How to use this Page

By Luisa LaFleur, The Children's Book Review
Published: October 7, 2009

Environmental awareness is on the rise and kids are taking notice. In school and on TV the calls to "reduce, reuse and recycle" are growing and there's an increasingly large body of literature that purports to teach kids and parents how to save the planet.

playBac Publishing has recently published several environmentally aware books for parents and children that use stunning photographs and simple, fluid text to spark children's creativity and imagination. One of these books, "Help Your Parents Save the Planet" lists fifty different ways to go green that are easy to understand most importantly, easy to implement. The book contains so many interesting and simple tips for going green that it can appeal to young children as well as the tween and pre-teen set. Some projects are as simple as turning off the lights while others are more difficult--such as making a rain gauge to collect rainwater for a garden. The simple and creative projects will provide hours of fun with a purpose.

Sticks, Stones, Leaves and Snow are four beautiful board books that give the reader many ideas on how to use nature for play. The books focus on showing children and parents the different ways one can pay with things like sticks and leaves, while limiting the emphasis on commercial products.

From Sticks: "Long sticks are good for fishing. Short sticks are good for splashing. The best sticks are magic wands." The accompanying photographs have children demonstrating the text with smiling, happy faces.

From Stones: "Stones can be rocky roads, and stones can be hiding places." The text provides ideas for imaginative play that can also help parents when we sometimes have no clue what to do next....

From Leaves: "Green leaves are a sign of summer and orange leaves mean it's fall." The text provides a jumping off point for explaining the sometimes difficult concepts of time and seasons. The beautiful pictures perfectly illustrate the text, providing much visual stimulation.

From Snow: "When winter comes, I can't wait for snow." There's really nothing else to say. In this book, each picture is really worth 1,000 words.

Add these books to your collection: Help Your Parents Save the Planet, Sticks, Stones, Leaves and Snow.

By Bianca Schulze, The Children's Book Review
Published: July 7, 2009

What to expect: Science, Animal conservation, Environmental awareness

The wonderful series Adventures of Riley is a smooth combination of fiction and non-fiction that is perfect for curious minds, young or old. Riley, who is perhaps 8- or 10-years-old, visits unique locations around the world with extended family members: Uncle Max, Aunt Martha, and his cousin Alice. At the beginning of each book Riley receives a letter from his Uncle Max; a scientist that studies animals, their habitats, and the environmental issues that impact them. The letter is always an invitation to study a particular animal and experience a different culture or way of living -- an adventure that most young boys would jump at the chance for!

Like all good series, Amanda Lumry and Laura Hurwitz follow a great format. For each story, they combine a believable fictitious story-line with real scientific facts. The likable characters are a wonderful medium to share and create a learning experience for the reader. Every book contains fascinating fact boxes, a glossary of terms, additional information at the back of the book, and a smart blend of illustration and "real-life" photography. The intelligent layout of this series means that it can be read and enjoyed by children with varied reading skills: younger readers can enjoy the adventure with a simple reading of the story with out being overwhelmed by too many facts, while older readers can enjoy the full experience with all of the additional facts and information. The books can be read over-and-over again and you'll learn something new each time. This is a series that can only have admirable impact on our children. Fun, educational, and environmentally aware -- a must for all schools and libraries, including your home library!

The Adventures of Riley website is an additional resource that adds value to the series. Digital media is a sure-fire way to capture the attention of kids and reinforce that reading can be cool. Check it out: http://www.adventuresofriley.com/

Below you will find the publisher's synopsis of Outback Odyssey, the latest edition to the series, and a few others:



Outback Odyssey

by Amanda Lumry (Author and Photographer), Laura Hurwitz (Author)

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Hardcover: 48 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Press (May 1, 2009)

Publisher's synopsis: Riley, Cousin Alice, Aunt Martha, and Uncle Max visit the Australian Outback where they research the local koala population, which has scattered and shrunk due to increased drought, brush fires, and farming in the Outback. While staying at a working sheep station, they see kangaroos, a platypus, Ayers Rock, and much more. Riley becomes an official Jackaroo (Australian cowboy) and helps save the sheep from a wild dingo, but can he find a way to save the koalas and the Outback?

Add this book to your collection: Outback Odyssey

Tigers in Terai

by Amanda Lumry (Author and Photographer), Laura Hurwitz (Author)

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Hardcover: 48 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Press (April 1, 2009)

Publisher's synopsis: Riley journeys to the Terai Arc region of India and Nepal in search of the elusive Bengal tiger. Riley's research leads to exciting encounters with some weird and wild indigenous animals (an Asian rhino, a king cobra, langur monkeys and more!) as well as a better understanding of the local culture.

