"Green" Picture Books
Top 10 "Green" Picture Books
: Owl Moon, The Great Kapok Tree, The Little House, Miss Rumphius, Uno's Garden, The Carrot Seed, The Curious Garden, Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa, Roxaboxen, One Well: The Story of Water on Earth
| Author | Jane Yolen |
| ISBN | 0399214577 |
Late one winter night a little girl and her father go owling. The trees stand still as statues and the world is silent as a dream. Whoo-whoo-whoo, the father calls to the mysterious nighttime bird.
But there is no answer.
Wordlessly the two companions walk along, for when you go owling...
| Author | Lynne Cherry |
| ISBN | 0152026142 |
The author and artist Lynne Cherry journeyed deep into the rain forests of Brazil to write and illustrate her gorgeous picture book The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest (1990). One day, a man exhausts himself trying to chop down a giant kapok tree. While he sleeps, the forest’s residents,...
| Author | Virginia Lee Burton |
| ISBN | 0395181569 |
Virginia Lee Burton won the Caldecott Medal in 1943 for her memorable picture book The Little House, a poignant story of a cute country cottage that becomes engulfed by the city that grows up around it. The house has an expressive face of windows and doors, and even the feelings of a person, so she’s sad...
| Author | Barbara Cooney |
| ISBN | 0140505393 |
A beloved classic—written by a beloved Caldecott winner—is lovelier than ever!
Barbara Cooney's story of Alice Rumphius, who longed to travel the world, live in a house by the sea, and do something to make the world more beautiful, has a timeless quality that resonates with each new generation....
| Author | Graeme Base |
| ISBN | 0810954737 |
When Uno arrives in the forest one beautiful day, there are many fascinating and extraordinary animals there to greet him. And one entirely unexceptional Snortlepig.
Uno loves the forest so much, he decides to live there. But, in time, a little village grows up around his house. Then a town,...
| Author | Ruth Krauss |
| ISBN | 0694004928 |
From beloved children's book creators Ruth Krauss and Crockett Johnson comes the perennial favorite The Carrot Seed, now in a board book that's perfect for little hands.
When a little boy plants a carrot seed, everyone tells him it won't grow. But when you are very young, there are some things...
| Author | Peter Brown |
| ISBN | 0316015474 |
One boy's quest for a greener world... one garden at a time.
While out exploring one day, a little boy named Liam discovers a struggling garden and decides to take care of it. As time passes, the garden spreads throughout the dark, gray city, transforming it into a lush, green world.
This...
Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa
| Author | Jeanette Winter |
| ISBN | 0152065458 |
As a young girl growing up in Kenya, Wangari was surrounded by trees. But years later when she returns home, she is shocked to see whole forests being cut down, and she knows that soon all the trees will be destroyed. So Wangari decides to do something—and starts by planting nine seedlings in her own backyard....
| Author | Alice McLerran |
| ISBN | 0060526335 |
From two-time Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator Barbara Cooney and celebrated children’s book author Alice McLerran comes Roxaboxen, a treasured story about the magic of a child’s imagination.
Marian called it Roxboxen. There across the road, it looked like any rocky hill—nothing...
| Author | Rochelle Strauss |
| ISBN | 1553379543 |
Seen from space, our planet looks blue. This is because almost 70 percent of Earth's surface is covered with water. Earth is the only planet with liquid water --- and therefore the only planet that can support life.
All water is connected. Every raindrop, lake, underground river and glacier...
| Author | Jason Chin |
| ISBN | 1596434309 |
An ordinary train ride becomes and extraordinary trip to the great ancient forests
A subway trip is transformed when a young boy happens upon a book about redwood forests. As he reads the information unfolds, and with each new bit of knowledge, he travels--all the way to California to climb...
| Author | Graeme Base |
| ISBN | 0810945681 |
This is a beautiful book. Usually, in Graeme Base books I’ve read, he has all these hidden games throughout the story. He did not do that here. This is a straight forward story about counting animals around water holes around the earth. I think it shows the importance of water. The animals are beautiful...
| Author | Laura Vaccaro Seeger |
| ISBN | 1596433973 |
Die cut pages bring surprise after surprise in this magical new book from the "Queen of the concept book"—an intricate and satisfying homage to green, the color of all creation.
