Best Earth Day Children’s Books

Since 1970, we have been celebrating Earth Day on April 22. Every year, we continue to educate the next generations about valuing our Earth and its nature, including animals, endangered species, and environmental issues like pollution and recycling.

One of the best ways to educate our kids is to start with children’s books; Earth Day picture books and middle grade books like these!

(You knew I was going to say that, didn’t you?)

Best Children’s Books for Earth Day

Eco Girl by Ken Wilson-Max
Eve loves the baobab trees. She tries to be as patient as the tree. Her parents call her a sprout. On her birthday, they say she’s as big as a sapling, reminding her of her own growth. For her birthday gift, Grandma helps Eve to plant a baobab tree of her own, one that will be part of the forest.

The Earth Book written and illustrated by Todd Parr
Like all of Todd Parr’s books, the concept of environmental actions in kid-friendly language accompanied by bold, graphic illustrations.

Our Planet! There’s No Place Like Earth written by Stacy McAnulty, illustrated by David Litchfield
Earth, aka. Planet Awesome narrates the story of our “awesome home”. Learn about Earth’s many features — distance from the Sun, massive ocean, atmosphere, and so forth. Then, Earth explains about climate change so that readers can remember that we must preserve our Earth.

Through the Forest by Steffie Brocoli and Catherine Bidet
Mother Forest narrates this forest choose-your-own adventure story. She describes the scenes and gives you choices and their corresponding page numbers. You’ll love the leafy tab detail on the pages showing the page numbers for easy turning.

My Friend Earth by Patricia MacLachlan, illustrated by Francesca Sanna
A personified Earth is a lovely, dark-skinned girl who wakes up for spring. Captivating, lush, layered illustrations and die-cut out pages plus lyrical text intertwine to create a dazzling reading experience that celebrates the Earth’s seasons and her care for its creatures. “Under the white — the silent seed is cradled in the dark soil. Watching.“

How to Be a Wildflower: A Field Guide by Katie Daisy
Beautifully designed, this book will inspire you and your kids to spend more time in nature. It includes activities, recipes, and quotes.

I Like the Outdoors …what jobs are there? by Carron Bronw, illustrated by Roberto Blefari
Read this useful guide for outdoor-loving children who are wondering about future jobs. Campsite manager, ski instructor, ecologist, beach lifeguard, botanist, and more.

Thank You, Earth: A Love Letter to Our Planet by April Pulley Sayre
Captivating full-color photographs accompany the lyrical prose celebrating the richness of the earth’s offerings — from big mountains to tiny ladybugs, for patterns, and seasons, and more. Use this book to launch an Earth Day celebration and study of conservation.

Stand as Tall as the Trees: How an Amazonian Community Protected the Rain Forest written by Patricia Gualinga and Laura Resau, illustrated by Vanessa Jaramillo
Beautifully crafted with emotional resonance, get inspired by this true story of Patricia Gualinga’s life. Paty is a Kichwa girl who lives deep in the rain forest of Ecuador, a place alive with “trees towering, vines winding, and frogs singing” and the mystical beings who rule the forest — the Amazanga. Paty moves to the noisy city for her education. But when Paty’s forest home is destroyed by a greedy company, she helps her people gather, unite, and protest, making the destructive company leave the forest! 

History Smashers: Earth Day and the Environment written by Kate Messner
Earth Day is April 22. Learn the real story of how the Earth Day holiday came to be in this fascinating nonfiction middle grade book, including environmental disasters and issues leading up to the Earth Day recognition, and the first celebration in 1970.

Everywhere Blue by Joanne Rossmassler Fritz
When Maddie’s older, environmentalist brother walks away from his college campus with only a backpack, her dysfunctional family dynamics are amplified, and she tries to make sense of what happened to her brother. Maddie feels better compulsively counting and playing the oboe while searching for clues — which is how she figures out the answer to what happened to her brother. This genuine novel in verse about family, growing up, environmental issues, and music is an interesting story that readers will zip through. 

Northwind by Gary Paulsen
If you like solitary stories in nature, this boy’s coming-of-age life alone in nature will appeal to you. Leif is a ship’s slave in Norway. When cholera kills his fellow shipmates, he alone survives and heads north in a dugout canoe. As he searches for food and makes mistakes with safety, Leif learns more and more about the wonders of the natural world around him, including bears, ravens, orcas, whirlpools, salmon, and whales.

Tree of Dreams by Laura Resau
A thought-provoking story for readers ages 8 – 12 that illuminates the ongoing destruction in the Amazon while simultaneously being relatable to readers and showing the hopeful possibilities of people working together for change. After winning a chocolate cooking contest, chocolate expert Coco and her former best friend, Leo, travel with their dear family friend, Gali, and their mothers to cacao farm in a remote area in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The Ceiba Tree who tells them, “Within my roots, treasure awaits.” The friends search for the tree’s treasure gives them the bigger picture of the destructive and dangerous logging for oil, which is destroying the natural resources and villages.

Forest School Adventure Outdoor Skills and Play for Children by Naomi Walmsley & Dan Westall
Parents and teachers, use this book as a resource for camping, survival, and outdoor basics. I like that this book isn’t the same old ideas as all the other outdoor books — it has new ideas and more extensive ideas. Each idea tells the age for which it is appropriate, the time to do it, and the materials you’ll need, plus steps and photos for completing the activity or idea.