Books focus on our planet

Nationally syndicated, Kendal Rautzhan writes and lectures on children's literature. She can be reached via e-mail: kendal@sunlink.net.

April 07, 2007 Last Updated: April 07, 2007 01:37 PM Community

This year on April 22, Earth Day will be celebrated for the 37th consecutive year.

Begun in 1970, the efforts of Earth Day have expanded to reach a global network. With more than 15,000 partners and organizations in 174 countries, more than 500 million people participate in Earth Day activities, making it the largest secular civic event in the world.

This year the focus for Earth Day is "A Call for Action on Climate Change." Scientists around the world agree that global warming is real and one of the primary threats to life on our planet.

Each of us can do something. Our collective efforts, both in our individual behaviors and in pressuring our elected officials to enact the right laws will make a difference. Involve children with knowledge and activities (see reviewed books below and log on to www.earthday.net and www.earthdaynetwork.tv to learn more). The world our children inherit has everything to do with how we care for the Earth today.

The following book is available at many public libraries."Pi-shu the little panda" written and illustrated by John Butler; Peachtree; 32 pages; read aloud: age 4 and older; read yourself: age 7 to 8 and older.Pi-shu the baby panda lives with his mother in the forested slopes of Misty Mountain in central China. When Pi-shu was born, he was no bigger than one of the black patches around his mother's eyes. As Pi-shu grows, he learns important lessons about survival.One day while scampering through the forest Pi-shu is startled by strange, loud noises. Peering out through thick ferns, Pi-shu sees people for the first time. They are cutting down the forest. Frightened, he quickly returns to his mother. Aware that their habitat is no longer safe, mother and son embark on a long, hard journey in search of a new home that will enable them to survive.Beautifully written and illustrated, this tender story of the endangered giant pandas is certain to touch readers on several important levels.

Library: Prospect Community Library, ProspectLibrary Director: Jeanne SarneseChoices this week: "The Monster Under Alex's Bed" by Angelika Glitz; "A Porcupine Named Fluffy" by Helen Lester; "Down by the Cool Pond" by Tony Mitton

The following books are available at favorite bookstores."An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming" by Al Gore; Viking/Rodale, 2007; 192 pages; $16 paperback; read aloud: age 10 to 11 and older; read yourself: age 11 to 12 and older.Al Gore's bestselling book has been adapted for a younger audience and is available on April 10 in bookstores everywhere.Through clear language and more than 100 images, graphs and color photographs, Gore illuminates the crisis that is happening to our planet today.The first step to solving global warming is to be informed, and this selection does that, making this book indispensable for young and old alike."Turtle Summer: A Journal for my Daughter" by Mary Alice Monroe; photos and illustrations by Barbara J. Bergwerf; Sylvan Dell, 2007; 32 pages; $15.95 hardcover; $8.95 paperback; read aloud: age 5 to 9; read yourself: age 8 to 9.Written as a scrapbook journal by a mother to her daughter, readers learn about loggerhead sea turtles. From nesting cycles and human participation in protecting the nests, the Sea Turtle Hospital, watching the sea turtles hatch, and the natural life along the southeastern coast, this scientifically accurate book is both engaging and informative.