nature

Quiet

Sophie Rosen , , ,

dePaola, Tomie. Quiet. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2018.
“Hurry up! Be quick!” Sometimes it seems every day is filled with “Can’t you go faster?” What about being quiet and still? What about observing? What about taking time to sit and think? In this peaceful picture book, a grandfather takes two grandchildren on a walk and shows them how nature is sometimes busy and sometimes still. The simple calm green text and soft pastel-coloured illustrations combine to create a timeless reminder for all ages.

More stories of nature for Earth Day on April 22nd

More stories about grandparents

Tomie dePaola wrote and illustrated more than 200 picture books during his lifetime and won multiple awards including the Caldecott Medal and John Newbery Medal. He was born in Connecticut in September of 1934 and died in New Hampshire in March of 2020. You might like to borrow his books from your local library or buy them from your favourite bookstore. All are worth reading over and over again.

Wonder Walkers

Sophie Rosen , ,

Archer, Micha. Wonder Walkers. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2021.
Gorgeous double-page illustrations help tell this story of two children on a nature walk. Minimal text – in the form of imaginative questions – will inspire students to see the world with fresh eyes. Teachers will want to use the story to introduce personification. Artists will be reminded of all the colours in Brian Wildsmith’s picture books. A 2022 Caldecott Honor Book. Highly recommended!

More picture books for writers

More picture books for artists

More Caldecott books

Stand Like a Cedar

Sophie Rosen , ,

Campbell, Nicola I. Stand Like a Cedar. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Highwater Press, 2021.
Spring. Summer, Autumn. Winter. Walking through the woods, children learn about nature and all it has to teach us. Written in English, Nłe7kepmxcín, and Halq’emeylem – and accompanied by a glossary and pronunciation guide – this quietly respectful and life-affirming picture book will provoke reflection and encourage gratitude. Highly recommended for readers 7 years old and up. (P.S.: All stories by Nicola Campbell are worth reading. All gently encourage empathy and celebrate nature.)

More indigenous stories

More stories for Earth Day

Let’s Get Gardening

Sophie Rosen ,

Let’s Get Gardening: 30 Easy Gardening Projects for Children. New York: DK Publishing, 2019.
Nonfiction books by DK are always beautifully designed and this 128-page hardcover book is no expection. It’s a joyous introduction to planting vegetables, designing containers and welcoming nature into the garden. From growing herbs and sunflowers to building planters from eggshells and creating bee hotels, a multitude of ideas are illustrated with step-by-step coloured photos in this cheerful book for readers 8 to 12 years old.

What Grew in Larry’s Garden

Sophie Rosen , ,

Alary, Laura. What Grew in Larry’s Garden. Toronto: Kids Can Press, 2020.
Gardens bring friendship and understanding. They build goodwill in a world often filled with fear and loneliness. This quietly gentle picture book illustrated by Kass Reich is based on the true story of a Toronto schoolteacher who showed his students how to grow tomato plants and share them with others. “We can figure this out,” he says over and over again to his young neighbour Grace when problems arise. Highly recommended for gardeners of all ages.

More stories of gardens 

More stories about our natural world

More stories of friendship

Picture book memoirs

A Stone Sat Still

Sophie Rosen , ,

Wenzel, Brendan. A Stone Sat Still. San Francisco, California : Chronicle Books LLC, 2019.
A stone is a pebble to a moose and mountain to a snail. A wild place to some but a home for others. A dark rock in the night until the moonlight shines upon it. In this beautiful picture book, a stone is depicted from many different perspectives while all the while remaining steadily the same. A lovely book – in rhyming verse – to share with preschoolers, it is perhaps even more valuable as a way to start a conversation about life. Most highly recommended for all ages.

“Not enough people in this world, I think, carry a cosmic perspective with them. It could be life-changing.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson 

“I believe everyone should have a broad picture of how the universe operates and our place in it. It is a basic human desire. And it also puts our worries in perspective.” – Stephen Hawking

“It’s useful to go out of this world and see it from the perspective of another one.” – Terry Pratchett

“To the world you may be one person; but to one person you may be the world.” – Dr. Seuss

More picture books in rhyming verse 

More philosophical books

Full of life…

Sophie Rosen , , ,

Davies, Nicola. Many: the Diversity of Life on Earth. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press, 2017.

Another wonderful picture book from Candlewick Press. The author, a zoologist, explains the complexity of life in simple sentences that even the youngest of readers will understand. The illustrator elaborates with detailed and labelled drawings that will interest even the oldest of readers. Highly recommended for everyone.

More books for Earth Day