As an author and an environmental scientist, I believe in the power of storytelling to help make the world a kinder, greener place. I love stories that advocate for hope in the face of the climate crisis, encouraging readers to learn more and be part of driving positive change. When I’m not busy writing or researching, I like to read books that celebrate the beauty of nature and provide guidance for protecting natural ecosystems. If you care deeply about environmental causes – or just want to start learning more – these books are a great place to start!
This book makes botany accessible, intertwining Indigenous wisdom with scientific insights to demonstrate the magic of the natural world.
I love the lyricism of this book and the way its storytelling approach transcends genres, engaging readers from all walks of life. I learned so much from Kimmerer’s detailed descriptions and her unique philosophy on environmental education.
Called the work of "a mesmerizing storyteller with deep compassion and memorable prose" (Publishers Weekly) and the book that, "anyone interested in natural history, botany, protecting nature, or Native American culture will love," by Library Journal, Braiding Sweetgrass is poised to be a classic of nature writing. As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer asks questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces indigenous teachings that consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers. Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take "us on a journey that is…
This is a story of activism, following nine main characters and their shared commitment to protecting the forests and the trees.
My favourite thing about this book is its representation of diversity. The narrative highlights the varied experiences of people from all backgrounds, and yet those vastly different people join together in pursuit of a central environmental goal.
I think this book really stands as a call to action, a reminder that environmental activism is a space for everyone.
The Overstory, winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, is a sweeping, impassioned work of activism and resistance that is also a stunning evocation of-and paean to-the natural world. From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, Richard Powers's twelfth novel unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fables that range from antebellum New York to the late twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. There is a world alongside ours-vast, slow, interconnected, resourceful, magnificently inventive, and almost invisible to us. This is the story of a handful of people who learn how to see…
Twelve-year-old identical twins Ellie and Kat accidentally trigger their physicist mom’s unfinished time machine, launching themselves into a high-stakes adventure in 1970 Chicago. If they learn how to join forces and keep time travel out of the wrong hands, they might be able find a way home. Ellie’s gymnastics and…
This book is an ode to the Natural History Museum’s extensive collection.
The book includes poems of all kinds, focusing on everything from earth systems to planetary science to the age of the dinosaurs. I loved reading so broadly across topics and appreciating a range of unique poetic styles.
For me, reading this book really was like wandering through the museum halls and searching for hidden treasures.
1
author picked
Wonder
as one of their favorite books, and they share
why you should read it.
This book is for kids age
8,
9,
10, and
11.
What is this book about?
Wonder: The Natural History Museum Poetry Book is a beautiful gift hardback collection of poetry with poems inspired by The Natural History Museum.
It covers everything from the depths of space to the very centre of the earth - there are poems about the solar system, planet earth, oceans and rivers, birds, dinosaurs, fossils, wildlife, flowers, fungi, insects, explorers and palaeontologists. Each section includes an introduction and some footnotes about particularly interesting species.
The museum has a collection of over eighty million objects and behind the scenes of its twenty-eight galleries crowd kilometres of preserved specimens, libraries of rare books…
Written as middle-grade fiction yet loved by readers of all ages, The Last Bear follows main character April and her unlikely best friend – a stranded polar bear – on a journey through the climate-damaged Arctic.
This book was such a joy. I loved learning more about the world’s northernmost settlement and discovering the plight of polar bears in a quickly warming world.
Despite the heavy subject matter, the story was refreshingly hopeful, Gold’s thoughtful writing joining forces with Levi Pinfold’s stunning illustrations to depict a world well worth saving.
Imagine making friends with a polar bear... The Last Bear is perfect for readers of 8+, beautifully illustrated throughout by Levi Pinfold - winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal and illustrator of Harry Potter 20th anniversary edition covers.
WINNER OF THE 2022 BLUE PETER BOOK AWARD WINNER OF THE 2022 WATERSTONES CHILDREN'S BOOK PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR CHILDREN'S FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS 2022 SHORTLISTED FOR THE INDIE BOOK AWARDS 2022
"This is an important first novel, important for us, for polar bears, for the planet. It is deeply moving, beautifully told, quite unforgettable." Michael Morpurgo.…
In an underground coal mine in Northern Germany, over forty scribes who are fluent in different languages have been spared the camps to answer letters to the dead—letters that people were forced to answer before being gassed, assuring relatives that conditions in the camps were good.
Set in near-future Melbourne, Future Girl offers such a unique and original take on environment and sustainability.
Not many books focus on environmentalism from a food security perspective, so this was a really innovative read. I enjoyed reading about the practicalities of cultivating food crops in intensely urban landscapes, and I loved that the story was accompanied by the author’s own journal-style artwork.
The book also featured a deaf main character, thoughtfully and authentically depicting the disabled experience.
Piper's mum wants her to be 'normal', to pass as hearing and get a good job. But when peak oil hits and Melbourne lurches towards environmental catastrophe, Piper has more important things to worry about, such as how to get food.
When she meets Marley, a CODA (child of Deaf adult), a door opens into a new world - where Deafness is something to celebrate rather than hide, and where resilience is created through growing your own food rather than it being delivered on a truck.
As she dives into learning Auslan, sign language that is exquisitely beautiful and expressive,…
A Song for the Earth is a lyrical novel in verse designed to offer hope and empowerment in the climate crisis.
The wide, wild world is made of wonder, but as climate change reinvents the landscape, rich ecosystems are under threat. On a journey through Earth's major biomes, January learns the plight of the planet. Armed with the power of a voice made for poetry, she turns her lyrics into a call for action. Is it enough to write a song for the earth and ask the world to sing along?
In an underground coal mine in Northern Germany, over forty scribes who are fluent in different languages have been spared the camps to answer letters to the dead—letters that people were forced to answer before being gassed, assuring relatives that conditions in the camps were good.
Tina Edwards loved her childhood and creating fairy houses, a passion shared with her father, a world-renowned architect. But at nine years old, she found him dead at his desk and is haunted by this memory. Tina's mother abruptly moved away, leaving Tina with feelings of abandonment and suspicion.
