Earth Day is a time to celebrate our planet and learn about the ways that we can take care of it.  An important aspect of this is cultivating a connection to the environment and natural world around us. What better way to accomplish this with children than through books about nature?  Children can learn concepts that help develop a curiosity about nature and science from books about nature and the environment.  These books can provide a window into the natural world, especially for children growing up in urban environments where access to nature is not as readily available. As a child, I loved reading about camping adventures, learning about animals and plants, and seeing depictions of environments different from the suburban coastal landscape where I grew up.  These books inspired me to not only get outside and explore the nature around me, but also to take care of our planet. To celebrate Earth Day this year, here are a few of our favorite children’s books about nature.

Call Me Tree/Llamame arbol by Maya Cristina Gonzalez

This bilingual English/Spanish book is written by Bay Area author Maya Cristina Gonzalez.  The colorful and whimsical illustrations explore our connection to nature and compare the human body to that of a tree. The book considers the ideas of belonging and individual expression from the perspective of a tree.  We may each be one of many trees in a forest but we all have our distinct features. There are many opportunities for incorporating movement when sharing this book like reaching and swaying like a tree. This is a great book to help children feel a connection with nature and consider their relationship to the environment.

Because of an Acorn by Lola M. Schaefer and Adam Schaefer, illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon

This book explores the importance of small things and how everything in nature has a role to play.  The concept of the ecosystem is introduced and through simple text and beautiful illustrations, we learn about the interconnectedness of plants and animals in nature.  This is a great book to introduce new plant and animal vocabulary, such as hawk, chipmunk and forest. There is also a helpful glossary of terms and tips for caring for our environment at the end of the book.  This book might inspire you to think about the role that other plants and animals (including humans) play in sustaining our ecosystem- even pesky bugs like flies and mosquitoes!

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert

This is book features photos of objects and paper cutouts instead of illustrations. It inspires many art activity possibilities like collecting fallen leaves and using them for tracing, creating prints, making animals, etc.  When sharing this book with a child there are many new vocabulary words to introduce as well as many action words to incorporate movement such as “twirling”, “whirling” and “uprooting”. This book is a great introduction to the concept of gardening and planting a tree.  It describes the process of growth and also how the different seasons are reflected in nature. This story also features a relationship between a father and child who work together to plant a tree to enjoy for years to come- a wonderful idea for a shared activity on Earth Day!