WOW Dozen: Environmental Picturebooks
As storms become more frequent and violent, attention to the environment and global warming is increasing. Each title here has a distinct call to action that invites readers of all ages to "rethink, refuse, reduce, repair, reuse, recycle, and revolutionize" (Pêgo, 118-121). Some are biographies of everyday citizens who stood up for protecting our natural resources, others are examples of ingenuity, and several describe the ways animal and marine life can recover when given the space and time to adapt or regain habitats. What follows is a selection from an in-process paper about environmentally-focused books, fiction and nonfiction, discussed through the double lens of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Diverse BookFinder BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) descriptors. We included the original place of publication because we want to explore what other countries are saying about environmental issues.
The peppered moth adapts quickly to the changes in its environment rather than dying out, which gives us hope that other living things will adapt to changes caused by humans, including climate change. (UK)
Structured like a field guide to an invasive species, marine biologist & artist Pêgo describes the micro to macro impact of plastics on the oceans, rivers & lakes, taking into consideration current & eventual harm to marine and human life. (Canada)
Winner of the 2021 Caldecott Medal, this book highlights significance of protecting our waters as an integral belief of many Indigenous communities.
Wangari Maathai started the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, working with women to solve deforestation problems through replanting trees. (France)
9780874869729, Plough, 2019.
The Demilitarized Zone between North & South Korea becomes a landscape restored by nature when human activity is limited. (Korea)
The story of Favio Chávez & the orchestra that he started at the Cateura landfill in Paraguay to keep kids off the streets. (US)
A girl steals an old lady's bag but not before the surprisingly strong elderly woman extracts a promise to plant what is in the bag, changing this girls view of life forever. (UK)
When human activity is locked down & limited during the COVID-19 pandemic, animal & marine life flourish again in habitats around the world—even taking over some human spaces. (US)
In 1992, a shipping container of 28,000 rubber toys fell overboard, releasing the plastic animals into ocean currents & traveling all over the world. (UK)
An innovative, information-packed book combines stories from around the world about water, facts about water, & suggestions for diving deeper with activities, experiments & actions that protect water. (UK)
The latest in Drummond's Green Power series on innovative sustainability projects, this title describes a village in Japan whose goal is to have zero waste. (US)
Thanks to Mario Molina's discovery of chlorofluorocarbons, countries around the globe banned CFCs and the ozone layer above the earth is slowly recovering. (US)
WOW Dozen features a list of 12 global books for children and adolescents around a theme, topic, issue or personal favorites. Each Dozen consists of ten newly-published titles with two older "must have" books. Please share or recommend additional books that fit the theme in the comments section or on social media using #WOWDozen. Use the printer icon in the upper left corner of this post to print or save this list as a PDF.
