environment & ecology

The Lorax (Classic Seuss)

When Dr. Seuss gets serious, you know it must be important. Published in 1971, and perhaps inspired by the "save our planet" mindset of the 1960s, The Lorax is an ecological warning that still rings true today amidst the dangers of clear-cutting, pollution, and disregard for the earth's environment. In The Lorax, we find what we've come to expect from the illustrious doctor: brilliantly whimsical rhymes, delightfully original creatures, and weirdly undulating illustrations. But here there is also something more--a powerful message that Seuss implores both adults and children to heed.

The now remorseful Once-ler--our faceless, bodiless narrator--tells the story himself. Long ago this enterprising villain chances upon a place filled with wondrous Truffula Trees, Swomee-Swans, Brown Bar-ba- loots, and Humming-Fishes. Bewitched by the beauty of the Truffula Tree tufts, he greedily chops them down to produce and mass-market Thneeds. ("It's a shirt. It's a sock. It's a glove. It's a hat.") As the trees swiftly disappear and the denizens leave for greener pastures, the fuzzy yellow Lorax (who speaks for the trees "for the trees have no tongues") repeatedly warns the Once-ler, but his words of wisdom are for naught. Finally the Lorax extricates himself from the scorched earth (by the seat of his own furry pants), leaving only a rock engraved "UNLESS." Thus, with his own colorful version of a compelling morality play, Dr. Seuss teaches readers not to fool with Mother Nature. But as you might expect from Seuss, all hope is not lost--the Once-ler has saved a single Truffula Tree seed! Our fate now rests in the hands of a caring child, who becomes our last chance for a clean, green future. (Ages 4 to 8)

"UNLESS someone like you...cares a whole awful lot...nothing is going to get better...It's not."

Long before saving the earth became a global concern, Dr. Seuss, speaking through his character the Lorax, warned against mindless progress and the danger it posed to the earth's natural beauty.

"The big, colorful pictures and the fun images, word plays and rhymes make this an amusing exposition of the ecology crisis."—School Library Journal. Illus. in full color.

The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest

If a tree falls in the forest... someone or something will always be there to hear it. Many, many creatures will feel the effects when their source of sustenance and shelter falls to the earth. So when a man is sent into the Amazon rain forest one day, under instructions to chop down a great kapok tree, many eyes watch him nervously. It's not long before he grows tired, though, and the "heat and hum" of the rain forest lulls him to sleep. One by one, snakes, bees, monkeys, birds, frogs, and even a jaguar emerge from the jungle canopy to plead with the sleeping ax-man to spare their home. When the man awakens, startled at all the rare and marvelous animals surrounding him, he picks up his ax as if to begin chopping again, then drops it and walks away, presumably never to return.

Unfortunately, there's always someone else who is willing to take his place, but the message of this environmental book is plain: Save the rain forest! The story itself is not overly compelling, but each personalized entreaty from the animals provides an accurate and persuasive scientific argument for preserving nature's gifts. Lynne Cherry's fertile watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations, including a map of the tropical rain forests of the world, are vivid and colorful. A fine starting point for a discussion about conservation. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

The Curse of the Bone Pirates: Nui Island Eco-logical Adventures

When Big B is dragged from his comfortable life and close friends in Chicago by his grandfather s mysterious affliction, he s sure he s going to have the worst summer ever. But soon after arriving in the tropical paradise of Nui Island, he is caught in a web of danger and intrigue.

The Ma'ema'e reef is dying, his grandfather s brilliant mind has been infected, and creepy Island legends are coming to life. Big B and his new friends, Sam and Nalu, rely on logic, intuition, courage, and strength to unravel Nui's ancient mysteries. What they uncover will help them save the island, restore his grandfather's soul, and break the curse of the Bone Pirates.

With a captivating plot, fascinating characters, and an important ecological message, Curse of the Bone Pirates will haunt and delight young readers.

If you or someone you know likes action, adventure, pirates, girls with purple hair, surfing, bats and bacteria, then this book series is definitely the one for you! Curse of the Bone Pirates, the first book of the Nui Island Eco-logical Adventure Series, is like taking a virtual summer vacation on a tropical island, daring you to get caught up in its fun-filled pages. It will haunt you with the past, thrill you with the present and inspire you with your future.

