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April is winding down, but I still have at least two more giveaways to share with you today! I have 5 copies of S is for Save the Planet: A How-to-be-Green Alphabet to give to you all! Just leave a comment on this Non-Fiction Monday posting by Thursday night at midnight, mountain time, to to enter.

Blog about the giveaway, tweet about it, Facebook about it, and get extra entries. Just make sure to leave a new comment for each extra entry :)

Now, S is for Save the Planet is another is the fantastic Alphabet series put out by Sleeping Bear Press. I've reviewed many of these books and love them all...so educational and great for a whole range of age levels. This particular title in the series is written by Brad Herzog and illustrated (beautifully) by Linda Holt Aryiss.

Each letter is dedicated to a different manner in which children can participate in saving our planet. From switching light bulbs, not using helium balloons, and learning about insulation, to buying local food, recycling newspapers, and planting trees, the book really covers a lot of bases when it comes to easy green living for kids. Each page represents a letter, with a simple rhyme about saving the planet for little ones and awesome info in the sidebar for the older kids.

All Sleeping Bear titles are fantastic in this way. They include valuable information for both young children and older kids and cover such a huge range information in such a small book. The illustrations are fabulous and I would definitely recommend all libraries getting a copy of this one.

Leave a comment to enter!

To learn more about this title, or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon.

S is for Saving the Planet: A How-to-be-Green Alphabet
Brad Herzog
40 pages
Non-fiction
Sleeping Bear Press
9781585364282
February 2009

We're finishing up Earth Week here and how very appropriate, but to include some earth-concious picture books for this week's Picture Book Saturday. Enjoy!

Oh how I love Curious George books. I am, of course, very partial to the original titles written and illustrated by Margret and H.A. Rey, but they ones written recently are all still pretty great. I just like the annoying monkey.

Curious George Plants a Tree is written by Monica Perez and illustrated in the style of H.A. Rey by Anna Grossnickle Hines. We get all of our usual mischief out of George, as he learns how to be "green" through recycling and proceeds to walk along his street, collecting his neighbors belongings to bring to the recycling drive. Items such as the recently delivered newpapers sitting on lawns, a box of important files that hadn't quite made their way into the moving truck, and paper cups from a lemonade stand all made their way into George's wagon, until he had a crowd of angry people following him to the recycling drive.

The last page of the book has 20 tips for living green that families can perform together and the book itself is printed on mixed resources, meaning from well-managed forests, controlled sources, and recycled wood or fiber. Awesome huh?

A great choice for any Curious George collection or green living collection!

Curious George Plants a Tree
H.A. Rey (Monica Perez)
32 pages
Picture book
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9780547150871
March 2009

A Tree for Emmy, written by Mary Ann Rodman and illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss, is another sweet story about loving the environment, though in a bit subtler manner than Curious George. We meet Emmy, a little girl with a huge imagination that just loves playing under and on her grandmother's mimosa tree. When it comes time for Emmy's birthday, she can think of nothing more she wants as a gift than her very own mimosa tree! Her parents eagerly agree and set off for the greenhouse to buy one.

Unfortunately, the family learns that mimosa trees only grow wild and are not sold in stores, leaving Emmy incredibly disappointed. Luckily, Gramma comes up with a pretty great solution!

The idea of truly loving nature really comes across in this title. I loved when Emmy mentioned how pretty wild clovers and dandelions were and that she wasn't interested in anything that didn't grow wild. Very sweet! The illustrations were great too!

A Tree for Emmy
Mary Ann Rodman
32 pages
Picture Book
Peachtree Publishing
9781561454754
March 2009

Big Earth, Little Me, writen by Thom Wiley and illustrated by Kate Endle has quickly become one of my favorites to share with little kids. It is a wonderful resource for beginning to teach little ones about helping to save the earth, without getting too complex on the subject, and combining fun aspects like lift-the-flaps, to keep things interesting.

The reader gets a tip on each page as to how he or she can help with certain eco-friendly jobs, such as "I can turn off the water" and "I can use both sides of the paper." There is also a sturdy lift-the-flap on almost every page, engaging even the youngest of readers. Simple concepts make a wonderful, fun book that is SO important in today's world.

