Earth Day Children's Books – Popular Characters

Berenstain Bears, Little Critter, Charlie and Lola, Curious George

Apr 16, 2009

Review of Earth Day children's picture books starring the Berenstain Bears, Little Critter, Charlie and Lola, Curious George, and Clifford the Big Red Dog

Use Earth Day children's picture books starring well-known characters from popular children's literature like the Berenstain Bears, Little Critter, Charlie and Lola, Curious George, and Clifford the Big Red Dog to entertain kids while teaching them about how to clean up the planet, recycle, and conserve natural resources.

One of the series of Berenstain Bears books by Stan and Jan Berenstain, The Berenstain Bears Don't Pollute (Anymore) [Random House, 1991] addresses how the children of a community can work together to convince adults to help their local environment by stopping pollution and waste.

While working on a report about endangered species, Brother Bear learns about the effect of pollution on animal habitats. This Berenstain Bears book teaches about animal needs, causes of pollution, deforestation, and the responsibility of each generation to preserve the planet for the next. Inspired by Sister Bear and Brother Bear, kids that read this children's book about pollution can start their own Earthsavers Club and follow some of the suggestions for starting recycling programs and trying to convince grown-ups to pass laws to stop or limit pollution.

It's Earth Day! [HarperFestival, 2008] is an entry in the children's book series The New Adventures of Little Critter by Mercer Mayer. After learning about global warming from a film at school, Little Critter sets out to do what he can to stop polar ice from melting and save the polar bears. This Little Critter book mixes in some characteristically funny moments (like Little Critter's dad tripping over furniture after Little Critter turns out all the lights to save energy and Little Critter inventing a machine to try to cool the climate himself) with information about practical actions kids can take to help save natural resources, like turning off water and lights, recycling materials, and planting trees.

Another children's book about recycling, the Charlie and Lola book We Are Extremely Good Recyclers by Lauren Child [Dial, 2009] tells how Lola is inspired to clean her messy room after seeing the disastrously messy room of her friend's older brother. Her older brother Charlie teaches her that she can recycle her old toys instead of throwing them out, and soon Charlie and Lola and their friends are recycling tin cans, plastic items, and paper to win a recycling contest so they can plant a tree.

This environmentally friendly children's book is printed on FSC-approved paper and lists kid-friendly recycling tips in checklist form on the inside covers. A poster version of the tree counter Charlie and Lola use (with outlines of leaves for kids to fill) is included with the book.

In the Earth Day children's book Curious George Plants a Tree by H.A. Rey [Houghton Mifflin, 2009], Curious George learns about the importance of recycling from a science museum exhibit. Soon his good intentions go too far and he starts trying to recycle paper products that are not ready to be recycled yet, like stacks of brand-new newspapers! Luckily, the owners of these products are happy to pitch in and plant trees once they follow Curious George to the big recycling rally and see what Curious George is doing.

Printed with environmentally friendly soy inks on paper approved by the Forestry Stewardship Council, this Curious George book concludes with a list of child-friendly "Living Green" tips.

Early readers may also like an eco-friendly Curious George book adapted from an episode of the Curious George television show. In Curious George Plants a Seed by H.A. Rey [Houghton Mifflin, 2007] Curious George grows a sunflower from a seed.

In Clifford's Spring Clean-Up by Norman Bridwell [Cartwheel, 1997], Clifford the Big Red Dog helps spring clean Emily Elizabeth's house and transform a trash-strewn neighborhood vacant lot into a community garden. Of the ideas this Clifford the Big Red Dog book offers for ways kids can celebrate Earth Day, some (cleaning up a yard) will have a more practical effect on the Earth than others (singing a song about plants).

Children can become bored when they are required to memorize dry facts about things to do stop pollution, recycle, and conserve natural resources. Using Earth Day children's books that tell how popular children's book characters learn about Earth Day issues and try to adopt more eco-friendly ways can be a way to keep kids' interest focused so that they, too, can learn how to live green and save the planet.

Teachers and parents searching for good Earth Day children's picture books may also be interested in retellings of Tiddalik the Frog, an Australian folktale about water conservation.

The copyright of the article Earth Day Children's Books – Popular Characters in Picture Books is owned by Renee Carver. Permission to republish Earth Day Children's Books – Popular Characters in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.