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April 22: “For today's prompt, write an Earth poem. You can decide what an Earth poem is. Maybe it's a poem about the planet; maybe it's actually the lowercase earth (a gardening or burial poem?); maybe it's just a poem that happens on (or to) Earth; maybe it's even written in the voice of extraterrestrials (that might be fun). No matter how you decide to roll with it, have a very poetic Earth Day!”

Green And Blue And Swirly White
By Bill Kirk

Hello, Earth. I see you there,
Outside my space ship, day or night;
Clear, cool water; fresh, clean air—
All green and blue and swirly white.

I remember when we left.
In giant ships, we all took flight.
Mother Earth was spent, bereft—
Not green and blue and swirly white.

Someone said we had to go—
To give the Earth a chance to fight.
Cleansing tides must ebb and flow
To heal and make our planet right.

‘Til that time, we’ll always roam,
Our distant planet in our sight;
Hoping that we’ll soon go home,
To green and blue and swirly white.

Twinkle, twinkle, earth in orbit,
I wish for you the sun’s bright light.
Change its warmth, as you absorb it,
To green and blue and swirly white.

Happy Earth Day! To celebrate, here are some great resources for children’s books with Earth Day and environmental themes.

Apples 4 the Teacher has a great list of stories and activity books. SF Gate gives a roundup of children’s books that tell kids about what they can do to save the environment and love nature.  In the spirit of recycling, you can donate children’s books to places like the Portland Children’s Book Bank or your local library.

It starts with a napkin? Okay, let me explain. For years, my husband and I used paper napkins with every meal. Six paper napkins a day doesn't sound like much, but consider this. How does 2,190 paper napkins sound? 25 years worth? 53,750! (Give or take a napkin or two)

That's why we decided to take a small step and switch to cloth napkins. One little gesture and we've eliminated something from the world trash heap. And, if you're wondering, throwing a few small napkins in a weekly load of laundry adds nothing to our utility bills. We've also switched to select-a-size paper towels but use cloth towels for clean-up whenever possible.

We recycle our grass clippings around trees and shrubs instead of filling plastic bags for the town pick up. Much easier on us and it also saves a lot of plastic trash bags! Even better.

We still have a long way to go. It's not easy to give up on conveniences, but, like us, you can start with the small stuff.

What have you done for Earth Day? Earth Year?

Why not pull out the cloth napkins?

Earth Day Official Website


Mary Cunningham Books
Amazon
Kindle
Fictionwise
Quake/Echelon Press

In honor of Earth Day I thought I'd share a book that might be a nice gateway for young readers to talk about global issues with their parents. In Weezer Changes the World, there are so few details, there is no action plan, but I think this story instills the feeling that even the smallest of us can make a difference. And that one person (or dog) can't bear the weight of that change alone.
How beautifully does David McPhail capture this little dog? In just the barest of line and wash, he is so dear. This is my favorite of McPhail's styles to date. So much white space, all of it important.How gorgeous is that thundercloud? I can't imagine having the confidence, or skill, to paint like that, but it just WORKS.

Rain or shine, I hope you enjoy Earth Day - and perhaps a book that celebrates our precious planet. Here are some links to David McPhail's books on Amazon, and a gallery selling his original work.

There are plenty on non-fiction books for children on the market these days covering everything earth related from recycling to global warming, getting the point across with facts, crafts and mazes. Any bookstore or library you walk into this month should have a display of some or all of these books.Having a literary focus on my blog, I will leave the reading of these books up to you. I want

First published in 2002 and recently reissued in paperback by Groundwood Books, Lessons from Mother Earth

This book by an author born in the Yukon and a member of the Na-Cho Nyak Dun First Nation is about respecting and caring for the planet. Five-year old Tess visits her grandmother’s mountain cabin and learns about her garden, which consists of nature itself. The first rule grandma teaches Tess is: “You must always take good care of our garden.” Following that, she tells Tess to say a prayer of thanks while picking fruits and vegetables; to harvest just enough and at the right time; and to take care not to trample the vegetation or leave rubbish behind. For dinner, they gather wild edibles-lamb’s-quarters, dandelion shoots, and blueberries.

Wood’s realistic yet impressionistic watercolors are glowing and lush, with dabs of color for close-ups of berries and woodland animals. This book would work particularly well for Earth Day or as part of a nature/ecology unit.

Lessons from Mother Earth is also mentioned in Paul De Pasquale’s article recently reprinted on PaperTigers, Imagining Home in Children’s Picture Books by Canadian Aboriginal Authors.

Thursday, April 22 marks the 40^th Anniversary of Earth Day around the world, a milestone that calls for celebration! In Canada, it seems that a single day just isn’t enough—up above the 49^th parallel, “Earth Day has grown into Earth Week and Earth Month to accommodate the profusion of events” held across the country. One of the biggest events is the Earth Walk, held right here in Orca’s home town, Victoria, BC, where over 5,000 people gather in costume to parade through downtown to raise awareness about the environment.

This year, the Association of Book Publishers of BC (ABPBC) has partnered with the Sierra Club and Chapters Indigo Books & Music to present a series of Earth Day events on April 22, 24 and 25 in Victoria and Vancouver. The events encourage readers to “think local” when purchasing books and magazines, just as they do when choosing food or other products.

In the Vancouver Observer, Heidi Waechtler, project coordinator for the ABPBC said, “Earth Day is a fantastic opportunity for us to raise awareness of homegrown publications and the contributors whose talent they cultivate…It’s a great opportunity to not only celebrate BC books but to also promote those titles that bring awareness to what it means to be ‘environmental’ in today’s world.”

We couldn’t agree more. As a local Canadian publisher, Orca prides itself on publishing local authors and illustrators and taking their work to a wider audience.

The Read Local, Buy Local series consists of 28 free events open to the public. In Victoria, these events include ExtraVeganZa with Laura Matthias, children’s activities hosted by the Sierra Club (with surprise visitors!), The O Mile Diet with organic gardener Carolyn Herriot and Take a Hike! hosted by British Columbia Magazine and ActNow BC to help get your family ready for outdoor adventures this spring. See the Full Event Schedule.

We think two new Orca titles are worthy of some Earth Day celebration too—check out their accompanying websites for teacher resources, games and fun, free stuff:

The Salmon Bears explores the delicate balance that exists between the grizzly, black and spirit bear of the Great Bear Rainforest and their natural environment on the central coast of British Columbia. Learn more about salmon bears and see Ian McAllister’s stunning photography from the book.

Food Fight, the latest in our Graphic Guide Adventure series, mixes action and suspense with information on the agricultural system and the intricacies of the food supply. Take a quiz, build a comic, and get in