Cool stuff hidden between the covers of this book include: poisonous sea snakes, black gold, biomimetics, Sirius, seagull poop, how to say paradise in Polynesian, hidden volcanic caves, Shakespearean verse, the Cliff Hanger, a shell phone, bioluminescence, names to call your friends in Spanish, dinoflagellates, waste water webs, carrot toothbrushes, drinking green slime, rainbow salsa, getting worked by a wave, the Bloodlust, archeology, screm do kafle, vaporous cannonballs, katuk, an anamorphoscope, eating ants, banana-mobiles and much, mucho, more.

Read it. Life may depend on it.

Generation Green: The Ultimate Teen Guide to Living an Eco-Friendly Life

We all know about the Earth's environmental crisis, but there is someone who can truly make a difference: you. If you text your friends or chat with them online, download music to your iPod, or toss bottles and papers into recycling bins, you're already more eco-savvy than you think. It's just as easy to do even more to help save the earth, and Generation Green shows you how. This book:

• Lays out the inside scoop on the biggest issues affecting our planet, such as global warming and overflowing landfills
• Offers dozens of tips on how to shop, dress, eat, and travel the green way
• Includes interviews with teens like you who are involved with fun, innovative green causes
• Shows that being environmentally conscious can be a natural part of your life -- and your generation's contribution to turning things around.

It doesn't matter if you can't vote or drive. Your efforts -- big or small -- will contribute to saving the planet. It's time for all of us to take action. It's time to go green!

Recycle!: A Handbook for Kids

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.

Down-to-Earth Guide To Global Warming

The comprehensive resource readers can look to for understanding why global warming happens and the ways it impacts our planet, and how we can work together to stop it. Kids and adults alike can help prevent the full consequences of global warming - we all have a part to play'. By Laurie David and Cambria Gordon

Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect

In Earth in Mind, noted environmental educator David W. Orr focuses not on problems in education, but on the problem of education.

Much of what has gone wrong with the world, he argues, is the result of inadequate and misdirected education that: alienates us from life in the name of human domination; causes students to worry about how to make a living before they know who they are; overemphasizes success and careers; separates feeling from intellect and the practical from the theoretical; deadens the sense of wonder for the created world.

The crisis we face, Orr explains, is one of mind, perception, and values. It is, first and foremost, an educational challenge.

The author begins by establishing the grounds for a debate about education and knowledge. He describes the problems of education from an ecological perspective, and challenges the "terrible simplifiers" who wish to substitute numbers for values. He follows with a presentation of principles for re-creating education in the broadest way possible, discussing topics such as biophilia, the disciplinary structure of knowledge, the architecture of educational buildings, and the idea of ecological intelligence. Orr concludes by presenting concrete proposals for reorganizing the curriculum to draw out our affinity for life.

How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate: Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming (About Our Changing Climate)

When the weather changes daily, how do we really know that Earth's climate is changing? Here is the science behind the headlines - evidence from flowers, butterflies, birds, frogs, trees, glaciers and much more, gathered by scientists from all over the world, sometimes with assistance from young "citizen-scientists." And here is what young people, and their families and teachers, can do to learn about climate change and take action. Climate change is a critical and timely topic of deep concern, here told in an age-appropriate manner, with clarity and hope. Kids can make a difference!

This book combines the talents of two uniquely qualified authors: Lynne Cherry, the leading children's environmental writer/illustrator and author of The Great Kapok Tree, and Gary Braasch, award-winning photojournalist and author of Earth Under Fire: How Global Warming is Changing the World.

Cartoon Guide to the Environment

Do you think that the Ozone Hole is a grunge rock club? Or that the Food Web is an online restaurant guide? Or that the Green Revolution happened in Greenland? Then you need The Cartoon Guide to the Environment to put you on the road to environmental literacy.

The Cartoon Guide to the Environment covers the main topics of environmental science: chemical cycles, life communities, food webs, agriculture, human population growth, sources of energy and raw materials, waste disposal and recycling, cities, pollution, deforestation, ozone depletion, and global warming -- and puts them in the context of ecology, with discussions of population dynamics, thermodynamics, and the behavior of complex systems.

Earth Day--Hooray! (MathStart 3)

Earth Day is on the way, and Ryan, Luke, and Carly have a plan. If they manage to collect and recycle 5,000 aluminum cans, they can make enough money to buy some beautiful flowers for nearby Gilroy Park.

CAN they do it?

Counting the cans gives Ryan, Luke, and Carly -- along with readers -- a lesson in place value. And facts about recycling throughout the story will help readers understand how important it is to take care of the earth.