Learning Resources

Caring for Our Environment Book List - Curated by Seth Rogers

Cleaning Up on a household level (Concrete Connections)

Tumbleweed Tina Cleans Her Room – Tumbleweed Tina has a lot of energy. Her mom wants her to clean her messy room, but Tina would rather play. If she doesn’t start cleaning soon, then she won’t get a treat. Join Tumbleweed Tina on her adventure of cleaning her room. Will she finally get that cookie?

Monster Mess! – The story is that a monster moves in during the middle of the night and cannot sleep until the child’s room is clean.

What Mess? – What Mess? is a hilarious conversation between a boy and his parents about a room that’s such a disaster zone, he’d have to clean it just to call it a mess.

Llama Llama Mess Mess Mess – When Mama Llama says it’s time to clean up, Llama responds like any child more interested in playing than cleaning . . . by ignoring her! But Mama has an imaginative response of her own. What if she never cleaned? What would happen then? Well, Llama Llama is going to find out!

Cleaning up on a larger level (Abstract Connections)

"Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World"

Pioneering environmentalist and "Silent Spring" author Rachel Carson is the subject of this picture book biography. (Available here)

"The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle"

This glimpse into the life of a plastic bottle offers a valuable lesson about recycling. (Available here)

"One Plastic Bag"

Activist Isatou Ceesay is the subject of this book about the recycling efforts in the Gambia. (Available here)

"One World"

"One World" illustrates concerns about pollution through the story of siblings spending a day at the seashore. (Available here)

"Compost Stew"

This alphabet book offers a child-friendly explanation of composting. (Available here)

WATER CONSERVATION (Extending Connections)

A Cool Drink of Water by Barbara Kerley

I love this book. From the National Geographic Society, this book is not illustrated but has gorgeous photographs (as to be expected from National Geographic). The book has few words but focuses on how people all over the world are drinking water in all sorts of ways. This book is great for children of all ages.

Water Dance by Thomas Locker

Told from the perspective of the rain, this story poetically highlights all the places we can find the rain. It lives everywhere and we experience it in many different ways. This book can be enjoyed by children of all ages.

Why Should I Save Water? by Jen Green

This is a great book for young children to hear the story about saving water through the eyes of a little boy and his neighborhood friend. His friend stops by and they talk about why they need to be careful about how much water they use and all the ways kids can save water in their own homes. This is great for children of all ages and includes bright, engaging illustrations as well.

You Wouldn’t Want To Live Without Clean Water by Roger Canavan

This book takes a more social look at water. Although it includes some of the scientific matters related to the water cycle, each page focuses on a particular question related to water. Some of the questions include:

• How Long Could You Go Without Water?

• Can Dirty Water Make You Sick?

• How Far Could You Carry a Bucket of Water?

• Would You Go To War Over Water?

You can tell just from these titles there are some heavy social issues related to water that are addressed at a very high level so children can begin to think about these. I really like that this book takes a much different approach to the matter of water and digs into why we really want to preserve our water (without scaring children).