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Reading and cooking with kids

Let's Celebrate Earth Day & Arbor Day!

4/16/2018

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Updated 4/22/2020
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*Note: this post contains Amazon Affiliate links. All purchases made via the links provided help to support our literacy efforts!
     Earth Day and Arbor Day, the annual celebrations honoring our planet and trees, are fast approaching. Celebrated on the 22nd of April and the last Friday in April (the 27th this year) respectively, these days offer an opportunity for us to shine the spotlight on the wonders of the natural world and encourage everyone, both young and old, to connect with the great outdoors and live a more green life. Share the picture books below with the loved ones in your life, outside if at all possible, and then spend time appreciating all of the beauties of our Earth.
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​Thank You, Earth: A Love Letter to Our Planet by April Pulley Sayre
     A poetic thank you note set against stunning photographs that capture the many beauties and wonders of our planet, this book pays homage to all that the Earth has to offer us and concludes with heartfelt words that will resonate with readers of all ages: “Thank you for beginnings, for endings, for lifetimes. Thank you for being our home.” An appendix in the back of the book offers activities and ideas for ways in which readers can show their appreciation for the Earth.

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​All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon
     This book may not seem like an obvious pick for Earth Day, but the moving text and breathtaking illustrations show the wonders and beauty to be found all around us. It is a poetic celebration of the little things and a reminder to appreciate all the world.

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​The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
     While taking a walk on a drizzly day through his very gray and dreary city, Liam comes upon a tiny, struggling patch of plant life up on the old railway. He decides to tend to the little patch and become its gardener. Although Liam does not know how to be a gardener, he does his best and slowly learns all that he can about taking care of plants. Inspired by New York City’s High Line, Liam’s story shows us that anyone can be a gardener and take care of a little patch of Earth.

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​Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth by Mary McKenna Siddals
     Have you ever wanted to start a compost pile for your garden? Have you ever wondered what can be put into a compost pile? This book is a rhyme-filled introduction to all the things that can be composted, from apple cores to zinnia heads!

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​Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel
     Reminiscent of Dr. Seuss’s Lorax, Michael Recycle is a superhero who travels from town to town teaching the citizens how to be green and recycle. The illustrations are bright and cartoon-like and the text has a nice rhyming flow that adds to the enjoyment of reading this book aloud. At the end of the book you will find “Michael Recycle’s Go Green Tips,” which features an array of simple things you and your family can do to live a greener life.
          *Extended activity: Using recyclable items and/or natural materials you collect while outside exploring, help your little one think outside of the box and make something new with the various things you have saved/found. It could be a simple piece of art or a new useful tool, the possibilities are endless!

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Earth Day: An Alphabet Book by Gary Kowalski
     Learning to appreciate all of the wonders of our Earth is as simple as learning the ABCs with this picture book. As readers move through the alphabet they will see animals and plants represented by each letter and gain an appreciation for our world.

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It's Earth Day! (Little Critter) by Mercer Mayer
     Little Critter is on a mission to reduce, reuse and recycle in order to do his part to help save our Earth.

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Fancy Nancy: Every Day is Earth Day by Jane O'Connor
     What does it mean to 'be green?' As Nancy explains, it means taking care of our planet and in this story Fancy Nancy learns the rules for being green. She also does all she can to make sure her family is living the green life. But does she take her newfound passion a bit too far...? This particular title is an I Can Read Level 1 book perfect for those just learning to read on their own.

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The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
   No Earth Day book list would ever be complete without The Lorax. A timeless classic, written long before the Green Movement began, this story perfectly shows the consequences of our actions, but offers a message of hope that things can change, if we just care.
          *Extended Activity: After reading the book together, snuggle up , watch the film and then make your own truffula trees likes these from Art Projects for Kids. You could even make your own truffula tree forest with these life-size ones from Mrs. Lodge’s Library!


“UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
-The Lorax-


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​It Starts With a Seed by Laura Knowles
     Follow along as the rhyming text takes you through the life of a sycamore tree, from a tiny seed, to a young sapling and eventually a large tree. Also shown are all of the woodland creatures that call the tree their home, thus introducing young readers to the complex relationships that exist in nature. This is a factual story that feels more like an evocative poem with the most exceptional illustrations.
           *Extended activity: Learn about the process illustrator Jennie Webber used by watching this video.

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​Trees by Lemniscates
     Much like It Starts With a Seed, this book is a lyrical homage to trees and all that they do for life on Earth. As the striking illustrations help the story move through the seasons, the reader sees what happens to trees at different times of the year. 

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Because of an Acorn by Lola M. Schaefer and Adam Schaefer
     Simple text takes the reader through the many connections present in a single ecosystem: “Because of an acorn, a tree. Because of a tree, a bird. Because of a bird, a seed."

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​Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson
     Help a tree navigate its way through the seasons in this fun, interactive story! As in Herve Tullet’s Press Here, this book requires the help of the reader to make things happen. Follow the instructions to tap, pat, clap, wiggle or jiggle the book in order to see all that a tree undergoes as the seasons change.

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​As An Oak Tree Grows by G. Brian Karas
​     This unique book offers a time-lapse look into the life of an oak tree and how the world changes around it over 200 years. Beginning in 1775 with a little boy planting an acorn, the text and detailed illustrations show the various ways in which life altered with the advent of new technologies and increase in population.  

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The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hopkins
     Katherine Olivia Sessions was the first woman to graduate from the University of California with a degree in science. Having grown up amongst the towering redwoods of northern California, she decided her new home of San Diego needed trees and so she started a movement that would transform the city from a desert town to a lush, green oasis. This picture book biography offers an inspiring story about following your dreams.

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Tree: A Peek-Through Picture Book by Britta Teckentrup
     Peek through the hole in the cover of this picture book into the habitat of a tree. What types of animals call this tree home? How does the tree change as the seasons change? Bright, detailed illustrations bring this busy world to life and the rhyming text makes the book a delight to read aloud again and again.

​Hopefully these stories will inspire you and your little ones to look at the world in a whole new light and to spend some time outdoors, enjoying all of the wonders and delights of our beautiful Earth.

​Happy reading!

Kate @ BTBL

Author

We are three generations that seek a way to get back to basics. It’s not that we eschew technology, but sometimes simpler is better, especially in raising our children. Mom was a reading teacher, Amanda is an early childhood educator and Kate a children’s literature specialist and former school librarian along with the latest additions, a daughter (now 4) for Kate, and two sons (now 1 and a newborn) for Amanda. We advocate reading aloud, the simple toys that use imagination and encourage creativity and learning in the kitchen, which can be a fun mess but also teaches life skills. Join us in raising healthy, happy, inquisitive and intelligent children.

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    We are mom Sandra and daughters Amanda and Kate, all with backgrounds in literacy and education, who want to share our philosophy of taking the basics of life; books, simple toys that encourage play, imagination and creativity, and using cooking and baking to teach math and real life skills to raise happy, inquisitive children. Join us in exploring the old and the new and sifting through the myriad of research to consider what is best for our children.

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