The book is beautifully illustrated with bright, bold colors, and everything is printed with soy ink, making it very earth friendly. Though only available in paperback, the pages are sturdy and not easy to rip. The lift-the-flaps will hold up well.

I loved this one and highly recommend it as a purchase for ALL families with little children. It's only around 6 dollars, so a great investment on a great subject!

Big Earth, Little Me
Thom Wiley
16 pages
Picture book
Cartwheel books
9780545092258
April 2009

Finally, one that is not necessarily about doing eco-friendly tasks, but rather just using a garden to help teach children their opposites.

A Garden of Opposites is written and illustrated by Nancy Davis and is presented in such a simple, yet bold and impacting manner. Each page spread has a set of opposites (in/out, slow/fast, big/little), all using items from the garden. The last page spread has a fold-out page, encouraging the reader to find more opposites.

Done in beautiful bright, bold illustrations with super-simple text, this title would be a great choice when moving slowly from board books to picture books. Made with very sturdy material, it's not quite the board book, but a nice transition to picture books.

A great choice for home or library shelves!

A Garden of Opposites
Nancy Davis
26 pages
Picture book
Schwartz & Wade Books
9780375856662
March 2009

To learn more about any of these titles, or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon.

What better book to choose during Earth Week than one telling us all the different ways in which to love our planet. A beautiful poem and fabulous photographs, along with a great message have made this book a true winner.

I Love Our Earth, written by the wonderful Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson with photographs by Dan Lipow. A very simple concept makes a huge impact in this perfect Earth Day title. Photographs of wondrous places on our planet, along with a snapshot of a child from those places accompany a poem as to why we love the Earth as we do. Some reasons are very simple (warm sunsets), some very grand (gray mountains rising).

The photography is beautiful (and what child doesn't like looking at photos of other kids?) and the text is so simple, yet puts across a great message. We should really love our Earth for everything it gives us, big or small.

A great choice for libraries!

I Love Our Earth
Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson
32 pages
Picture book
Charlesbridge Publishing
9781580891066
February 2006

As you all know, this entire month of April has been "Earth Month" here at A Patchwork of Books and that is because living a "green" life has become a huge passion of mine in the past year or so. I really feel it is our duty as inhabitants of Planet Earth, to take control of our lives and how we live them, realizing that a lot of our daily habits and practices could either be helping the Earth to flourish...or fail miserably.

Being Earth Day today, all over the world people are taking a stand against global warming, climate change, pollution, etc. and I wanted to share some of my own family ways of living a greener and more environmentally friendly lifestyle. These are just a few...and by no means are we perfect, but I do feel proud to be practicing what I so often preach.

1. Using aluminum (or reusable) water bottles
-I don't care how thirsty I am, I will NOT buy plastic water bottles from grocery or convenience stores. I constantly carry around my trusty aluminum water bottle, keeping one stashed in my car in case I forgot it at home. Something like 88% of plastic water bottles end up in landfills and I refuse to participate in that action. Plus...it's SO much more cost effective to have a reusable bottle! This is the one I use, it's pretty and functional:



2. Drinking organic and fair trade coffee
-This is one that I'm still not completely used to, but I'm determined to do it. My husband and I have a slight obsession with Dunkin Donuts coffee, especially now that we live in a place where the closest one is over 100 miles away, and had taken to buying it in the local grocery store. Well, when I learned more about the HUGE benefits of fair trade and organic farming, we switched immediately to different brands. Now...we've tried 3 different brands and I can just barely tolerate all three. Unfortunately, it seems organic coffee comes in one flavor, DARK...meaning, at least to me, bitter tasting. So, Dunkin Donuts, please come out with your own fair trade organic coffee. We miss you.


3. Reusing mailing envelopes
-Book bloggers/reviewers, I know you're just like me and you get ARCs in the mail like crazy. I get at least one delivery a day, if not more, and if I threw out every envelope, that would be hundreds upon hundreds of wasted envelopes. Instead, I save them in a little pile under my desk, where I use them to ship giveaways, gifts, or anything else in. It's also free...no need to purchase envelopes!


4. Scrap paper
-Again, book bloggers/reviewers, this one is for you!! Ya know all those info sheets that come with each ARC? Most are just printed on the front (and I never even look at them), making for lots o' waste. I cut them in half, paper-clip them together and hang them on my fridge. Voila... recycled shopping list!


