Not Your Typical Book about the Environment
N/A
From 9 to 13 | 64 pages
We live in a time of heightened environmental awareness, and the stress of this pervasive alarmism is creating a generation of kids with feelings of eco-anxiety — the world is doomed, isn't it? Maybe not. Not Your Typical Book about the Environment aims to allay some of these fears by showing how all is not lost. Young readers will learn about the remarkable time that they are living in: the Anthropocene era where humans are the dominating environmental force on Earth. This is a time of amazing possibilities as smart technologies, innovative ideas, and a growing commitment to alternative lifestyles are exploding around the world. Each chapter begins by taking everyday objects from a kids' world — T-shirts, video games, bikes — and using these as launching pads to delve into related environmental issues and information. Profiles of unexpected personalities, like Catherine O'Brien, a happiness researcher, are featured throughout. These profiles enforce the overall message that this time of crisis can instead be seen as a time of great opportunity!
An optimistic look at choices we can make to improve the planet, this book assesses the impact of everything from the clothes we wear to the food we eat. But instead of laying a guilt trip on readers, it points to eco-friendly alternatives, from devising new products to opting for vintage clothes instead of new. - Washington Post
Can we move from nations of ‘Captains of Industrial Agriculture’ to ‘Super Sustainable Farmers’? According to this book’s well-thought-out logic and messaging on this and many other aspects of environmental awareness, of course we can. - The Globe and Mail
It’s a smart approach, and one that should inspire. - Publishers Weekly
This is an intriguing, fact-filled book about saving the environment in unusual ways…This hilarious, information-packed work is an excellent addition. - School Library Journal
This upbeat, creative, wide-reaching explanation is indeed a standout in a genre composed primarily of lamentations for the polar bear…this is one of the best books to date at dealing both concretely and philosophically with the blend of opportunity and challenge contained in the green movement. - The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Elin Kelsey has produced a highly engaging book, pointing out surprising connections between kids’ lives and the rest of the planet. The illustrations are fantastic and make a complex subject — conservation and sustainable living — easy to understand. A wonderful book for educating children — and adults — about the environment. - Jane Goodall Ph.D., DBE Founder – the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace
Fun, informative, and full of hope...succeeds in getting kids excited about the time they're living in and their ability to save the world.
- Finding Solutions (David Suzuki Foundation)
- Finding Solutions (David Suzuki Foundation)
[This] exceptionally positive approach to ecological issues encourage[s] children to recognize their power in contributing to the well-being of the planet. - Canadian Children’s Book News
CYBILS, Non-fiction Middle/Teen Category, 2010
Green Book Festival Awards, Children's Category, Honor Book, 2010
Moonbeam Children's Book Awards, Environmental Issues Category, Gold, 2010
Newton Marasco Foundation, Green Earth Book Award, Non-fiction Category, 2011
Ontario Library Association, Silver Birch Award, 2011
Ontario Library Association, Top 10 Canadian Children's Books, Non-fiction Category, Best Bets List, 2010
ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Award, Juvenile Non-fiction Category, 2010
Skipping Stones Honor Award, Nature and Ecology Book Category, 2011
