Some places to find our suggestions –
- CareerOneStop, managed by the U.S. Department of Labor, allows you to find your nearest local, free public library by entering your (or your school’s) zip code.
- IndieBound has a bookstore finder tool that helps you find local, small book shops to support if you choose to purchase a copy.
1. What is Climate Change?
Author: Who HQ, Gail Herman
Publisher: Penguin Random House (Canada)
Year of publication: 2018
ISBN 13: 9781524786151
Recommended age range: 8 – 12 years old
Description (from publisher): “Learn more about what climate change means and how it’s affecting our planet. The earth is definitely getting warmer. There’s no argument about that, but who or what is the cause? And why has climate change become a political issue? Are humans at fault? Is this just a natural development? While the vast majority of scientists who study the environment agree that humans play a large part in climate change, there is a counterargument. Author Gail Herman presents both sides of the debate in this fact-based, fair-minded, and well-researched book that looks at the subject from many perspectives, including scientific, social, and political.”
2. The New 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth
Author: EarthWorks Group, Sophie Javna
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Year of publication: 2009
ISBN 13: 9780740790812
Recommended age range: 9 – 15 years old
Description (from publisher): “Published in advance of the celebration of Earth Day in 1990, the original 50 Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth was a cultural phenomenon, selling more than 5 million copies and inspiring an entire generation of environmental warriors. Now the book is back in print and updated for the 21st century with both original content and brand-new easy-to-do and kid-friendly projects to make a difference in our world. The new edition contains tons of tips and facts about the state of the planet sure to inform and engage young readers excited to start saving the earth.“
3. Me and Marvin Gardens
Author: Amy Sarig King
Publisher: Scholastic
Year of publication: 2009
ISBN 13: 9780545870740
Recommended age range: 10 – 13 years old
Description (from publisher): “Obe Devlin has problems. His family’s farmland has been taken over by developers. His best friend Tommy abandoned him for the development kids. And he keeps getting nosebleeds, because of that thing he doesn’t like to talk about. So Obe hangs out at the creek by his house, in the last wild patch left, picking up litter and looking for animal tracks. One day, he sees a creature that looks kind of like a large dog, or maybe a small boar. And as he watches it, he realizes it eats plastic. Only plastic. Water bottles, shopping bags… No one has ever seen a creature like this before, because there’s never been a creature like this before. The animal – Marvin Gardens – soon becomes Obe’s best friend and biggest secret. But to keep him safe from the developers and Tommy and his friends, Obe must make a decision that might change everything. In her most personal novel yet, Printz Honor Award winner Amy Sarig King tells the story of a friendship that could actually save the world.”
4. Operation Redwood
Author: S. Terrell French
Publisher: Amulet Books, Abrams
Year of publication: 2011
ISBN 13: 9780810997202
Recommended age range: 8 – 12 years old
Description (from publisher): “When Julian is sent to stay with his disinterested aunt and uncle for four months, he discovers that his Uncle’s corporation plans to cut down a group of redwood trees at Big Tree Grove and decides to take a stand to save the trees. Perfect for the young environmentalists in your life, Operation Redwood is an adventurous and gripping tale as Julian and his friends hatch scheme after scheme to save these giants of nature.”
5. No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference
Author: Greta Thunberg
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Year of publication: 2019
ISBN 13: 9780143133568
Recommended age range: 12 – 14 years old
Description (from publisher): “The groundbreaking speeches of Greta Thunberg, the young climate activist who has become the voice of a generation, including her historic address to the United Nations. In August 2018 a fifteen-year-old Swedish girl, Greta Thunberg, decided not to go to school one day in order to protest the climate crisis. Her actions sparked a global movement, inspiring millions of students to go on strike for our planet, forcing governments to listen, and earning her a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. No One Is Too Small to Make A Difference brings you Greta in her own words, for the first time. Collecting her speeches that have made history across the globe, from the United Nations to Capitol Hill and mass street protests, her book is a rallying cry for why we must all wake up and fight to protect the living planet, no matter how powerless we feel. Our future depends upon it.”
