Teaching Cultural Compassion
Caring about Climate Change
Tomorrow, October 12, I will be talking to a Climate Café community hosted by Faiths4Future about the intersection between my work on diverse picture books and their work with faith communities and climate change advocacy. Unfortunately, that intersection is easier than one would think--the same kids who rarely see themselves in picture books are the same kids (and adults) most likely to be adversely affected by climate catastrophe!
So I'll be sharing with them my personal favorite books about Creation Appreciation and Climate Advocacy that can be used in secular or faith based situations when talking to kids about why we should be advocates for our environment. Click the links in this paragraph for printable .pdf flyers of my top 5 little kid books and top 5 big kid books in each of those categories!
If you would like to join us for the free webinar and discussion, there's still time to register! We will meet at 2pmET/11amPT, click here to register.* I'd love to see you!
You can also find those lists on my bookshop.org affiliate page by clicking here. Reminder that I will receive a small commission for books purchased through my list links.
Earth Day Everyday
Depending on your social circles, you either recognized Earth Day or maybe even Earth Month last month. But many of you also know that climate change is real and that we as humans can do something about it.... if we pay attention. In order to help you have those conversations with kiddos, I would love to suggest some of my current favorite books.
We Are Water Protectors made history as a multi-award winning book, but mostly as the first Caldecott award won by an American Indian woman! Its story of an Ojibwe girl fighting against the Dakota Access Pipeline and the lesson about what it does to the land is truly inspiring. Carole Lindstrom and Michaela Goade are the dream team to tell this story.
The Bear's Garden is based on the true story of how small actions can lead to big change -- in this case, a community garden in Brooklyn. Based on a true story, author Marcie Colleen takes us on the adventure of a community who is brave enough to come together. Illustrator Alison Oliver lends her endless whimsy to this tale to make it larger than life!
One Earth by Eileen Spinelli is a creative way to bring simple lessons to even the youngest audience. By simply counting from one to ten and back again, Spinelli and illustrator Rogério Coelho remind us why our planet is so special on the way up and what we can do to keep it that way on the way back down!
Seeds of Change is the only biography on this list, but any conversation about starting small but making a huge impact for the world simply MUST include Wangari Maathai. Sonia Lynn Sadler uses her scratchboard style to bring Jen Cullerton Johnson's words to life in the story of this Nobel Peace Prize Winning Kenyan female scientist!!
Rainbow Weaver/Tejedora Del Arcoiris is another story of how to help in your own community and start major change. Through the story of a little girl in Guatemala who wants to weave like her mother, Linda Elovitz Marshall tells of a community who began to see beauty in the refuse around them. Elisa Chavarri's innovative illustrations mix drawings with bits of real cloth to give a true sense of the beauty this community creates!
My Wounded Island is a story about the harsh reality of how climate change is already affecting some communities. From the perspective of an Inuit girl, we learn about how the way of life for an entire community is disrupted by the rising water around them. Jacques Pasquet and Marion Arbona are the perfect team to get to the true heart of this reality.
I hope that these books inspire you and give you language to discuss our beautiful planet with your little ones.
We only have this one! We'd better take care of it!
