Planet Ark: Preserving Earth’s Biodiversity

Young readers can learn how to protect the world’s plants and animals from extinction by making small changes in their everyday lives — from planting trees to turning off the tap — to help preserve the world’s biodiversity.

Frog Song

Since the time of the dinosaurs, frogs have added their birrups and bellows to the music of the earth. Frogs are astonishing in their variety and crucial to ecosystems. Onomatopoeic text and stunning illustrations introduce young readers to these fascinating and important creatures, from Chile to Nepal to Australia, in Frog Song by Brenda Z. Guiberson.

You Are Stardust

This picturebook begins by introducing the idea that every tiny atom in our bodies came from a star that exploded long before we were born. From its opening pages, the book suggests that we are intimately connected to the natural world; it compares the way we learn to speak to the way baby birds learn to sing, and the growth of human bodies to the growth of forests. Award-winning author Elin Kelsey believes children are losing touch with nature. This innovative picture book aims to reintroduce children to their innate relationship with the world around them by sharing many of the surprising ways that we are all connected to the natural world.

Grounded in current science, this extraordinary picture book provides opportunities for children to use their imaginations and wonder about some big ideas. Soyeon Kim’s incredible diorama art enhances the poetic text, and her creative process is explored in full on the reverse side of the book’s jacket, which features comments from the artist. Young readers will want to pore over each page of this book, exploring the detailed artwork and pondering the message of the text, excited to find out just how connected to the Earth they really are.

Pulelehua And Mamaki

In the lush Hawaiian rainforest, beneath a canopy of ‘ohia trees, native flora and fauna live in harmony. As her time draws near, lovely Pulelehua discovers the mamaki that sheltered her as a child and leaves a newborn egg on one of its leaves. Follow along as the wise mamaki nurtures Ke Li‘i through his stages of life, from a tiny black caterpiller to a magnificent Kamehameha Butterfly.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 4, Issue 3

Puffling Patrol

Ted and Betsy Lewin detail the annual rescue of baby puffins by the children of Heimaey, the largest island in the Westman Islands off the coast of Iceland. Includes additional information about puffins and the Westman Islands, glossary, and further reading.

Authors Ted and Betsy Lewin discuss Puffling Patrol.

Who Will Save My Planet?

This unique and powerful wordless book uses striking photos to show the impact of humans on the environment. Each provocative image speaks volumes. On every spread we are shown a treasure that nature has given us beside a picture of how we’ve abused that treasure. We see a beautiful forest glade beside a devastated patch of burned-out wood, a gorgeous green parrot beside a dull-feathered caged bird, a sparkling waterfall beside a garbage-clogged river. It would take thousands of words to express the important environmental message presented by Cristina Urrutia.

Earth-Friendly Buildings, Bridges and More

This dynamic title takes the form of Corry’s scrapbook. It’s a dazzling collection of postcards, brochures and other memorabilia documenting Corry’s research into green design. Kid-friendly language explains the engineering behind some of the planet’s most cutting edge towers, bridges, tunnels, domes, dams, dikes, locks and levees. These structures include the Vizcaya Bridge in Spain, where gondolas transport cars over the Nervion River, and the Channel tunnel, where trains speed between England and France in just 35 minutes.