How many kinds of green are there? There's the lush green of a forest on a late spring day, the fresh, juicy...
| Author | H. Joseph Hopkins |
| ISBN | 1442414022 |
Unearth the true story of green-thumbed pioneer and activist Kate Sessions, who helped San Diego grow from a dry desert town into a lush, leafy city known for its gorgeous parks and gardens.
Katherine Olivia Sessions never thought she’d live in a place without trees. After all, Kate grew...
| Author | Jean Craighead George |
| ISBN | 0525479473 |
Two renowned children’s book creators teamed up to make this stirring picture book that tells the story of how, over a century, wolves were persecuted in the United States and nearly became extinct. Gradually reintroduced, they are thriving again in the West, much to the benefit of the ecosystem....
| Author | Elsa Beskow |
| ISBN | 0863151639 |
A lovely little red-haired elf - whose dancing welcomes the returning sun in Spring, the golden leaves in Autumn, and the falling snow in Winter; and who is beloved of all the birds in the forest, because she always returns their fallen eggs to their nests - stumbles upon an unusually larger and orange...
| Author | Sarah Stewart |
| ISBN | 0374325170 |
By the author-and-illustrator team of the bestselling The Library
Lydia Grace Finch brings a suitcase full of seeds to the big gray city, where she goes to stay with her Uncle Jim, a cantankerous baker. There she initiates a gradual transformation, bit by bit brightening the shop and bringing...
| Author | Henry Cole |
| ISBN | 0060564814 |
When Caroline and her family move into their new house on Meadowview Street - a typical suburban subdivision, where all the properties look alike - and set about putting everything in order, the young girl asks her father to mow around the pretty flower growing in the middle of their lawn. Setting up a...
She's Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head!
| Author | Kathryn Lasky |
| ISBN | 0786811641 |
Feathers on ladies' hats were becoming more and more popular. Harriet Hemenway and her cousin Minna Hall believed something had to be done. Fashion was killing birds as well as women's chances to have the right to vote and be listened to. For who would listen to a woman with a dead bird on her head? And if...
| Author | Lynne Cherry |
| ISBN | 0152018883 |
Valerio the dragon and Allegra the unicorn have always lived happily amid the majestic trees of the Ardet Forest, and in harmony with the animals that call the forest home. But one day Valerio discovers King Orlando cutting down trees to build a shelter. Only the king's young daughter, Arianna, seems...
| Author | Kathi Appelt |
| ISBN | 0060011076 |
Bluebonnets and lady's slippers, larkspurs and blazing stars, black-eyed Susans and Granny's nightcaps.
From a lonely childhood in the Piney Woods of East Texas to an exciting life in the White House, Lady Bird Johnson loved these wildflowers with all her heart. They were her companions...
Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature
Gorgeous and eye catching illustrations.
Fascinating scientific information about how spirals are so prevalent in nature. This goes for individual animals (and animal parts and postures), individual plants, ocean waves, clouds, and entire galaxies.
I love how this can be read...
| Author | Doris Burn |
| ISBN | 0970739923 |
A classic reissued for a new generation
Andrew Henry has two younger brothers, who are always together, and two older sisters, who are always together. But Andrew Henry is in the middle--and he's always with himself. He doesn't mind this very much, because he's an inventor. But when Andrew...
| Author | Bill Peet |
| ISBN | 0395311284 |
I love the artwork of Bill Peet. I almost feel like I’m watching the cartoon of this. Every thing in the picture feels like it has a personality. He had a real gift for bringing objects to life on paper. I think this is my 3rd book of Bill’s and I have to say this didn’t seem to be quite as special. It’s...
| Author | Robert E. Barry |
| ISBN | 0385327218 |
A classic picture book celebrating all the joy a Christmas tree can bring.
Christmas is here and Mr. Willowby's tree has arrived. There's just one big problem: The tree is too tall for his parlor. He cuts off the top so it will fit, and soon the top of that tree is passed along again and again to bring...
