a lively narrative underscored by captivating watercolor art, Gaines reveals the straightforward process she and her family have undertaken to maintain a successful backyard garden. Her humorous, unassuming style is as irresistible in narrative form as it is on TV, and provides the perfect welcome to spring!

Love the Earth (Julian Lennon White Feather Flier Adventure Series #3), by Julian Lennon
The final book in Lennon’s inspiring and interactive trilogy encourages young environmentalists to crisscross the entire planet in the magical White Feather Flier plane, stopping along the way to plant gardens, build schools, clean up the oceans, and save endangered species. This series encourages children’s curiosity about far-flung places all over the world, and teaches them about solutions, with impacts both big and small, to the environmental issues facing us today.

The Earth Book, by Todd Parr
Our family adores Todd Parr’s playful and sensitive stories, and The Earth Book is definitely inspiring. “I take care of the earth because I know I can do little things every day to make a BIG difference…” This book also includes a poster with tips/reminders on how kids can “go green” every day, such as bringing your own bags to the grocery story, planting a tree, turning off the faucet when you brush your teeth, and using both sides of the paper. It’s printed on recycled materials with soy ink, too.

Seeds Move!, by Robin Page
Sure, animals are pretty great at building their homes, but seeds are nature’s real stunners of ingenuity. Seeds might seem inert, but in fact engage in all kinds of maneuvers to get themselves planted in a good spot. Robin Page’s vibrant illustrations and clear, detailed text show how seeds make their move, from sticktight seeds catching a ride on a passing raccoon, to exploding cucumber seeds ejecting from their pods, to coconuts traveling on ocean waves to find just the right deserted island to set down roots in.

City Green, by DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan
On the street where Marcy lives, there’s is a garbage-filled, vacant lot that saddens her because “this block looks like a big smile with one tooth missing.” As spring arrives, Marcy gets an idea: what if she grew flowers here? Her neighbor Miss Rosa helps Marcy clean up the lot and plant seeds, and soon people on the street are coming to help. Even the cranky Old Man Hammer warms up to the new changes. DiSalvo-Ryan’s watercolor-and-pencil vignettes make the landscape come alive with the abundant rainbow of plants. This is a timely story about urban renewal and one girl’s determination to improve her community.

When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree, by Jamie L.B. Deenihan and Lorraine Rocha
This charming tale, told in playfully instructive second-person prose, is a cheerful addition to any shelf. A little girl has thoughtfully distributed a detailed birthday list to all family members, so when Grandma arrives at the party bearing, of all things, a LEMON TREE, disappointment oozes from the vibrant page. The girl soon realizes, however, that growing something out of nothing can be an incredibly rewarding experience. Even better, the end result is, quite literally, LEMONADE (delicious recipe included)!

Miss Fox’s Class Goes Green, by Eileen Spinelli, illustrated by Anne Kennedy
When Miss Fox rides a bike to school, her students assume her car got a flat tire. But no. Miss Fox tells her kids that she’s “going green” to cut down on pollution. Her class is excited to help heal the earth, too. Mouse takes shorter showers, Bunny brings her own bag to the grocery story, and Possum turns all the lights off when he’s leaving. Soon, the whole school notices all the changes, and everyone starts cycling to school, even the principal. Kennedy’s colorful watercolor and ink illustrations are a sweet bonus to the story.

My Garden, by Kevin Henkes
While this imaginative title, in which a young girl dreams of a garden in which anything that’s planted can grow, might not offer much factual information, it gets a high score for sowing seeds of enthusiasm. Case in point: after my then-toddler first heard this story, he excitedly planted a jellybean in hopes of growing a “jellybean tree.” He’s still checking for a sprout over a year later. If nothing else, he’s learned that gardening often involves waiting. Its cheerful hopefulness earns this book a perennial place on our shelves.

There’s a Hair in My Dirt: A Worm’s Story, by Gary Larson
If you thought teenage humans were unique in their ability to complain about their lives to their parents, you haven’t met the little worm in this hilarious, science fact-filled story by Gary Larson. When he finds a hair in his plate of dinner dirt, the little worm has an outburst. “I hate being a worm! We’re the lowest of the low! Bottom of the food chain! Bird food! Fish bait!” The little worm’s dad tells a long, weird story to try to convince him that being a worm is, in fact, tops.

I Can Save the Earth!, by Alison Inches
In I Can Save the Earth!, Max the Little Monster is an environmental nightmare who leaves on all the lights, keeps his computer plugged in, blasts the TV, and uses so much toilet paper it clogs the toilet. When he causes a power outage, there’s no more TV to watch or computer games to play, so Max ventures outside where he finds a new big world. This book is printed on 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper with soy-ink.

One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia, by Miranda Paul
Isatou Ceesay didn’t give much thought to the torn and worthless plastic bags building up in her village in West Africa, until the bags started killing her family’s goats. The goats had been eating the bags and were being choked from the inside by the indigestible plastic. Isatou had an idea. She convinced other young women to tear the bags into strips, and from those they crocheted strong and pretty purses. Some laughed at them, but when the purses started to sell, the laughter ended. Today Isatou’s village is much cleaner, the goats are safe, and other Gambian women come there to learn how to recycle. The bright illustrations bring Isatou’s home to life, and the story will inspire young readers!

