Chapter 6: lauren's book list

Children’s Sustainability

Booklist

For younger children:

* Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
A delightful picture book which is an excellent early introduction to the idea of giving of ones self
* A Garden in the City by Gerda Muller
A boy and a girl are faced with carving garden space from the abandoned yard of an old house in the city.  Shows the passage of seasons.
* Two Little Gardeners by Margaret Wise Brown and Edith Thacher Hurd (A Little Golden Book, copyright 1951, now reprinted)
Two young children plant a vegetable garden and tend it through the seasons
* Tiny Green Thumbs by C Z Guest
A little bunny plants a vegetable garden with the help of an older rabbit.  Although they don't use biodynamic techniques, the step-by-step instructions are accurate.
* DiSalvo-Ryan, DyAnne, City Green (Morrow Junior Books, 1994)
A picture book about neighborhood people coming together to make a community garden
* Gibbons, Gail, Recycle (Little, Brown, 1992)
Bright colors, big pictures and simple text explain that we have too much garbage, and explain how certain materials are recycled (paper, glass, cans). Ends with to-do steps.
* Ross, Michael Elsohn Ross and Gustav Moore, Re-Cycles (2003) Describes the water cycle and the compost/carbon cycle accurately and understandably.
* Lavies, Bianca, Compost Critters (Dutton Juvenile 1993) Phenomenal photographs of the things that live in the compost. Guaranteed to draw gasps of "eeew" and astonishment from the whole family.
* Spier, Peter, People (Doubleday, 1990)
Exploring and admiring the diversity of people around the world

For older children:

* Burnett, Graham, Permaculture, A Beginner’s Guide selected portions available online
This illustrated booklet gives a great overview of the concept of Permaculture and the interrelated nature of its concepts. Simple enough to use with older children.
* Taylor, Barbara, How to Save the Planet (Oxford University Press, 2001)
An introduction to many environmental issues such as the ozone hole, the greenhouse effect, water pollution, energy issues, landfill issues. The tone is both realistic and upbeat. It includes experiments and activities as well as suggested action items.  Highly recommended by my 9.5 y.o. assistant reviewer.
* 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do To Save the Earth
Not completely Sustainability-oriented, but an admirable list of positive items well within a kid's ability to act. My 9.5 y.o. assistant reviewer said he was glad he'd read Taylor's How To Save the Planet first, to provide introduction.
* Bang, Molly, Chattanooga Sludge (San Diego : Harcourt Brace, 1996)
A simplified explanation of phytoremediation (cleansing with plants). Although it is a picture book, the text level is advanced, for perhaps 4th grade and up.
* Rybolt, Thomas R, Environmental Experiments About Renewable Energy
a science experiments book about solar power, wind power, how they work.
* Petersen, Christine, Alternative Energy (A True Book series)
Describes Wind, Solar, Biomass and Geothermal energy in simplified but accurate terms.  Highly recommended by my 9.5 y.o. assistant reviewer.
* Sherman, Josepha, Solar Power (FactFinders series)
Takes a more in-depth look at Solar energy than the Petersen book.  Recommended by my 9.5 y.o. assistant reviewer.
* Heifer International http://www.heifer.org/
A charity which embodies the concept “if you teach a man to fish…” by giving livestock and husbandry training to needy families worldwide.  Kids can relate to their materials, which include friendly photos of children with animals.
* Menzel, Peter, et al, Material World: A Global Family Portrait (Sierra Club 1994)
Photographs of families in countries around the world, together with the entirety of their possessions.  A profound visual statement about fairshares and eco-footprint.

For parents of children:

* Cornell, Joseph, Sharing the Joy of Nature: Nature Activities for all ages
Ideas for enriching a nature walk, guiding attention in to observation.
* Sheehan, Kathryn and Mary Waidner, Earth Child: Games, Stories, Activities, Experiments & Ideas About Living Lightly on Planet Earth (Tulsa, OK: Council Oak Books, 1991)
from earth celebrations, to trees and gardens, seasons and extinctions, a multidimensional approach to honoring the connection between people and the earth
* Milord, Susan, The Kids' Nature Book: 365 Indoor/Outdoor Activities & Experiences (Charlotte, VT: Williamson Publishing, 1996)
Activities for all seasons, from leaf rubbings, to planting seeds, to cloud observations and seasonal poems.
* Guinness, Bunny, Creating a Family Garden (Abbeville Press, 1996)
Garden designs which integrate the needs of all family members:  children's play spaces, adult quiet retreats, pets, compost, vegetable beds.  The gardens in the photos are not edible landscaping gardens, however the design concepts remain helpful.
* A good collection of nature guides for your local area: birds, insects, butterflies, small animals, wildflowers, edible native plants. These can be collected from local parks, natural history museums, local used bookstores.  (For the Los Angeles area, see recommendations at the end of this article or at Backyard Wildlife Habitats page)

Another environmental booklist for children was compiled by members of the Environmenal Change-Makers in Oct. 2006 and is online here.

“How do we immerse our children – the adults of the next generation – in to anything other than more when we presently live in a ‘more’ culture?

“Number One: Be it. Live it yourselves, live greener values, greener practices within your family home: Simple Living, less Stuff, green products, Sufficiency, Tolerance, an inner sense of well-being. The way to transform future generations is to begin the process now, instill it as the norm in their growing years. To do that, we as parents must make the uncomfortable changes – because all change is by human nature uncomfortable – in our lives, modeling this for our children.

“Number Two: Do with them. Teach hands-on skills. Get their hands in contact with the earth. Grow a garden of edible fruits and vegetables so that they can learn to nurture living plants, and eat the product of their labors. Teach them how to repair household items. If you don’t know how, learn, and let them see you learning. Teach them how to cook, from paring fresh vegetables, on through to a finished dish for the family table. Take them to community service projects and wildlands cleanup events. Seek social outreach projects that are kid-appropriate. Take them in small groups – ones and twos – out to natural spaces, our wilder parks, just to be in the bosom of the planet, removed from the city confines created by man. Listen, smell, observe together.

“Number Three: Talk with them. Explain these things to your kids as you do them. As you take out the recycling, celebrate that this bucket is that much more we can divert from our landfills and why this is important. Explain to them the idea of limited world resources. Explain to them why mass-transit or alternatively fueled vehicles are preferable to the gasoline-fueled internal combustion engine. Explain to them the concept of renewable energy sources as contrasted with nonrenewables. Let them know why it is preferable to choose a reusable container for their bag lunches rather than a disposable plastic baggie. Put them in charge of carrying the reusable canvas bags to market, and explain to them why it is wiser. Take them to farmer’s markets, let them see the health of the bounty before them, let them talk with the growers, have them taste-test a fruit grown to ripeness locally versus a supermarket fruit preharvested and warehouse ripened during shipping and storage. Take them to local businesses where they meet the vendors, as contrasted with warehouse chain stores where the hourly clerks feel no connection to the product for sale. Read to them about sustainable lifestyles. In short, immerse them in sustainable whys.

“Immersion. It’s the best way to teach languages and it’s the best way to teach greener living.”

Lauren's L.A. Future Fair lecture
From Chapter 6 of Legacy

Photo credits: Flag display by Michael Sloenecker, Windermere, FL; Best Friends Forever by Patti Gray, Kewanee, IL; Sisters and Friends by Melissa Gutierrez, Geneva, Switzerland; children by Jean Tracewell Photography, Santa Ana, CA; Child close up 2 by Gina Meyers, Los Angeles, CA; Friendship by R. Burgos S., San Jose, Costa Rica.