Earth Day Fiction in Sora

All the novels and works of fiction listed here include themes and ideas connected to conservation and taking care of our Earth. All books can be found as ebooks within Sora. Many are found in library networks outside of the Sails network. Be sure you have watched the "Using Sora" videos to learn how to find books in all the library networks in Massachusetts.

Cam Jansen: The Green School Mystery by David A. Adler

Cam Jansen’s school is going green. For each can or bottle Cam and her classmates bring in to be recycled, the school earns a nickel. But when all the nickels go missing, everyone suspects they were stolen. Can Cam click! and use her photographic memory to solve this mystery?

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

Barbara Cooney's story of Alice Rumphius, who longed to travel the world, live in a house by the sea, and do something to make the world more beautiful, has a timeless quality that resonates with each new generation. The countless lupines that bloom along the coast of Maine are the legacy of the real Miss Rumphius, the Lupine Lady, who scattered lupine seeds everywhere she went. Miss Rumphius received the American Book Award in the year of publication.

Judy Moody Saves the World! by Megan McDonald

Judy Moody did not set out to save the world.

She set out to win a contest. A Band-Aid contest.

It all started with the Crazy-Strip contest - and the dream that she, Judy Moody, might one day see her very own adhesive-bandage design covering the scraped knees of thousands. But when her "Heal the World" motif merits only an honorable mention, Judy Moody realizes it’s time to set her sights on something bigger. Class 3T is studying the environment, and Judy is amazed to learn about the destruction of the rain forest, the endangered species (not) in her own backyard, and her own family’s crummy recycling habits. Now she’s in a mood to whip the planet into shape - or her name isn’t Judy Monarch Moody!

Marty McGuire Digs Worms! by Kate Messner

Marty McGuire's third-grade class has a special assignment: Save the Earth! Even more exciting, the best project wins a special award. Marty's pretty sure her classmates' ideas won't stand a chance against her plan to turn the garbage from the school cafeteria into fertilizer. All she needs is a little help from her teammate and best friend, Annie--and the worms in her grandma's garden.

But it turns out that worms are awfully SLOW eaters. And when the critters escape, the whole class starts grumbling. Can Marty save the Earth without losing her friends?

Bushfire! Bindi's Wildlife Adventures by Bindi Irwin

While on an early morning bushwalk, Bindi and her best friend, Rosie, notice smoke on the horizon. It's a bushfire! As the girls watch, hot winds fan the flames, spreading the fire across the national park. The girls rush to volunteer at the Australian Wildlife Hospital caring for victims of the fire. Can they save a mama koala and her baby joey?

Justine McKeen Eat Your Beets by Sigmund Brouwer

Meet Justine McKeen, the Queen of Green. She talks a little too much, bosses a little too much and tells the truth, just not all at once. She's trying to save the planet, one person at a time, and when she decides to get something done, it's a lot of fun.

In the fourth book of the Justine McKeen series, Justine finds a stray cat and her kittens living off food in the school Dumpster. Eager to reduce waste and save animals in need, Justine comes up with a plan. Can she convince grumpy Mr. Raymond, the cafeteria manager, to put her plan into action?

Kupe and the Corals by Jacqueline L. Padilla-Gamiño

Kupe and the Corals is the story of Kupe, a young boy who undertakes an amazing voyage of discovery to learn about corals and the importance of coral reefs to all of the many animals that depend upon them. One night while he is fishing with his father, Kupe observes an astonishing event, thousands and thousands of tiny “bubbles” rising to the surface of the waters in the lagoon near where he lives. Kupe is amazed by this sight and wants to learn more about the “strange pink bubbles” that he has captured in an old jam jar. Kupe visits with an elder from his village and a scientist from the nearby marine lab in an attempt to learn more about what he has seen. During his conversations, Kupe learns that what he has captured are tiny coral larvae, baby corals that are produced in the millions over just a few nights each year by the adult corals living in the lagoon. Kupe then goes on to learn more about how corals grow and the importance of corals in building the reefs that provide homes for all of the other wonderful animals that he sees while snorkeling in the lagoon. Now, realizing how important the larvae he has captured are to the health of the coral reef, Kupe happily returns his larvae to the sea.

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

Everybody loves Mother Paula’s pancakes. Everybody, that is, except the colony of cute but endangered owls that live on the building site of the new restaurant. Can the awkward new kid and his feral friend prank the pancake people out of town? Or is the owls’ fate cemented in pancake batter?

The Vegetable Museum by Michelle Mulder

Thirteen-year-old Chloë left her whole life back in Montreal, including her mom and her best friend. Now she's stuck in Victoria with her dad and her estranged grandfather, Uli, who recently had a stroke. When Chloë agrees to help Uli look after his garden, she's determined to find out why he and her dad didn't speak to each other for years.

For decades Uli has collected seeds from people in the community, distinct varieties that have been handed down through generations. The result is a garden full of unusual and endangered produce, from pink broccoli to blue kale to purple potatoes.

But Chloë learns that the garden will soon be destroyed to make way for a new apartment complex. And the seed collection is missing! Chloë must somehow find a way to save her grandfather's legacy.

Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers

Oliver Jeffers, arguably the most influential creator of picture books today, offers a rare personal look inside his own hopes and wishes for his child--and in doing so gifts children and parents everywhere with a gently sweet and humorous missive about our world and those who call it home.

Insightfully sweet, with a gentle humor and poignancy, here is Oliver Jeffers' user's guide to life on Earth. He created it specially for his son, yet with a universality that embraces all children and their parents. Be it a complex view of our planet's terrain (bumpy, sharp, wet), a deep look at our place in space (it’s big), or a guide to all of humanity (don’t be fooled, we are all people).