Earth Day
April 22, 2022 - Happy Earth Day, everyone! To celebrate, I’ve put together a small list of books about our planet, its inhabitants, and humanity’s efforts to protect this wonderful world we live in.
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
Carson’s book about the insecticide DDT was an immediate bestseller in 1962 and became a watershed publication. Silent Spring brought awareness about the relationship between pollution and public health to the American public in a way no other book had done before.
Ponto describes the history and traditions of Earth Day and offers a craft and recipe for kids to try at home.
We are Water Protectors by Carol Lindstrom
When a black snake threatens to destroy the Earth and poison her people's water, one young water protector takes a stand to defend Earth's most sacred resource. This Caldecott Award winner was inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America and issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth's water from harm and corruption.
Fresh Banana Leaves by Jessica Hernandez
Hernandez, Maya Ch'orti' and Zapotec environmental scientist and founder of environmental agency Piña Soul, introduces and contextualizes Indigenous environmental knowledge and proposes a vision of land stewardship that heals rather than displaces, that generates rather than destroys.
Can Poetry Save the Earth? by John Felstiner
Felstiner explores the rich legacy of poems that take nature as their subject and demonstrates their force and beauty. In our own time of environmental crises, poetry has a unique capacity to restore our attention to our environment in its imperiled state. And, as we take heed, we may well become better stewards of the earth.
Protecting Pollinators by Jodi Helmer
We are all about the bees here at the Camas Library and Protecting Pollinators reminds readers of the magic of all pollinators - not only the iconic monarch and dainty hummingbird, but also the drab hawk moth and homely bats. Without pollinators, the world would be a duller, blander place; Helmer shows how we can make sure they are always fluttering, soaring, and buzzing around us.
Visit earthday.org for more information about this global celebration. For more books about Earth Day and environmental activism, check out our booklist here.
Maria Martin
Library Associate
