The Boy Who Grew A Forest by Sophia Gholz

The Boy Who Grew A Forest: The True Story of Jadav Payeng

Sophia Gholz, Author

Kayla Harren, Illustrator

Sleeping Bear Press, Biography, March 2019

Suitable for ages: 5- 8

Themes: Jadav Payeng, Forests, India, Environmentalism, Foresters, Conservation

Opening: “In India, on a large river island, among farms and families hard at work, there lived a boy who loved trees. Trees meant shade, food and shelter for many.”

Book Synopsis:

As a boy, Jadav Payeng was saddened as he saw the deforestation and erosion of India’s Brahmaputra River region, the place he called home. He found dead snakes and feared that same thing would happen to the villagers. He shared his fears with the village elders who gave Jada 20 bamboo seedlings. He planted them on a sandbar, devised a watering system and brought rich soil to encourage growth. They trees flourished and became a healthy thicket. Jada wanted to do more, so he began cultivating the land — and planting more trees and plants. What began as a small thicket of bamboo grew over the years into a 1,330-acre forest filled with native plants and wildlife. His story reminds us all the difference a single person with a big idea can make.

Why I like this book:

This is such a timely book for young people and a perfect Earth Day read. Young Jadav’s decision to try to make a difference in his community will inspire and empower young readers to get involved in conservation projects to protect the environment. The text is sparse and supported by rich, lush and stunning illustrations that move the story forward. Each two-page spread allows readers to pour over the artwork, ask questions and discuss Jadav’s conservation work. Today the entire forest has been named after Jadav “Molai” Payeng–Molai Forest.

Jadav’s story is an excellent read-aloud in classrooms. Jadav models that one child can make a difference. Hopefully it will inspire students to think about what they can do in their own communities to create a healthier environment for everyone.

Favorite quotes: “Only by growing plants, the Earth will survive.” Jadav Payeng

“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is now.” – proverb

Resources: Make sure you check out the Author’s Note about Jadav’s ideas on reforestation and Plant a Forest of Your Own by growing and planting seeds. Great ideas and directions for home or school. Encourage kids to get involved in projects for Earth Day, April 22.

Sophia Gholz is a children’s book author and lover of trees. She grew up in northern Florida, surrounded by oak trees and longleaf pine forests. But Sophia’s favorite trees are the willows she encountered while visiting Australia as a child. Favorite aside, she believes that all trees are equally important. Today, Sophia lives by the beach with her family, where she spends he time researching, writing, and dreaming about faraway places. The Boy Who Grew a Forest is Sophia’s debut picture book. Visit Sophia at her website.

Every Friday, authors and KidLit bloggers post a favorite picture book. To see a complete listing of all the Perfect Picture Books (PPB) with resources, please visit author Susanna Leonard Hill’s website.

*Reviewed from a library copy.

Salamander Sky by Katy Farber

Earth Day, April 22, 2019

Theme for Earth Day — Protect our Species

Salamander Sky

Katy Farber, Author

Meg Sodano, Illustrator

Green Writers Press, Fiction, Mar. 9, 2018

Suitable for Ages: 4-8

Themes: Spotted salamanders, Migration, Nature, Environment, Rescue

Opening: “I watch the rain / slide down the glass / pitter, patter / drip, drop. / A flutter in my heart / of hope / that this is the day, / my day to help the salamanders.”

Synopsis: On a rainy day in early spring in the eastern regions of the U.S., warmer nights with steady rain bring the migration of thousands of spotted salamanders to ponds and pools.

April anticipates her chance to be part of one of nature’s most magical events — the migration of the spotted salamanders hiding beneath layers of earth and tree roots. They face many challenges in their journey, including roads and speeding cars. It can be a perilous crossing and April wants to help them to safety. Will you join April and her scientist mother in search of the spotted salamanders? They are fascinating creatures that can teach everyone a lot about the natural world.

Why I like this book:

Katy Farber’s poetic text has a lovely rhythm that encourages the girl’s excitement to help the spotted salamanders along their journey. It is a quiet and reverent book that will touch the hearts of children and inspire them to explore their own backyards, neighborhoods and communities for opportunities to help wildlife. Readers will share in April’s joy and loving efforts to increase the chances of survival for these mysterious spotted salamanders which matter to our environment. This book is an important tool in getting children involved in conservation.

Meg Sodano’s irresistible illustrations capture the wonder and adventure of April’s rescue mission. They create a hushed feeling with flashlights sweeping the road for little black bodies with yellow spots. There is a special spread devoted to the development of the salamanders from egg to larvae to terrestrial adult. And there is a map showing states where there are spotted salamanders. Her illustrations are rendered with colored inks, crayon, water-soluble pencils and digital techniques.

