Popular Characters Celebrate Earth Day and the Environment

If you are looking for light reading and read alouds for younger children that also make important points about protecting the environment, I recommend the following children’s books about Earth Day and the environment. One of the things that tends to make them particularly appealing to kids is that these children's books about the environment all feature popular children’s book characters. Several of these characters have also been featured in children’s television series. These children’s books about Earth Day and the environment include picture books and beginning reader books. They range from a book for children ages 2-6 to two books for children ages 4-8.

Beginning Reader Books About Protecting the Environment

Arthur Turns Green
In the beginning reader book Arthur Turns Green, Marc Brown’s Arthur gets involved in a school project known as The Big Green Machine. Arthur’s little sister, D.W. becomes convinced that The Big Green Machine is a monster because Arthur’s hands are turning green. Not until the school open house does she find out why Arthur’s hands are green and that the project is all about how families can save energy at home. While this is light recreational reading, it also makes some good points about practical things that family members, including children, can do to help protect the environment. I recommend Arthur Turns Green for ages 4-8. Note: To learn more about Arthur, read my article Marc Brown’s Arthur and His Father (Little, Brown and Company, Hatchette Book Group, 2011. ISBN: 9780316129244) Compare prices.

Fancy Nancy: Every Day Is Earth Day
If your kids love the Fancy Nancy books (see my review of Fancy Nancy), they will enjoy Jane O’Connor’s Fancy Nancy: Every Day Is Earth Day. While the book is a Level 1 beginning reader book, it has so many illustrations that it can also be enjoyed as a picture book you read to your child. Fancy Nancy is so eager to be “green” that she goes overboard in her efforts to get her whole family to conserve energy. When her efforts backfire, she has to learn to be “flexible,” as well as being green. Since Fancy Nancy is a child who likes everything fancy, including words, there is a glossary at the end of the book, as well as some clever rhymes to remind readers to act in ways that protect the environment. For example, “Less than a mile? Then bike in style.” I recommend Fancy Nancy: Every Day Is Earth Day for ages 4-8. (Harper, An Imprint of HarperCollins, 2010. ISBN: 9780061873263) Compare prices.

Picture Books About Protecting the Environment

Biscuit’s Earth Day Celebration
In Biscuit’s Earth Day Celebration by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, the little dog Biscuit follows his owner, a little girl, around as she participates in Earth Day activities. As the little girl gets ready, she tells Biscuit about different ways to take care of the environment, like conserving water by turning off the water when she brushes her teeth. The little dog gamely follows his mistress through the day’s activities, getting into mischief now and then. The little girl, accompanied by Biscuit, collects twigs for the birds in the backyard to make nests and scatters birdseed for them, joins other children in planting a garden at the Earth Day celebration, picks up litter on a clean-up walk, and paints a cloth bag for her parents to use again and again to carry groceries. While Biscuit’s Earth Day Celebration is a book for very young children, ages 2-6, it gently and effectively emphasizes how good it is to do things to protect the environment. (HarperFestival, An Imprint of HarperCollins, 2010. ISBN: 9780061625145) Compare prices.

We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers
Lauren Child’s brother and sister duo, Charlie and Lola, are popular picture book and TV characters. Patient big brother Charlie introduces his "small and very funny" little sister Lola to the concept of recycling in We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers, and Lola gets carried away in her own inimitable fashion. This entertaining story is one that 3- to 6-year-olds will enjoy, as will their older siblings. The quirky mixed media artwork, which combines photography, watercolors, and collage is particularly appealing. We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers is a light and funny book that still gets across the importance of recycling in a memorable way. For more information, read my full review of We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers. (Dial Books for Young Readers, A Division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 2009. ISBN: 9780803733350) Compare prices.

Are there other children’s picture books and beginning reader books that feature popular children’s book characters and emphasize protecting the environment that you would recommend for children 8 and under? If so, I hope you will click on Readers Respond below and share your recommendations.