Books for Kids on the Environment

As the mother of three littlies, I do my fair share of reading picture books out loud each day, so I'm always on the look out for new and interesting books that have some sort of theme that I'd like to discuss further with the girls. Especially, of course, anything to do with nature and the caring for our environment. They make for much nicer birthday presents than the majority of plastic rubbish you can find in the chain stores these days.

So I thought I would share the 2007 Environment Award for Children's Literature winners with you:

Picture Book winner: Uno's Garden by Graeme Base

I think almost everyone has at least one Graeme Base book in their kid's collection, they have such gorgeous, rich illustrations. I haven't read through this one yet, but it sounds up to the usual standard. It explores "the importance of striking a balance between development and conservation of nature" according the review I read.

Non-Fiction winner: Leaf Litter : Exploring the Mysteries of a Hidden World by Rachel Tonkin

The Wilderness Society website says: "Imagine sitting under a gum tree and discovering an astonishing new world of interconnection and unexpected beauty. This outstanding book will provide readers with hours of entertainment searching for the things described, while giving a superb demonstration of the interdependence of all life". Excellent for older children.

Previous winners of the Environment Award can be found here at The Wilderness Society website.

Of course, I can't go on without mentioning the children's environmental classic, The Lorax by Dr Suess. If you want to see the cartoon (with singing!) version of The Lorax, check it out on Google video, here. Cute :-)

For more good kids books ideas, you can also check out these Aussie online shop links:
* Biome
* Friends of the Earth Melbourne
* Planet Ark Direct
* EcoAtHome
* The Environment Shop