Resources: Teachers, check out the Green Writer’s Press guide in the back of the book. It covers many school curriculum requirements including life cycles, wetland habitats, and human impact in these fragile environments. It is an excellent resource for science teachers, environmental educators and parents to inspire students to get involved in saving unnoticed species.

Katy Farber is a professional development coordinator, author, and blogger from Vermont. She writes about education, parenting, the environment and sustainability for various websites and publications. Her middle grade novel, The Order of the Trees (Green Writers Press 2015), was an Honor Book in the Nature Generation’s Green Earth Book Awards. Visit Katy at her website.

*Book: Library Copy

Heal the Earth by Julian Lennon

Happy Earth Day, Apr. 22, 2018

Heal the Earth

Julian Lennon with Bart Davis, Authors

Smiljana Coh, Illustrator

Sky Pony Press, Fictions, Apr. 3, 2018

Suitable for Ages: 3-6

Themes: Nature, Environment, Conservation, Ocean reefs, Rain forest, Medicines, Green spaces

Opening: Welcome to our planet Earth.

Book Synopsis:

The magical White Feather Flier is back on a new adventure to heal the Earth! Use your imagination power to make it fly and take you on a great helping journey.

The Flier’s mission is to transport readers around the world, to engage them in helping to save the environment, and to teach one and all to love our planet. Just press a button printed on the page, and point the plane up in the air to fly, or down to land it!

Bring medicine to people in need!
Dive below the ocean to bleached coral reefs!
Visit the city to cultivate green spaces!
Help the rain forest return and give its animals a home!
Explore the planet, meet new people, and help make the world a better place!

An inspiring, lyrical story, rooted in Lennon’s life and work, Heal the Earth is filled with beautiful illustrations that bring the faraway world closer to young children.

Why I like this book:

It beautiful interactive book that speaks directly to younger children and empowers them to be part of the magic of healing and loving our planet and its inhabitants. The spare text is lyrical and skillfully written with vivid imagery. Smiljana Coh’s gorgeous illustrations will appeal to children’s senses. She includes a diverse cast of characters and children will see someone who looks like them.

Readers are asked questions and invited to join the adventure. They will be encouraged to use their imaginations and push buttons at the bottom of the pages to transport them to areas of the earth that are in need of healing. They see the problems that exist and then are given the opportunity to make a positive impact. Every time they succeed, they are congratulated for a job well done.

There is age-appropriate geographical information about the planet and how it is divided into continents. Kids are encouraged to touch each continent, say its name and pick the continent where they live.

The book includes words to a new, special poem written by Julian Lennon, specifically for Heal the Earth. It is a lovely addition to the book and could be a stand-alone-book.

A portion of the proceeds from book sales will go to support the environmental and humanitarian efforts of the White Feather Foundation, the global environmental and humanitarian organization that Lennon founded to promote education, health, conservation, and the protection of indigenous culture.

Resources: The book is a great way to approach the subject of caring for the earth, during Earth Day. It is a resource because it encourages children to discuss problems around the globe and ask a lot of questions about getting involved in preserving their planet.

Julian Lennon is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, photographer, documentarian, philanthropist, and author of the New York Times bestselling children’s book Touch the Earth. Born in Liverpool, England, Lennon is an observer of life in all its forms developing his personal expression through his artistic endeavors. He hopes that his kids book trilogy will inspire and educate children to preserve our planet for future generations.

Tortuga Squad: Kids Saving Sea Turtles in Costa Rica

World Turtle Day, June 16, 2016

Tortuga Squad: Kids Saving Sea Turtles in Costa Rica

Cathleen Burnham, Author and Photographer

Crickhollow Books, Photodocumentary, Jan. 3, 2016

Suitable for Ages: 7-10

Themes: Sea Turtles, Environmental rescue, protection and rescue, Youth activism, Costa Rica, Global kids, Diversity

Synopsis: It is May and a group of children in Costa Rica are tirelessly working to protect and save the lives of sea turtles on Parismina Island. They call themselves the Tortuga Squad, which means “turtle” in Spanish. They are on the outlook for poachers who are watching the beaches for sea turtles that come ashore to dig deep holes and lay their eggs. They steal the eggs and kill the mama turtles and eat their meat for dinner.

Meet 6-year-old Bianca, who is patrolling the beach from a hidden bush. She recognizes the poacher, waits until the coast is clear, and races to her friend Christian’s house to get help for the trapped turtle. Melanie, Dylan and other children hear the cry for help and rush with Bianca and Christian to help flip the turtle back over and watch her escape into the sea.