5. Organic makeup
- This is something I just recently got into, but am now SO hooked on. I use only Physicians Formula organic makeup. Made of all-natural and organic ingredients, it's great for the environment and seriously makes your skin look so healthy. It's packaged minimally and the stuff it does come in is all recycled AND recyclable. These are my two favorite products, their
tinted moisturizer (in Natural) and their blush (also in Natural).




6. All natural cleaning supplies
-I use vinegar for EVERYTHING. It's natural and an awesome cleaner. We have really hard water here in Southern New Mexico and were using all kinds of harsh chemicals just to get our dishes clean. Now, I use only Seventh Generation detergent and add a splash of vinegar at the rinse. Good for the environment, good for my dishes (and wallet!).

7. Tote bags!!!
-This tip is one I know a lot of you already participate in and if you don't, it's probably the easiest one you can start up. Use tote bags instead of paper or plastic bags for any and ALL of your shopping. I have about 10 of these, 7 stay in the car for groceries, one hold library books, and one is stuck in my person when I'm shopping for clothes or other goodies. You can find good, inexpensive ones anywhere, but my favorite are these:
These are handmade by women in India, rescued from sex trafficking organizations. The money raised goes right back to them, which is awesome!! You can buy them from the Rainforest Site, so not only are you helping these Indian women, but you also save square feet of rainforest with every purchase.These particular ones zip up into a small pouch and easily fit in your purse (this is my clothes shopping tote). They're made by women artisians in Thailand and provide jobs in small villages so the women do not have to go to Bangkok. AND it's made completely of recycled cotton. Another purchase I got from the Rainforest Site.

8. Air dry your clothes
-Even in the winter months we rarely use a dryer in our house. If it's warm outside I take advantage of the clothesline, if not I have drying racks spread across my house at any given time. It saves energy, money, and especially when dried outside, give your clothes a great smell. If I do use the dryer I do not use fabric softener sheets...I use Nellie's Dryer Balls (which I'm giving away here). They're an awesome, eco-friendly way to dry your clothes quicker and without sheets filled with harsh chemicals.

9. Grow your own food
-Unfortunately we aren't taking part in this right now, as we live on a military base where I can't just plant whatever I want. We do, however, grow our own herbs and have a fantastic organic garden planned for our new house in Virgina. Not only do you save money, but you're eating healthy and putting less nasty pesticides in your yard!

10. Buy recycled whenever possible
-It's so easy for us all to say that we will just reuse items around our house to cut down on our spending/carbon footprint...which is great. But sometimes we do have to buy things! When you can, buy recycled or organic items. You can find awesome kids clothes and toys online at a hundred different sites made of recycled/all-natural/organic material. That's goes for adult items and pet items too. Gifts, household supplies, anything. It may take more of your time, but it's worth it.

By clicking on the photos above you will link to a site you can buy the particular products at. If you purchase them at Amazon, the money I receive from Amazon Associates will be put towards a donation to Eco-Libris at the end of the month. If it links to the Rainforest Site you'll be saving feet of rainforest with every purchase!

It's officially "Earth Week," as Earth Day is in just a few days. That means...giveaways galore this week (and a couple to end the month next week). Keep checking back for more free stuff!

Recycle This Book: 100 Top Children's Book Authors Tell You How to Go Green, edited by Dan Gutman, is one of the best non-fiction kids books I've read in awhile (and one of the only ones I've read cover to cover). Each author gives a simple tip for families to use to help save the planet and to have fun while doing it.

As the title indicates, 100 authors came together to compile these tips, including Ann Brashares, Susan Beth Pfeffer, Daniel Pinkwater, Jack Prelutsky, Jane Yole, Eve Bunting, Laurie Halse Anderson, Jon Scieszka, Rick Riordan and tons of other very cool names. It was fun to know that I do some of the same things these super-famous authors do to save the planet and they also taught me quite a few new tips!

I've never really thought about the concept of wrapping paper in such a way...or reusing water in the manner one author swears by. This is a fantastic choice for all libraries and for any family with children. I loved it and really think you all will too!

Oh AND I'm giving away a copy! That's not all...I'm also giving away a product that I have just fallen in love with recently, wanting to give someone else a chance to help save their planet in an incredibly simple way.

