Books all about loving our planet – and looking after it!

We've gathered some of our favourite books which celebrate the beauty of Earth and give our children (and us) an understanding of how to care for it. This zero waste week, why not see if you can borrow one of these, or another book about our world, from your local library. If that’s not practical for you, you can still enjoy new books without buying new by shopping second-hand, or arranging a book-swap with some friends. 

Change Starts with Us by Sophie Beer 

The importance of the place we live, and what we can do to look after it, is brought to life by the colourful illustrations in this sturdy book. The text is simple, naming one thing that can help the planet on each page. From saving water, to shopping local, to learning about the world there are lots of ideas to talk about with older toddlers and children. Babies will enjoy the bright pictures and spotting lots of silly details that will make everyone smile – look out for the baby with pants on their head!  

This is part of a series, with other books celebrating family, kindness and friendship, so if you enjoy it there will be plenty more books to borrow over time. 

Eco warriors: Discover Amazing People illustrated by Nila Aye

We love any book with an interactive slider – and this sturdy one in the ‘My First Heroes’ series brings all the fun while sharing stories about some of the people trying to make our planet a better place to live.  

Learn all about David Attenborough and his quest to bring nature into people’s lives, find out how Greta Thunberg travels the world raising awareness of climate change, discover how Isatou Cessay is reducing plastic waste in Gambia and see how John Muir encouraged more people to look after the nature around them.  

Dear Earth by Isabel Otter and Clara Anganuzzi 

This gorgeously illustrated picture book is the story of a little girl called Tessa, who is inspired by her grandpa to write a letter to the Earth talking about all the things she hopes to see or do. The illustrations take you on a dreamy journey to all corners of the planet where you can join Tessa in all kinds of adventures – from swimming with fish in the depths of the ocean, to soaring with birds, to sliding down desert dunes.  

Sharing the story can inspire all kinds of conversation, not only about places you have been with your child but also about the possibilities out there which they can discover in the future – building that important sense of belonging which will help them look after the earth as they grow.  

Somebody Swallowed Stanley by Sarah Roberts and Hannah Peck

Stanley is a stripey plastic bag who finds himself swept into the ocean... and mistaken for a jellyfish! On his underwater journey poor Stanley is swallowed again and again by unsuspecting animals – and reading about his adventures becomes very interactive as each time the story lets your chid guess just who has gobbled him up this time. They will love shouting out their guess based on clues about what the animal looks like.  

Find out how Stanley gets out of the water, and what might have happened to the animals he meets if he hadn’t been removed from the ocean. This is a brilliant story to share if you want to talk to your child about reusing items, or recycling them into other useful things to avoid sending them to landfill or littering.  

Clean up! by Nathan Byron and Dapo Adeola

Rocket is off to visit her family in Jamaica, and can’t wait to dive into the ocean but when she arrives she finds that plastic has been washing up on the beaches and harming sea animals. With her can-do attitude, and some help from friends and family, Rocket organises a clean up crew to help her clear the beach and make plans to stop the pollution as much as possible in the future.  

This picture book is full of joy and hope, and hilarious illustrations, alongside its important message about ocean plastic. It will inspire your family to think about small changes to make close to home and how they can help the whole planet over time.  

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