6. Analyzing Climate Change: Asking Questions, Evaluating Evidence, and Designing Solutions
Author: Phillip Steele
Publisher: Cavendish Square
Year of publication: 2019
ISBN 13: 9781502639387
Recommended age range: 11 – 14 years old
Description (from publisher): “Scientific evidence clearly shows that temperatures and the level of CO2 in the atmosphere have risen dramatically since the end of the nineteenth century, coinciding with the rise of industrialization. But what can be done to slow the effects of climate change on humans, plants and animals, and natural resources? This book explains the consequences of further climate change, from flooding of coastal areas to unhealthy pollution in urban areas, and how governments, businesses, and citizens can proactively work on limiting their use of greenhouse gases. International accords such as the Paris agreement of 2015 and the Kyoto Protocol of 1992 are also discussed.”
7. Under the Weather: Stories About Climate Change
Author: Multiple / Editor: Tony Bradman
Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
Year of publication: 2010
ISBN 13: 9781845079307
Recommended age range: 11 – 14 years old
Description (from publisher): “Here are eight short stories about how climate change is affecting children around the world. Ben’s beautiful Philippino beach is disappearing due to the death of the coral reef. Jess is moved by the plight of Beluga whales in Canada and decides to become a marine biologist. Children’s lives are changed by floods in Africa, Bangladesh, and Suffolk. In most of the stories the children seek positive and practical solutions, but sometimes they have no options. Excessive heat and too many mosquitoes in India lead to Chandrika’s death from malaria. In Siberia, the Nenets family can’t afford to look beyond short-term solutions. A thought-provoking collection emphasizing the importance of individual, as well as group initiatives. It isn’t too late to save the world!”
8. Ship Breaker
Author: Pablo Bacigalupi
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Year of publication: 2010
ISBN 13: 9781845079307
Recommended age range: 12 – 16 years old
Description (from publisher): “In America’s flooded Gulf Coast region, oil is scarce, but loyalty is scarcer. Grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts by crews of young people. Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota–and hopefully live to see another day. But when, by luck or by chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it’s worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life….”
9. The Water Knife
Author: Pablo Bacigalupi
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Year of publication: 2016
ISBN 13: 9780804171533
Recommended age range: 12 – 16 years old
Description (from publisher): “In the near future, the Colorado River has dwindled to a trickle. Detective, assassin, and spy, Angel Velasquez “cuts” water for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, ensuring that its lush arcology developments can bloom in Las Vegas. When rumors of a game-changing water source surface in Phoenix, Angel is sent south, hunting for answers that seem to evaporate as the heat index soars and the landscape becomes more and more oppressive. There, he encounters Lucy Monroe, a hardened journalist with her own agenda, and Maria Villarosa, a young Texas migrant, who dreams of escaping north. As bodies begin to pile up, the three find themselves pawns in a game far bigger and more corrupt than they could have imagined, and when water is more valuable than gold, alliances shift like sand, and the only truth in the desert is that someone will have to bleed if anyone hopes to drink.”
10. Climate Change: A Hot Topic!
Author: Dan Green
Publisher: Basher Science Series, Kingfisher, MacMillan Publishers
Year of publication: 2015
ISBN 13: 9780753471753
Recommended age range: 11 – 14 years old
Description (from publisher): “Do you know your carbon cycle from your carbon footprint? Can you tell your greenhouse effect from your greenhouse? And what exactly is a tipping point? If any of these questions leave you confused, then Basher Science: Climate Change is the book for you. From El Nino and hurricanes to deforestation and population growth of scale – this is a totally comprehensible guide to a fast-moving, essential topic. Subjects covered in this book include ice caps, the greenhouse effect, global warming, the butterfly effect, atmospheric systems, acid rain, ocean systems, acidification, fossil fuels, heat waves, urbanization, carbon footprint, recycling, renewable energy, biofuels, and nuclear power.”