Where the Forest Meets the Sea
| Author | Jeannie Baker |
| ISBN | 0688063632 |
“My father says there has been a forest here for over a hundred million years,” Jeannie Baker's young protagonist tells us, and we follow him on a visit to this tropical rain forest in North Queensland, Australia.
We walk with him among the ancient trees as he pretends it is a time long ago,...
| Author | Barbara Helen Berger |
| ISBN | 0613004108 |
When day is done, and shadows begin to deepen, it is time for Grandfather Twilight to close his book, put on his jacket, and go for a walk through the forest. Little birds hush as he walks by, and the rabbits and other small woodland creatures watch in silence as he performs his very special evening task and...
| Author | Mac Barnett |
| ISBN | 0061953385 |
Annabelle finds a magic yarn box that never runs out of yarn. She lives in a drab little town where everyone is drab looking. She makes herself a sweater and it isn’t long before she makes a sweater for everyone. She still has plenty of yarn. Word gets out and people come wanting to see these wonders, even...
| Author | Kate Messner |
| ISBN | 0811867846 |
A cross country skiing outing by dad and daughter becomes the occasion for a consideration of all the critters living (mostly) under the snow during the winter. A companion book with the same level of lovely illustration to Over and Under the Pond, which I may even like a bit more, but they're both great,...
The Blue Stone: A Journey Through Life
| Author | Jimmy Liao |
| ISBN | 0316113832 |
From internationally renowned author and illustrator Jimmy Liao comes a new enchanting and evocative journey. Breathtaking illustrations and a haunting story take readers on a wondrous voyage around the world.
A large, beautiful blue stone is discovered in a forest. It is cut in half, and...
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
| Author | William Kamkwamba |
| ISBN | 0803735111 |
When fourteen-year-old William Kamkwamba's Malawi village was hit by a drought, everyone's crops began to fail. Without enough money for food, let alone school, William spent his days in the library . . . and figured out how to bring electricity to his village. Persevering against the odds, William...
A huge bear is wandering through the forest - but wait a minute! Who's that he's hugging? A beaver? And a moose? And a bird? And a tree?
Welcome to the world of Big Bear Hug, a contemporary fable about a bear who has an appetite for hugging everything in sight - even creatures that bears have been known...
| Author | Jeannie Baker |
| ISBN | 0688089186 |
After really enjoying 'Belonging' I expected to love 'Window' just as much. Perhaps it was reading the authors note about ecological damage after reading in her last book how she collected sponges for her collage that made this seem a like an example of practise what you preach, but where I found 'Belonging'...
Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya
| Author | Donna Jo Napoli |
| ISBN | 1416935053 |
“Nelson’s pictures, a jaw-dropping union of African textiles collaged with oil paintings, brilliantly capture the villagers’ clothing and the greening landscape…This is, in a word, stunning.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Nelson’s (We Are the Ship) breathtaking...
| Author | Oliver Jeffers |
| ISBN | 0007182295 |
The wonderful Oliver Jeffers, illustrator of such books as
The Day the Crayons Quit
, and author/illustrator of titles like
How to Catch a Star
, creates an entertaining picture-book mystery and ecological fable in The Great Paper Caper. As the residents of the forest notice that branches have...
| Author | Elsa Beskow |
| ISBN | 0863150756 |
First published in 1927 as Årets Saga, this poetic celebration of the seasons from one of Sweden's most beloved picture-books artists is - as anyone familiar with Elsa Beskow's work would know to expect - lovely to look upon, with beautiful artwork. Unfortunately, it is rather uneven, textually speaking,...
| Author | Lois Ehlert |
| ISBN | 0152626107 |
Every year Mom and I plant a rainbow.
Each letter in the word 'rainbow' is a different color.
In the fall we buy some bulbs and plant them in the ground.
