As a digital subscriber, you’ll receive unlimited access to Horn Book web exclusives and extensive archives, as well as access to our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database.
To access other site content, visit The Horn Book homepage.
To continue you need an active subscription to hbook.com.
Subscribe now to gain immediate access to everything hbook.com has to offer, as well as our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database, which contains tens of thousands of short, critical reviews of books published in the United States for young people.
Thank you for registering. To have the latest stories delivered to your inbox, select as many free newsletters as you like below.
No thanks. Return to article
(2)
K-3
Illustrated by
Jessie Hartland.
What kind of spark is needed to ignite a global movement? In the case of the Earth Day Movement, it was quite literally sparks from a railcar landing in the heavily polluted and quite flammable Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio. "KABOOM!" While not the first time the river had caught fire, this time, as Wittenstein's enlightening text shows, residents had had enough. Spurred on by the activism of the 1960s, they demanded action to clean up the river, and by extension the planet. While young readers may take for granted the concept of environmentalism, the book does an excellent job depicting the nascent moments of the movement that led to the first Earth Day celebration, the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, and legislation such as the Clean Water Act. Hartland's playful gouache paintings shine, reflecting a child's perspective on the events and conveying their emotional significance and ramifications. Back matter consists of a detailed author's note providing additional historical details; a timeline of the environmental movement; a bibliography; and a list of resources where readers can learn more about the Cuyahoga River Fire of 1969, Earth Day, and more about protecting our planet.
Reviewer: Eric Carpenter
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2023
(3)
K-3
Super SandCastle: Super Simple Holidays series.
Each volume in this appealing, child-friendly series begins with a short introduction to the designated holiday and a few of its celebratory customs, followed by directions for nine or ten holiday-related crafts. Projects include garlands, greeting cards, snacks, decorations, and games. Each project includes a materials list (requiring mainly standard craft supplies) and step-by-step instructions; clear photographs helpfully illustrate crucial steps. Glos. Review covers these Super SandCastle: Super Simple Holidays titles: Super Simple Christmas Activities, Super Simple Earth Day Activities, Super Simple Halloween Activities, Super Simple Presidents' Day Activities, Super Simple Thanksgiving Activities, and Super Simple Valentine's Day Activities.
24 pp.
| Child's
| January, 2017
|
LibraryISBN 978-1503816527$27.07
(4)
K-3
Welcome, Spring! series.
These books discuss springtime celebrations important to American culture. Although the brief, choppy texts provide scant information about each holiday, the books can serve as springboards for classroom discussion or further research. The colorful photographs feature children and adults of many ethnicities happily celebrating. Craft projects are included, but the instructions are unclear and adult assistance may be required. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Welcome, Spring! titles: Celebrating Earth Day, Celebrating St. Patrick's Day, and It's Mother's Day!.
(4)
K-3
Readers' Theater: How to Put On a Production series.
Illustrated by
Lucy Fleming.
Geared toward third grade and up, this series offers instructions for mounting readers' theater or stage productions of six holiday-themed scripts with stage directions. In each didactic play, students dramatize collaboration and model successful group work. Introductory matter includes how to handle props, rehearsals, crew responsibilities, and more. Teacher guides with more information and tips are available for download on the publisher's website. Review covers these Readers' Theater: How to Put on a Production titles: Fettuccine and Four-Leaf Clovers, Ghosts and Gummy Worms, Groundhogs and Guinea Pigs, Medals and Memorials, Pickles and Parks, and Turkey and Takeout.
32 pp.
| Kane Press
| March, 2015
|
LibraryISBN 978-1-57565-757-8$25.26
|
PaperISBN 978-1-57565-651-9$7.95
(4)
K-3
Holidays & Heroes series.
Designed to encourage kids to protect and honor their environment, this simply written book briefly recounts the history of Earth Day, touching on customary celebrations as well as the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and important laws. Suggestions are given for ways children can participate in conservation and environmental issues. Color photographs add interest to the lackluster, slightly didactic text.
80 pp.
| Apprentice Shop
| April, 2013
|
TradeISBN 978-0-9842549-9-6$24.95
(4)
4-6
Once, in America series.
Illustrated by
Lisa Greenleaf.
Crotta Brennan's earnest but scattered history of the creation of Earth Day situates the event in the environmental and political issues of twentieth-century America. Historical photographs of environmental conditions in industrial areas plus profiles of Gaylord Nelson, Denis Hayes, and other conservationists highlight the consequences of unregulated pollution and the belief that youth can change the world for the better. Timeline. Glos., ind.