Nellie's Dryer Balls are these cool little balls with nubbies all over them that you pop in the dryer with your clothes (no bad-for-the-environment fabric softener sheets needed) and they help to not only dry your clothes faster (up to 25% faster), but they soften them as a chemical fabric softener would. They reduce ironing, reduce lint & wrinkles, are completely non-toxic, able to be used with delicates, and are good for 1000 loads or two years. Amazing.

You're getting a set of those too! If you want to buy your own, I got mine from The Rainforest Site (which is an awesome site to visit anyways, one click and you save square footage in the Rainforest. It's free!). The pink ones are on sale for only $6 bucks right now AND the shipping and handling is always low.

How do you enter for the book and the dryer balls? Leave me a comment with your best "go green" tip that your family uses. Blog about it and receive an additional entry. Tweet about it, get another entry. Facebook about it, get ANOTHER entry. That's up to three entries (leave a separate comment for each). Spread the word!!

You have until Friday at midnight, Mountain time to enter! U.S. only on this one....

Well here at A Patchwork of Books, it's Earth Month! I'm celebrating Earth Day and Arbor Day allll month long, with tons of giveaways, cool eco-friendly products, and book reviews galore!

Earth-Friendly Crafts: Clever Ways to Reuse Everyday Items has been put together by the ever-so-creative Kathy Ross and illustrated by Celine Malepart. Exactly as the title describes, it is filled to the brim with super-cool ways to reuse everyday household items, making them into fun crafts.

There are instructions for making bookmarks, pencil holders, necklaces, puppets, magnets, notecards, and a whole ton of other fun things, all out of stuff families normally just throw in the trash. Take old puzzle pieces and create an alligator! Take loose marker caps and make a pencil holder!Take gloves that no longer have a match and make an octopus puppet! Lots and lots to do in here, all with stuff you already have...that means no cost involved AND you're helping to prevent landfills from getting unnecessary things added to them.

Anything to help save our planet, I'm game for. Earth-Friendly Crafts would make a great addition to any library and any family that likes to create things! The crafts are probably best for your older kids, say 5-10...but with help, younger children can definitely participate.

To learn more or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon.

Earth-Friendly Crafts: Clever Ways to Reuse Everyday Items
Kathy Ross
48 pages
Non-fiction
Millbrook Press
9780822590996
March 2009

I mentioned in this post, how things in April are going to run, so if you want specifics click on the link and read all about it! There's a giveaway there too, so you might as well go on over!
As a brief overview though, I will be posting several eco-friendly products each day, trying to appeal to everyone. Each will be linked to my Amazon Associates account. Instead of keeping the revenue from these products, I will donate all of MY proceeds (not the entire cost of the item) to an Earth-friendly charity of choice. Leave me a comment stating that you ordered something and your name is in the hat for a drawing at the end of the month. Cool?

Here are today's products:



The Eco 200-pg. Journal. Less than $8.00 for a recycled paper journal. Can be used for logging all those books we want to read....


This may just be my new favorite product EVER! It's Eco Kids Eco-Dough. Earth friendly play-dough!!! It's only $22.00 for 6 tubs. 100% natural, made from fruit and vegetable dyes ONLY, completely compostable, no chemicals at all. This is perfect for craft time at the library or at home. Very excited about this product!

I mentioned in this post yesterday, how things in April are going to run, so if you want specifics click on the link and read all about it! There's a giveaway there too, so you might as well go on over!
As a brief overview though, I will be posting several eco-friendly products each day, trying to appeal to everyone. Each will be linked to my Amazon Associates account. Instead of keeping the revenue from these products, I will donate all of MY proceeds (not the entire cost of the item) to an Earth-friendly charity of choice. Leave me a comment stating that you ordered something and your name is in the hat for a drawing at the end of the month. Cool?

So, my first products are....



The Gaiam 750ml Aluminum Water Bottle. Keeps things cold or hot, very eco-friendly! Lots of color/design choices! Can be purchased for around $11.00




And for kids? The Me Ma Pa Turtle Family. Made from sustainable wood with natural vegetable dyes and fairly traded. Can be a great gift (Easter anyone?) for around 30.00