This book is a good book if you want to teach a child about plant names. Although the text is extremely simple, We have some red...
| Author | Dianna Hutts Aston |
| ISBN | 0811844285 |
Award-winning artist Sylvia Long has teamed with up-and-coming author Dianna Aston to create this gorgeous and informative introduction to eggs. From tiny hummingbird eggs to giant ostrich eggs, oval ladybug eggs to tubular dogfish eggs, gooey frog eggs to fossilized dinosaur eggs, it magnificently...
| Author | Julie Fogliano |
| ISBN | 1596436247 |
Following a snow-filled winter, a young boy and his dog decide that they've had enough of all that brown and resolve to plant a garden. They dig, they plant, they play, they wait . . . and wait . . . until at last, the brown becomes a more hopeful shade of brown, a sign that spring may finally be on its way.
Julie...
| Author | Lynn Plourde |
| ISBN | 0689863497 |
In this magical bedtime book, Autumn doesn't want to sleep. Mother Earth wants to put her wild child, Autumn, to bed. But Autumn isn't ready. First she wants a song, then a snack, then pj's, and a kiss. Lynn Plourde's crisp text crackles like fall leaves and Greg Couch's illustrations are a color extravaganza....
| Author | Ellie Bethel |
| ISBN | 1600102247 |
Perfect for Earth Day on April 22, but important for teaching evironmental lessons year around! Michael Recycle tells the adventures of a young superhero whose power allows him to teach people about recycling.
There once was a town
Called Abberdoo-Rimey,
Where garbage was left
...
Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World
| Author | Laurie Lawlor |
| ISBN | 0823423700 |
In celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Silent Spring, here is a biography of the pioneering environmentalist. "Once you are aware of the wonder and beauty of earth, you will want to learn about it," wrote Rachel Carson, the pioneering environmentalist. She wrote Silent Spring,...
I am not quite sure how to feel about this book. Aside from the first and last page, the "story" is actually a speech given by Chief Seattle in the 1850's. Though the words are quite poetic, at the end the illustrator herself says that they are not perfectly quoted. Though I found this under "Easy Reader"...
| Author | Rose Fyleman |
| ISBN | 0140547517 |
At a market, a fairy purchases riches found in nature. Then releases them for their own good or the good of others. A different season plays out with each stanza of Fyleman's verse. Visually exquisite, this is a story to be savored by both parents and children, and is a great book to be shared in preschool...
| Author | Jennifer Berne |
| ISBN | 0811860639 |
Last night was a really, really good night for children's books--I read many five-star books--and this one started it off right. It's a beautifully told story of Jacques Cousteau, famous oceanographer, from his first curiosity and infatuation with the sea to his inventions to his movies and exploration...
| Author | Tom Lichtenheld |
| ISBN | 0805087761 |
Sometimes being small can have its advantages. If you're a little cloud like Cloudette, people call you cute nicknames, and you can always find a good spot to watch the fireworks. But what about when you want to do something big, like help a giant garden grow, or make a brook babble?
This charming...
| Author | Janet S. Wong |
| ISBN | 0763623806 |
One person’s trash is another persons’s treasure in this vivid picture-book ode to creative recycling — and to loyal friends.
Anyone can dive for treasure in the ocean, but Steve dives for it in his neighborhood dumpster! As he delves into the trash each weekend, Steve encourages his...
| Author | Donald Hall |
| ISBN | 0140504419 |
Winner of the Caldecott Medal
Thus begins a lyrical journey through the days and weeks, the months, and the changing seasons in the life of one New Englander and his family. The oxcart man packs his goods - the wool from his sheep, the shawl his wife made, the mittens his daughter knitted, and the...
| Author | Jeannie Baker |
| ISBN | 0066239354 |
A family.
A house.
A neighborhood.
A place to play.
A place to feel safe.Little by little, baby Tracy grows. She and her neighbors begin to rescue their street. Together, children and adults plant grass and trees and bushes in the empty spaces. They paint murals over old graffiti. They...
The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau
| Author | Dan Yaccarino |
| ISBN | 0375855734 |
Jacques Cousteau was the world s ambassador of the oceans. His popular TV series brought whales, otters, and dolphins right into people s living rooms. Now, in this exciting picturebook biography, Dan Yaccarino introduces young readers to the man behind the snorkel.
From the first moment he got...
