Books to Inspire Budding Environmental Activists

by Seymour Simon

Everyone is affected by climate change. This book is the perfect introduction not only to the dramatic effects of climate change, but to the solutions.

Min/Max Grade level: 2–6

by Erin Dealey; illustrations by Luisa Uribe

When the kids in room 5 write to Earth asking what they can do to help save our planet, they are delighted to get a letter back.

Min/Max Grade level: 1–4

by Anita Ganeri and Margaux Carpentier

A picture book that tells the important story of Chico Mendes, who led the fight to protect the Amazon rainforest and demand fair treatment for the people whose livelihoods depended on it.

Min/Max Grade level: 2–6

by Rachel Sarah

Interviews with 25 climate leaders under age 25 present a hopeful picture of the future of environmentalism.They are standing up to demand change when no one else is.

Min/Max Grade level: 5–9

by Naomi Klein with Rebecca Stefoff

Young people are not just part of the climate change movement. They are leading the way. Will you be one of them?

Min/Max Grade level: 8–12

by Sarah Fabiny; illustrated by Dede Putra

Presents the life and accomplishments of the American biologist, whose influential work, The Silent Spring inspired worldwide conservation movements.

Min/Max Grade level: 4–6

by Nora Raleigh Baskin and Gae Polisner

Told in alternating voices, twelve-year-olds JB Barnes and Sidney Miller meet aboard a scientific research ship after JB is tasked to invite a renowned scientist named Sidney Miller and mistakenly invites a girl with the same name who will do anything to get out of going to summer camp.

by James O. Fraioli; illustrated by Joe St.Pierre

Junior explorers Will and Jacklyn join Fabien Cousteau and local conservationists in Hawaii on their mission to rescue endangered sea turtles, while also encountering a variety of wildlife among the coral reefs of Molokini Bay.

by Kate Reed Petty; art by Andrea Bell

When Ruth discovers a strange black slime in the man-made lake of her suburban neighborhood, she decides to investigate. Fortified by the encouragement of those around her, Ruth seeks the truth at all costs, even if it means taking on the rich local country club owner, who she believes is responsible for the pollution.

by Madelyn Rosenberg

Discovering what may be the last surviving bullfrog in a near-future North America, Ahab and his friends decide to locate another bullfrog on the black market to save all of frogkind, with unexpected results.

by Elaine Dimopoulos

When her family relocates from Massachusetts to Florida, 12-year-old Mimi, inspired by a TED Talk, decides to clean up the plastic pollution she sees on the beaches despite the fact that this place has yet to feel like home.

by Terry Lynn Johnson

When Madi and her two best friends, Aaron and Jack, rescue beaver kits whose mother was killed, they find themselves at the center of a local conspiracy that's putting the beavers and their habitats in danger.

by Andrew Joyner

After attending a climate march, a young activist is motivated to make an effort and do her part to help the planet by organizing volunteers to work to make green changes in their community. Here is an uplifting picture book that is an important reminder that no change is too small—and no person is too young—to make a difference.

Min/Max Grade level: 2–4

by Angela N. Dominguez

Stella is excited to visit the ocean on her family trip to Mexico, but when she learns that the sea and its life forms are in danger due to pollution, she vows to make a difference in her community.