Add this book to your collection: Tigers in Terai

Dolphins in Danger

by Amanda Lumry (Author and Photographer), Laura Hurwitz (Author)

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Hardcover: 48 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Press (February 1, 2009)

Publisher's synopsis: Riley travels to the South Pacific island of Moorea with his Uncle Max, Aunt Martha, and Cousin Alice. Their mission is to study spinner dolphins while basking in the warmth and charm of Polynesian culture. However, things take a turn for the worse when several dolphins become trapped in a local lagoon! Riley holds the key to their survival, but between surfing lessons and close encounters with humpback whales, will he realize it in time?

Add this book to your collection: Dolphins in Danger

Project Panda

by Amanda Lumry (Author and Photographer), Laura Hurwitz (Author)

Paperback: 40 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Press (July 1, 2009)

Publisher's synopsis: It's "Panda-monium" in China when a rare giant panda mysteriously disappears from the world's largest panda reserve! Riley and family must face remote mountain forests, snow leopards, red pandas, and more in their desperate search for clues. When disaster strikes, Riley must act fast to save the day, and the missing panda.

Add this book to your collection: Project Panda

South pole Penguins

by Amanda Lumry (Author and Photographer), Laura Hurwitz (Author)

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Paperback: 40 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (September 1, 2009)

Publisher's synopsis: Are the penguins of Antarctica getting their fill of krill, or has climate change reshaped the Antarctic food web? Riley joins Uncle Max on a voyage to the South Pole to find out! Home to whales, seals, penguins, and 90% of the world's ice, Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth. Will Riley be trapped by the fierce Antarctic winds? It's an adventure like no other as Riley learns valuable lessons about survival and cooperation.

Add this book to your collection: South pole Penguins

By Bianca Schulze, The Children's Book Review
Published: May 29, 2009

Hopefully you had the opportunity to read my review of Mortimer's First Garden by Karma Wilson. Mortimer's tale inspired me to do a little gardening with my 3-year-old -- we planted some sunflower seeds.

Day One

Two Months Later

At the time of my review, I included this excerpt from the book not realizing that these words would actually save our little sunflowers:

In the morning Mortimer woke up to...

pitter, patter, pat, pat.

"Rain!" groaned Mortimer. Out in his garden he found...

brown, soggy dirt.

Mortimer stomped his paw. "Nothing! I knew the miracle wouldn't happen."

"I'm going to dig my seed back up and eat it!" Mortimer said. But then he stopped. "Maybe some miracles need more time."

He looked up at the sky, and down to his seed. "Please grow and turn green," he said.

Well, almost two months had gone past and we had seen no sign of anything green. We told ourselves maybe some miracles need more time. But how much more time? The instructions said we would see seedlings in around 10 days. So ... we dug our seeds back up. To our amazement our seedlings were growing, they were just growing in the wrong direction. They had turned themselves upside down. We gently straightened them, packed the soil back around them, and gave them plenty of water for a couple of days. Now they are healthy and growing UP!

By Bianca Schulze, The Children's Book Review
Published: April 22, 2009

Get your green on with Graeme Base. Uno's Garden and The Waterhole are perfect reads for Earth Day. The illustrations are amazing and captivating. Click here to see more books suitable for our younger "green" generation.

Uno's Garden

by Graeme Base

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Hardcover: 40 pages

Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers (September 1, 2006)

Publisher's synopsis: Art + Arithmetic + Environmental Awareness=Graeme Base’s latest masterpiece

From the creator of the international best-sellers Animalia, The Water Hole, and Jungle Drums

Once again, beloved author Graeme Base introduces readers to a new world. And again, he interweaves the story with hidden images and mathematical problems (and solutions!), creating a book that can be read over and over, and at different levels for different ages.

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, then a city . . . and soon Uno realizes that the animals and plants have begun to disappear.

Uno’s Garden is a moving and timely tale about how we all unknowingly affect the environment around us, just by being there—and how we can always learn from our mistakes and find ways of doing things better. It's an illuminating blend of storybook, puzzle book, and math book.

The Waterhole

by Graeme Base

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Hardcover: 32 pages

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (September 1, 2001)

Publisher's synopsis: In the tradition of his best-selling alphabet book, Animalia, author and illustrator Graeme Base takes young readers on an exhilarating journey of discovery with an ingenious fusion of counting book, puzzle book, storybook, and art book. From the plains of Africa and the jungles of the Amazon to the woodlands of North America and the deserts of outback Australia, the animals come together to drink from the water hole. But their water supply is diminishing. What’s going on? Each sumptuous landscape illustration conceals hidden animal pictures for readers to find as they count the animals that visit the water hole and try to solve the mystery: will the animals come back or is their water source gone forever?