Global warming | Children's Books Heal

All the Feelings Under the Sun: How to Deal with Climate Change

Leslie Davenport, Author

Jessica Smith, Illustrator

Magination Press, Nonfiction, 2021

Suitable for ages: 10-14

Themes: Climate change, Emotions, Global warming, Weather

Publisher’s Synopsis:

Climate change challenges every part of our world and our lives, and learning about it can bring up some big emotions.

Discover all the ways that nature is beautiful, powerful, delicate, fierce, mysterious, and awesome. Find ways to take action and cope with big emotions with journal prompts and self-guided activities you can do anywhere. Read about kids just like you who have made a difference, and what the future looks like.

Climate change affects everyone…but change can start with you.

Why I like this book:

After reviewing Alan Gratz’s new novel Two Degrees last week, I thought All the Feelings Under the Sun: How to Deal with Climate Change would pair nicely with his book and help young people process their feelings about what they hear on the news and experience personally in their communities. 2022 has been an active year. Many kids worldwide have lived through wildfires in California and Colorado, hurricanes in Florida and Mexico, major flooding in the Appalachians, Nigeria and Pakistan, an earthquake in China and summer droughts and heat waves throughout Europe, and tornadoes in the southern states.

Climate change is scary for everyone. Davenport says that dealing with emotions like anger, fear, sadness will help young people “build inner resiliency: our emotional strength” This is a perfect book for teachers and school libraries to include in their studies and discussions about climate change. .

The book is beautifully crafted and easy to read with fun and interesting illustrations. There are five chapters: How We Know What We Know, The Earth is Heating Up, Everything is Connected, Practicing Eco-Justice, and Making a Healthier World Together. Readers will learn the differences between climate change, global warming and weather events. Each chapter includes age appropriate facts, encourages journaling, writing and art activities, and includes exercises to help readers calm themselves and build courage. Acknowledging feelings of anxiety can free readers so that they can become part of the solution. Davenport encourages readers to discover what they believe, what they are passionate about and how they can use their own talents to help create a healthier environment. The book includes some fascinating information about what they can learn from Indigenous traditions and “see all parts of nature as our relatives.” They will meet many young people, like Greta Thunberg, and important youth groups that encourage kids to make a difference through art, writing, legal efforts, and social media campaigns. Some may choose to become climate activists.

Links to youth organizations that have come together to create many organizations to strengthen their voices through collective action and peer support. The author recommends the following groups: Zero House, young people focused on climate and environmental justice and Sunrise,.young people who believe that reversing climate change means reorganizing how the government operates. Read about their activities in the book and check out their sites.

Leslie Davenportis a Marriage and Family Therapist bringing 30 years of clinical experience to the emerging field of Climate Psychology. She works as an educator and consultant to institutes recognizing the benefits of behavioral research for cultural shifts and policy change. She is the author of three previous books, including Emotional Resiliency in the Era of Climate Change. Leslie has worked at Ground Zero on disaster mental health teams and is on faculty with the California Institute of Integral Studies. She has offices in Tacoma, WA, and in the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit Davenport at her website.

Greg Pattridge hosts Marvelous Middle Grade Monday posts on his wonderful Always in the Middle website. Make sure you check out the many links to see all of the wonderful reviews by KidLit bloggers and authors.

*Review copy provided by Imagination Press in exchange for a review.

Two Degrees: A Planet in crisis. And time is running out.

Alan Gratz, Author

Scholastic Books, Fiction, Oct. 4, 2022

Suitable for ages: 8-12

Pages: 384

Themes: Climate change, Global warming, Survival, Adventure, Science and nature

Publisher’s Synopsis:

Fire. Ice. Flood. Three climate disasters.

Four kids fighting for their lives.

Akira is riding her horse in the California woods when a wildfire sparks–and grows scarily fast. How can she make it to safety when there are flames everywhere?

Owen and his best friend, George, are used to seeing polar bears on the snowy Canadian tundra. But when one bear gets way too close for comfort, do the boys have any chance of surviving?

Natalie hunkers down at home as a massive hurricane barrels toward Miami. When the floodwaters crash into her house, Natalie is dragged out into the storm–with nowhere to hide.

Akira, Owen, George, and Natalie are all swept up in the devastating effects of climate change. They are also connected in ways that will shock them–and could alter their destinies forever.

Bestselling author Alan Gratz is at the top of his game, shining a light on our increasingly urgent climate crisis while spinning an action-packed story that will keep readers hooked–and inspire them to take action.

What’s to like about Two Degrees:

I am an Alan Gratz fan and I feel he’s outdone himself with Two Degrees. It is a brilliant action-packed novel about the most important topic of this century — our rapidly changing climate. It is a breathtaking read, but it will also have readers holding their breaths as they encounter many suspenseful moments and wonder what will happen next. I felt a lot of energy in this novel that I am hopeful will energize readers to do something.

This is storytelling at its finest. It is a necessary story with a harrowing and fast-paced plot that will keep readers engaged. Just look at that gorgeous and engaging cover. It speaks to readers.

Gratz did a remarkable amount of research in his thoughtfully penned novel. Although he focused his story in North America, he also addresses climate change worldwide. That’s why there are moments that are truly chilling as readers watch Akira, Natalie, Owen and George in survival mode outsmarting fires, rising waters and polar bears. Make sure you check out his author’s note at the end and learn about how he created each character.

The story is written in three alternating stories, each ending with a big cliff hangar, which adds to the suspense. The characters are authentic and their engrossing stories are drawn from real-life situations that are particularly relevant with the recent wildfires in the west and fury of Hurricane Ian. All four characters are courageous, determined and committed. And they are connected in ways they can hardly imagine in an over-the-top (crescendo) ending that will inspire and energize students to want to do something about climate change. As Natalie realizes in the story “we can’t do it alone, it will take all of us doing something.”

Gratz’s novel belongs in school libraries and would encourage interesting discussions in classrooms. Many readers will have already lived through wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, and droughts. Climate change can be scary and it is important that readers are in touch with their feelings. Next week I’m reviewing All the Feelings Under the Sun: How to Deal with Climate Change by Leslie Davenport. It pairs beautifully with Two Degrees.

Alan Gratz is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many highly acclaimed books for young readers include Ground Zero, Refugee, Allies, Projekt 1065, and Prisoner B-3087. Alan lives in North Carolina with his wife and daughter. Look for him online at his website.

*Reviewed from a purchased copy.