Loving Nature/Caring About the Planet by Moderator Jennifer Emmett

[Blog Editor: Thank you Jennifer Emmett for your informative and lively moderation these past few weeks! Many of the books mentioned throughout the thread of posts would inspire anyone at any age. ]

I have greatly enjoyed guest blogging for this exhibit on the theme of Connecting Children with Nature Through American Literature, and I look forward to continuing to participate in the discussions guided by future moderators. For my last post, I’d like to address another category of books that help connect kids to nature: books that promote environmental stewardship. At National Geographic, our mission is to inspire people to care about the planet, so we are always looking to incorporate conservation themes in our books where appropriate and relevant.

When taking on environmental topics for kids, we try to keep the issues positive and hands-on, so that kids feel like they can be part of the solution and don’t end up feeling stymied or daunted. And we try to avoid being overly didactic, which is almost always a turnoff to a young audience.

Two of our recent titles have had a strong environmental focus, seriously addressing the issues but with a positive spin: Earth in the Hot Seat: Bulletins From a Warming World, and True Green Kids.

In Earth in the Hot Seat, author Marfé Ferguson Delano clearly explains the threat of global warming, but doesn’t leave kids with a sense of gloom and doom. Instead she offers concrete solutions for how kids can help, and she also gives lots of examples of people who make a difference for the health of our planet.

True Green Kids is a high-energy practical approach that offers up 100 Things You Can Do to Save the Planet, including creating a worm farm or growing an “edible garden” for snack-time.

As a mother, I know kids are very open to being responsible caretakers of the planet. My second-grade daughter picks up trash at the park, monitors water usage in our house, and says one of her favorite activities is recycling. It is encouraging to see conservation enthusiasm from the youngest generation. And, of course, the impulse toward environmental stewardship is almost always rooted in a love of nature. Connecting kids to nature in order to inspire that love, be it through books, or in other ways, benefits them, naturally, but goes beyond that. Ultimately, it helps create a generation who will benefit the Earth.

What books do you think help inspire kids to care about the planet? Do you see the link between a love of nature and conservation? How are kids you know participating in environmental stewardship?

Nature Near and Far by Moderator Jennifer Emmett

The Classic Treasury of Childhood Wonders by Susan Magsamen and One White Wishing Stone by Doris Gayzagian encourage children to connect with nearby nature. Having the sense that nature is accessible is clearly the best way for kids to feel inspired to make their own nature connections. But at NGS we also like for kids to connect with nature in an aspirational way. We are fortunate to work with many explorers who spend time in the world’s wildest places.

In African Animal Alphabet by Beverly and Derek Joubert (NGS 2010), kids can see the wild through the eyes—and lens—of Beverly and Dereck Joubert, a writer and photographer team who live in Africa studying and photographing wild animals. Their book gives kids a window into a world filled with warthogs, dung beetles, and baboons. It is a wonder of childhood to know there are places on Earth where kids can spot lions and leopards instead of squirrels or slugs. And Dereck and Beverly bring this world to the kids who can’t see it for themselves. But hopefully someday will!

Do you seek out wild places for your nature experiences? Or do you find nature in your own backyard or nearby park or vacant lot? What do you think of the Indian saying quoted in Last Child in the Woods: “It is better to know one mountain than to climb many”? What books about remote wild places have fueled your or your children’s imagination and sense of wonder?