(3)
K-3
Pebble Plus: Let's Celebrate series.
Illustrated with large photographs, these beginning nonfiction books are clear, simple, and very easy to read. Each book relates the holiday's importance and its origin before ending with cursorily related but sufficient ideas for kids' own celebrations. Step-by-step activity instructions--donating to a food bank (King) and starting a recycling program (Earth)--are appended. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Let's Celebrate titles: Earth Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
32 pp.
| Cavendish
| April, 2012
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7614-6109-8$17.99
(3)
PS
Illustrated by
Violet Kim.
A little monkey repeatedly affirms that today--April 22--is his birthday. The other jungle animals, knowing it to be Earth Day, don't believe him, instead relating, in jaunty rhyme, the special things to do for the planet. The misunderstanding is almost beside the point in this entertaining tale with lively mixed-media art, useful for Earth Day celebrations.
(4)
K-3
Cloverleaf Books: Planet Protectors series.
Illustrated by
Xiao Xin.
This series fills a need for accessible books about energy, pollution, and the environment through clear text, cartoony pictures, and suggestions for ways to effect changes in our carbon footprints. The child-narrator voices don't sound authentic and the implication that our environmental problems can be resolved by nagging is simplistic, but kids may be inspired to action. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Cloverleaf Books: Planet Protectors titles: Earth Day Every Day, Go Easy on Energy, Power Up to Fight Pollution, and Watch Over Our Water.
(4)
K-3
I Can Read Book series.
Illustrated by
Aleksey Ivanov
&
Olga Ivanov.
In Earth Day, Nancy inadvertently disrupts her home life in an effort to protect the planet. In School, she has trouble coming up with one hundred "imaginative and fancy" things to share on the hundredth day of school. As always with this somewhat rote series, the tempest-in-a-teapot plots will entertain readers, as will the bedazzling Robin Preiss Glasser–impostor art. Glos. Review covers these I Can Read Book titles: Fancy Nancy: Every Day is Earth Day and Fancy Nancy: The 100th Day of School.
32 pp.
| Heinemann
| August, 2006
|
LibraryISBN 1-4034-8884-3$25.36
|
PaperISBN 1-4034-8897-5$7.99 New ed. (2002)
(4)
K-3
Holiday Histories series.
This updated series presents brief, easy-to-read introductions to several American holidays. Each book reports on the holiday's history and how it's celebrated today. The clean design is easy to follow and makes effective use of historical illustrations, but many of the stock photos are dull. There are six other fall 2006 books in this series. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Holiday Histories titles: Arbor Day, Labor Day, Earth Day, Election Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Veterans Day.
(3)
K-3
MathStart series.
Illustrated by
Renee Andriani.
These books cover elementary math concepts: place value, capacity (or volume), and numbers one through one hundred on a number line. The stories--about a club that recycles cans, birds searching for the right-size home, students doing "cool" things for the first hundred days of school--make the concepts palatable, while the cartoony color art adds energy. Suggested activities conclude each book. Review covers these MathStart titles: Earth Day--Hooray!, A House for Birdie, and 100 Days of Cool.
48 pp.
| Enslow
| March, 2002
|
LibraryISBN 0-7660-1778-8$$18.95
(4)
K-3
Finding Out about Holidays series.
Each book in this series introduces a particular holiday. A choppy text, sidebars with related information, and stock color photographs give some history about the holiday's origins and contemporary traditions, such as the practice of giving out paper poppies on Veterans Day. A list of websites and a craft idea (a Mardi Gras mask, for example) are appended. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these Finding Out about Holidays titles: Earth Day: Keeping Our Planet Clean, Mardi Gras: Parades, Costumes, and Parties, Valentine's Day: Candy, Love, and Hearts, Veteran's Day: Remembering Our War Heroes. ]
(4)
K-3
First Step Nonfiction: American Holidays series.
With a simple text and large color photos, each small-size book in this series gives some very basic history about a U.S. holiday. While the writing is fairly dry, these books offer easy-to-read introductions for young readers. Oddly, photos of modern-day presidents in Presidents' Day are from the 1980s and 90s, giving the book a dated feel. A timeline and a page of additional facts are included. Glos., ind. [First Step Nonfiction covers these titles: Earth Day, Independence Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, and Presidents' Day.]