The Tortuga Squad patrols the beaches every evening and works hard to protect turtles and their eggs. Humans are their greatest threat. The children build a hatchery to safeguard the eggs until they hatch. Once the turtles are ready for release, the Tortuga Squad clears the beach of crabs, birds, dogs and other potential threats. They want to make sure that every little leatherback baby turtle make it to the water on its first journey over the shallow reef and to the ocean.

Tortuga kid-releasing-turtle Compliments of Crickhollow Books

Why I love the Tortuga Squad:

Cathleen Burnham is on a mission to find, highlight and photograph children who are united in a cause to rescue and save endangered marine and animal life around the globe. Her true and inspiring story is a call to children worldwide that they don’t have to be adults to make a difference. The kids of Parismina Island are passionate young activists who care and want to be involved in protecting the turtles.
The Tortuga Squad is an engaging story for readers and is perfectly paced. Keeping turtle nests safe is a busy job for the squad and readers will enjoy the important mission. There is factual information about the variety of sea turtles that visit Parismina Island to lay their eggs on the dangerous beach: leatherback, hawksbill, loggerhead and green turtles. There is also a map of Costa Rica and Central America. The Tortuga Squad is a winner and an excellent discussion book for children, parents and teachers.
Every page of the book is filled with rich, beautiful and moving photographs that show the young Tortuga Squad activists in action. Burnham also captures every aspect of life in Costa Rica including family life, the market place, and travel by boat. Burnham devotes many double-page spreads to the delicate ecosystem and the gorgeous endangered species living there, including howler monkeys, sloths, pelicans, crocodiles and beautiful birds.

Resources: To learn more about the amazing things children are doing to protect wildlife around the globe, visit the World Association of Kids and Animals (WAKA) and get involved. There is a special teacher’s guide available for classroom use. Make sure you read the Author’s Note about sea turtles and the kids of Costa Rica. Check out the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries website. They will observe Sea Turtle Week, June 13-17.

Cathleen Burnham is a journalist, writer and photographer. In addition to the Tortuga Squad, Burnham is the author of Doyli to the Rescue, the first “photodocumentary” book in a series of six forthcoming books for young readers that profile wildlife preservation efforts being undertaken by kids around the globe.

This is the Earth

Earth Day, April 22, 2016!

This is the Earth

Diane Z. Shore and Jessica Alexander, Authors

Wendell Minor, Illustrator

Harper Collins, Nonfiction, Feb. 23, 2016

Suitable for Ages: 4-8

Pages: 40

Themes: Caring for the planet, Living in harmony with the environment, Pollution, Conservation, Respect, Healing

Opening: “This is the land, / fertile, alive, / crawling with creatures / that help it to thrive.”

Book Jacket Synopsis: This Is the Earth takes readers on a journey through hundreds of years as it explores how humans have affected the environment and shows the ways in which we can all care for the planet. Every action we take has an impact on our surroundings — and everyone can help save the world.

This is the Earth

that we treat with respect,

where people and animals

interconnect,

where we learn to find balance

between give and take

and help heal the planet

with choices we make.

Why I like this book:

Diane Shore and Jessica Alexander have written a very sensitive and uplifting story for children about the condition of the land, air and water of our planet. The text is beautifully written in rhyming verse and makes it easy for young children to digest. Their goal is to help children realize the importance of living in harmony with our planet in a positive way.

This is a good introductory book for children. Each double-page spread gently focuses on how our planet has changed from its beginning pristine state. It shows how the arrival of the busy industrial age and the modernization of the planet have affected the earth. The book helps children understand and respect the interconnection between humans and all life.

This Is the Earth is about choices. It shows how every little action we take impacts the ecosystems and environment. Everyone can help heal the planet. The story encourages children to take action and live a greener life by riding bicycles, using less water in the shower, turning off lights in unused rooms, recycling trash, planting trees and gardens, and treating wildlife with respect. This is a hopeful book about taking care of our precious home.

Wendell Minor’s illustrations are breathtaking and support the books very positive message. His rich and colorful watercolors convey a power that will captivate and appeal to children.

Resources: This is a great classroom book. Involve students in cleaning up the school yard, planting trees on the property, and separating recyclable items. For more ideas about how you can make a difference, visit the Earth Day website.

Every Friday, authors and KidLit bloggers post a favorite picture book. To see a complete listing of all the Perfect Picture Books (PPB) with resources, please visit author Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Books.