Charlie and Lola: We are Extremely Very Good Recyclers, by Lauren Child and Bridget Hurst
Lola loves keeping things, even broken, old useless things. But when Lola and her brother Charlie take a peek at the bedroom of their friend Marv’s big brother, Lola is appalled by the horror of its mess.  So Lola decides to throw her stuff away. Charlie suggests that she recycle things instead, because if everything were thrown away, piles of garbage would cover everything. Inspired, Lola enters a recycling competition to win her very own tree to plant. Realizing she can’t do it alone, she enlists her classmates, and soon all the kids are collecting recyclables and then rejoicing in the new tree they won for their school. It’s a great introduction to the reason why we should recycle, and though there’s not much detail about what actually can be recycled, it gets the point across very nicely within the framework of an engaging story.

Bloom, by Doreen Cronin and David Small
This charming fable immediately introduces us to a Mud Fairy named Bloom, who possesses the extraordinary ability to transform weeds into flowers and sand into glass. She’s lithe and powerful, but she leaves dirt in her wake, which is an affront to the delicate citizens of her glass kingdom who cannot abide a mess. Underappreciated and disappointed, Bloom goes into seclusion, and it will take another extraordinary being to convince her to save the kingdom. Charmingly subversive, this layered narrative is an important read for all ages.

We Planted a Tree, by Diane Muldrow and Bob Staake
In a celebration of the outdoors both in our own backyard and beyond, We Planted A Tree journeys through the seasons. By exploring a tree’s growth in communities in Brooklyn, Tokyo, and the African savanna, the reader gets a sense of global community and oneness. It’s a big wide world, but something as simple as a tree is a commonality we can share.

Rhino in the House, by Daniel Kirk
This is the true story of a woman who adopted a baby rhino. Anna Merz was horrified by the slaughter of rhinos by poachers, and decided to take action. She was able to establish a wildlife sanctuary in Kenya, and when one of the baby rhinos born there was neglected by its mother, Anna took on the role of rhino mother herself. Samira the baby rhino loved and trusted Anna, but of course rhinos grow, and Anna eventually had to push Samira away so that she could find her own place in the wild. Samira is as cute a baby animal as you can imagine, and hers is a sweet and loving story that will make young readers care about conservation (and possibly ask for a baby rhino of their own…).

The Tree Lady, by H. Joseph Hopkins and Jill McElmurry 
Kate Sessions was a girl who loved being outside with trees back, in the 1860s when girls weren’t supposed to get their hands dirty. But Kate did. And her love of nature became a love of learning, and she became the first woman to graduate with a degree in science from the University of California. When she moved to dry and dusty San Diego, she was unhappy to be living in a city with no trees. So she did something about it, and became an expert in trees that could live in such an arid place, and convinced the city to help her plant them. Thanks directly to Kate’s work and all the volunteers who joined her, San Diego is now a greener place both literally and figuratively. The book tells Kate’s story in simple words, but highlights her determination beautifully!

Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth, by Mary McKenna Siddals, illustrated by Ashley Wolff
What’s more fun than digging in the dirt? Making dirt! This alphabet book presents a simple and engaging rhyming “recipe” for home composting. Children can quickly grasp which items can be composted and which can’t and can participate in every step of the process, from collecting materials, to turning the pile, to spreading the finished product in the garden. Enjoy this title together and then grab a pitchfork and start your own “compost stew.”

Wangari’s Trees of Peace, by Jeanette Winter
When Wangari was a little girl in Kenya, she lived surrounded by trees. But when she returned to her home in the countryside after being away at school for several years, she was horrified to see how few remained. And without the trees, life was harder and hotter. So Wangari decided to take action, and start planting. Other women joined her, and now the Green Belt Movement has planted more that 30 million trees. This accessible and enjoyable picture book is a great introduction to this inspiring woman, who went from planting nine trees in her backyard to winning the Nobel Peace Prize for her environmental activism.

Rocket Says Clean Up!, by Nathan Bryon, illustrated by Dapo Adeola
Rocket loves nothing more than going to the beach and surfing with her family. But when she goes to the islands to visit her dear grandparents, Rocket notices a turtle entangled in a net. The beach is covered in trash and in need of a deep cleaning. Rocket takes charge and does something about it. The young activist brings everyone together to clean up the beach and prevent further damage to surrounding nature. Rocket Says Clean Up! is an inspiring read for any youngsters that care about the earth and want to make a difference.

Puffling Patrol, by Ted and Betsy Lewin
Many puffins make their homes on the rocky cliffs of an Icelandic Island, and each year the grown-up puffins fly away before their babies can join them. The little pufflings, as the babies are called, leave their cliff nests a few days later, but many get confused, and land on the roads instead of in the ocean. They can’t take off again, and are at risk from cars and predators. That’s when the island’s kids, who are members of the Puffling Patrol, spring in to action, and head out  to rescue the stranded little birds! This book documents the island’s bird rescue efforts, focusing on a brother and sister who are members of the patrol. The illustrations are charming, and it’s heartening to see kids directly involved in saving the little pufflings.
What children’s books are great for celebrating Earth Day?