To Change a Planet

by Christina Soontornvat, Rahele Jomepour Bell (Illustrator)

Overview

One person.

Small, quiet,

insignificant.

But when one person,

and one person,

and one person

become many,

they can change

a planet.

Spare, poetic text and breathtaking pictures invite readers on a stirring journey that gently illuminates the causes of climate change as well as how our individual and collective actions can make the world better.

With calm, truthfulness, and beauty, To Change a Planet demonstrates the importance of caring for our planet. Eye popping explosions of color on every page create a stunning visual narrative that invites readers to find and follow the same characters through their daily lives and ultimately to a climate march on Washington, where their storylines converge.

Clear endnotes vetted by a climate expert answer a myriad of questions in simple language. Meticulously researched and brimming with hope and hands-on solutions that will edify and empower even the youngest readers, To Change a Planet is a loving ode to our only home and vital for every child, classroom, and family.

* “Earth’s beauty and fragility provide the impetus for activism in this introduction to climate change…An attractive entree to a vital subject for the youngest citizens.” — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“The book’s overall tone is hopeful, centered around the conviction that, just as we can exacerbate the effects of climate change, so too can we forestall and reverse them.” — School Library Journal

“Has the potential to inspire all.” — Shelf Awarenes

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338628616
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	08/02/2022
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	196,567
Product dimensions:	10.30(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD260L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Christina Soontornvat is a three-time Newbery Honoree, a Sibert Honoree, and a Kirkus Prize winner. Her highly acclaimed backlist includes the middle grade books The Tryout, The Last Mapmaker, A Wish in the Dark, and All Thirteen; the picture book To Change a Planet; and the chapter book series Diary of an Ice Princess and Legends of Lotus Island. Christina lives in Austin, Texas, with her family. You can learn more about her work at soontornvat.com.
Rahele Jomepour Bell is the illustrator of the picture books Our Favorite Day of the Year, Playdate, and Book’s Big Adventure, and also contributed artwork to Scholastic Press’s nonfiction picture book anthology In the Spirit of the Dream. Rahele immigrated to the United States from Iran in 2011 to pursue her dream of studying art at Iowa State University, where she received her MFA in integrated visual arts. You can learn more about her work at RaheleStudio.com.

Editorial Reviews

* “Earth’s beauty and fragility provide the impetus for activism in this introduction to climate change. In the opening and concluding compositions, Bell’s gouache and digital full-bleed spreads employ a circular motif to frame and represent the book’s subject. . . . Challenging concepts are conveyed simply . . . [and] suggest concrete ways for children to make a difference.” — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“In short, elegant lines of lyrical prose, Soontornvat explores the history of humanity’s relationship to Earth and confronts the modern threat of extreme weather events and environmental destruction. While these passages offer a sober warning, the book’s overall tone is hopeful, centered around the conviction that, just as we can exacerbate the effects of climate change, so too can we forestall and reverse them.” — School Library Journal

“Soontornvat's clean, straightforward prose about the global crisis makes this alluring picture book accessible to early readers. . . . The cogency of Bell's mixed-media illustrations cannot be exaggerated. Her striking colors, rich detail and lush textures pull readers into both the planet's beauty and its devastation.” — Shelf Awareness

From the Publisher

07/01/2022

PreS-Gr 2—In short, elegant lines of lyrical prose, Soontornvat explores the history of humanity's relationship to Earth and confronts the modern threat of extreme weather events and environmental destruction. While these passages offer a sober warning, the book's overall tone is hopeful, centered around the conviction that, just as we can exacerbate the effects of climate change, so too can we forestall and reverse them. Bell's art, a combination of gouache and digital painting, provides a compelling mix of scientific illustration (a carbon molecule, a bleached coral reef) and metaphorical imagery (a benevolent face in the sun, atmospheric carbon represented as a quilt wrapped around the globe). VERDICT This clear-eyed discussion of climate change will educate young readers without demoralizing them. A worthy purchase for all collections,—Jonah Dragan

School Library Journal

★ 2022-06-22
Earth’s beauty and fragility provide the impetus for activism in this introduction to climate change.

In the opening and concluding compositions, Bell’s gouache and digital full-bleed spreads employ a circular motif to frame and represent the book’s subject. “One person. / Small, quiet, / insignificant” appears on the landscape, a brown-skinned child wearing shorts and a green, flowing scarf. Observant readers will follow this character throughout the narrative. As the population grows, the planet changes; readers see traffic congestion, deforestation, cattle farms, and air pollution. The impact on this gorgeous world is shown as a polar bear and its young glide by on separate ice floes, floods and wildfires arrive with changing seasons, and parched farmland yields dried-up crops. Challenging concepts are conveyed simply: Greenhouse gases are shown stifling the globe like a “too-warm blanket.” Soontornvat repeats “when one person, / and one person, / and one person / become many” to first show the negative effects on the planet and then the possibilities when more people use solar panels, install wind turbines, and plant gardens. By the time the protagonist joins marchers in Washington, D.C., diverse throngs fill the pages. Their signs and subsequent letters to a city council, a senator, and a grandmother (“I went to my very first climate march yesterday”) suggest concrete ways for children to make a difference. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An attractive entree to a vital subject for the youngest citizens. (author’s note, sources) (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews