In honor of National Book Month, we at NCIPL have compiled this list of books dealing with climate and environmental issues for children and young adults. Here you will find resources to educate the kids in your life about climate change, stories about environmental heroes and she-roes to inspire the youth in your world, and resources to help you and your family mobilize and take action to protect our one and only home.

Books connecting faith and ecology, in addition to a few texts to empower your teens, have also been included. We know that reading plays an enormous role in learning about our world, and we hope these resources will help guide you and your loved ones through important climate conversations. Happy reading from all of us at NCIPL! 

Educate: Chances are, the children in your life are already learning about climate change and related environmental challenges in school and elsewhere. But learning with you will make this often scary topic a bit less scary. Check out these great texts and consider how you can begin climate conversations in your own home.

1. What is Climate Change? by Gail Herman
2. The Lonely Polar Bear by Khoa Le
3. The Magic School Bus and the Climate Challenge by Joanna Cole
4. Bee & Me by Alison Jay
5. Don’t Let Them Disappear: 12 Endangered Species Across the Globe by Chelsea Clinton
6. Save the Ocean by Bethany Stahl
7. Somebody Swallowed Stanley  by Sarah Roberts
8. A Warmer World: From Polar Bears to Butterflies, How Climate Change Affects Wildlife by Caroline Arnold
9. The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth: Understanding Our World & Its Ecosystems by Rachel Ignotofsky
10. What A Waste: Trash, Recycling, & Protecting Our Planet  by Jess French

Inspire: Consider the incredible work of environmentalists the world over by checking out the below texts! Help the children in your life discover these worthy environmental heroes and she-roes. Doing so will inspire them and give them hope. It will likely do the same for you.

1. Seeds of Change: Wangari’s Gift to the World by Jen Cullerton Johnson
2. Who Was Rachel Carson? By Sarah Fabiny
3. Spring After Spring: How Rachel Carson Inspired the Environmental Movement by Stephanie Roth Sisson
4. Our House is On Fire: Greta Thunberg’s Call to Save the Planet by Jeanette Winter
5. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba & Bryan Mealer
6. Wangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted a Million Trees by Franck Prevot
7. One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia by Miranda Paul
8. Luna & Me: The True Story of a Girl Who Lived in a Tree to Save a Forest by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
9. Greta’s Story: The Schoolgirl Who Went on Strike to Save the Planet by Valentina Camerini
10. The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree Loving Lady Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hawkins

Mobilize: Having learned about climate change and the many challenges facing our world, commit to helping the kids in your life take action in the ways they see fit. There are many ways to work for a more sustainable and just future. These books contain great ideas and starting points for your kids and your family as a whole!

1. Keepers of the Earth: Native American Stories & Environmental Activities for Children by Michael J. Caduto
2. Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies
3. 10 Things I Can Do to Help My World by Melanie Walsh
4. Grow: A Family Guide to Growing Fruits & Vegetables by Ben Raskin
5. Compost: A Family Guide to Making Soil from Scraps by Ben Raskin
6. Don’t Throw That Away by Lara Bergen
7. The EARTH Book by Todd Parr
8. Up in the Garden, and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner
9. Renewable Energy: Discover the Fuel of the Future with 20 Projects by Joshua Sneideman
10. 365 Ways to Live Green by Sheri Amsel

Faith & Environment: While you’re at it, consider adding these texts to your congregational library or incorporating them in your children’s ministry. These are great resources connecting faith and environmental action.

1. Brother Sun, Sister Moon by Katherine Paterson
2. Old Turtle by Douglas Wood
3. Old Turtle and the Broken Truth by Douglas Wood
4. Grandad’s Prayers of the Earth by Douglas Wood

For Teens: These texts would make a great addition to your teen’s library. The first three are written by well-known youth climate activists.  The last text is a parable adopted from Kenyan environmentalist, Wangari Maathai. Share these with the teen in your life and empower them to act on climate.

1. Youth to Power: Your Voice & How to Use It by Jamie Margolin
2. No One is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg
3. We Rise: The Earth Guardians Guide to Building a Movement that Restores the Planet by Xiuhtezcatl Martinez
4. Flight of the Hummingbird: A Parable for the Environment by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas