Big Earth, Little Me by Thom Wiley
Scholastic, April 2009
Ages 2-6
Cautions: None

Kiwi Magazine Review:
This simple book, printed with soy ink, gives children the special task of recycling, cleaning their yard and using both sides of their paper to help make the planet a little greener. Lots of flaps and simple cut-out illustrations make this book a perfect introduction for growing minds to embrace the difference they can make in having a happy planet.

Publisher’s Description:
I can help.

I can recycle.

I can turn off the water.

I can turn off the lights.

Printed with organic-soy-based ink, this simple picture book with flaps is made for young readers. From the adorable cut paper collage illustrations to the simple text, BIG EARTH, LITTLE ME is a book that thinks globally, but focuses locally.

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Kiwi Magazine interviewed Carl Hiaasen, author and environmentalist. See end of entry to win three Carl Hiaasen books for tweens and teens.

Kiwi Magazine: In the letters you have received from kids about your books, what are they saying? Is it the cause or the characters that draw them in?

Carl Hiaasen: They connect strongly with the characters, but they’re also very passionate about wildlife and nature. Kids have an instinctive curiosity and affection for the outdoors.

KM: If you were somehow displaced from Florida, do you feel like you would be drawn to the oddities in your new locale as you are to the oddities of Florida? Or, is human nature just human nature and those oddities just show themselves over time?

CH: I’m sure I’d write the same kinds of novels wherever I lived, but there’s no place as rich with weirdness and depravity as Florida.

KM: Do you have conservation or animal protection groups lobbying you to be your next book topic or character?

CH: Occasionally I get a letter asking me to include a certain critter in the next kids’ novel. It’s heartening that people care so much. I try to explain that I don’t have a game plan, or a platform, going into any book. I just wing it.

KM: What’s your first memory of a book or reading?

CH: I have a very early memory of reading the sports pages of the Miami Herald to my father over breakfast in the morning. My mom says that’s how I learned to read, from picking up the newspaper every day.

KM: Have any other professions appealed to you?

CH: I gave some thought to being a veterinarian, actually, but I can’t stand needles. I also considered going into the law, because my dad and grandfather were lawyers, but it seemed like a tough grind.

KM: Since you started with books for adults and have moved into children’s literature, are you considering other types of writing such as picture books or other genres?

CH: No, I’m going to stick with the novels. Every once in a while I write a light non-fiction book, but I prefer the rhythm of the novels.

KM: What’s your favorite place to read? To write?

CH: The only time I get to read is on airplanes, which are not my favorite places to be, period.
I write only at home, in my office. I don’t have a laptop and wouldn’t write on it if I did.
I use an old-fashioned PC.

KM: Do you feel that writers are born or can they be made? If advising a young fan on becoming a writer, what do you recommend?

CH: Writers aren’t born that way. Typically they grow up in a household full of books, with parents who love to read and pass that love along to their children. The best way for any aspiring writer to start is by keeping a personal journal - write something in it every day, whether it’s a paragraph or a thousand words, just to get into the habit. You don’t have to show the journal to a soul - just keep writing.

KM: How can someone make a difference at all in the big problems facing the world when it comes to global warming?

CH: Sounds corny, but the only way to make a difference is to get involved and stay involved. Show up at the local zoning board meeting when they want to pave a meadow and put up a shopping mall - raise your hand, ask questions, write letters to the mayor. That’s what it takes to get things done in your hometown, or in Washington, D.C. Democracy doesn’t work unless folks make themselves heard, and I’ve found that kids are some of the most eloquent and effective crusaders for change.

What Can You Do with an Old Red Shoe?: A Green Activity Book About Reuse by Anna Alter
Henry Holt and Co. - March 31, 2009
Age Range: 4 to 7
Cautions: None

Kiwi Magazine Review:
From donating toys to melting down crayons to make new ones, this book will inspire your little recycler to get creative with things around the house which can be recreated into something new. Just keep an eye on them before they go shopping for materials in your clothes closet!

Book Description:
What can Ruby do with her old red shoe? Use it as a planter for pansies! In this “green” craft book, children can appreciate that recycling is a part of everyday life, and with a little creativity, exciting projects are only a few steps away. Turn a worn flip-flop into an art stamp, a ripped shower curtain into an apron, and an old T-shirt into a pillow. These activities are just a few of the many crafts to be explored.

With easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions, this interactive book will challenge kids to come up with clever recycling ideas of their own.
Visit www.OldRedShoe.com to download activity sheets, curriculum guides, classroom tips, and desktop wallpapers.

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The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, April 2009
Ages 4-8
Cautions - all clear

Kiwi Magazine Review:
Some of us have the ability to find beauty wherever we roam. Liam is a young boy in a very gray city. He stumbles upon a fledgling garden and decides he will help it grow. Little by little, the garden responds to his help and flourishes, encouraging other aspiring gardeners to create their own green masterpieces. It’s an inspiring story about what one person can do to ‘green’ their world and how well the ‘green’ responds to just a little kindness and effort. Peter Brown, as always, is a genius with color and character.

Publisher’s Description
One boy’s quest for a greener world… one garden at a time.

While out exploring one day, a little boy named Liam discovers a struggling garden and decides to take care of it. As time passes, the garden spreads throughout the dark, gray city, transforming it into a lush, green world.

This is an enchanting tale with environmental themes and breathtaking illustrations that become more vibrant as the garden blooms. Red-headed Liam can also be spotted on every page, adding a clever seek-and-find element to this captivating picture book.

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We made a resolution that we were going to be more restrained this year, but we can’t help ourselves.  We can’t resist giving away cool products to our readers.

 So…

Just be our 500th comment on any of the Bookworms entries and this beautiful Envirosax Mikado Bag 1 is yours.  See our rules before entering (US Addresses only).

Edamommy

Congratulations to Mary G.

Celebrate Green by Corey Colwell- Lipson and Lynn Colwell

Kedzie Press, 2008

Recommended readers- Adults

Cautions:

Publisher’s description:

Not only is this book bursting with tips and ideas for celebrating green, but it boasts recipes, craft projects, and actual facts! Yes! If you’re interested in the “why’s” behind their alternatives, you’ll find them. If you only want to figure out what the heck to get your mother-in-law for Christmas that will make her sing your praises to her son without costing you or the planet, it’s there too.

Celebrate Green! is sprinkled with personal anecdotes because, as amazing as it may seem, Corey and Lynn are real, live human beings. You get to meet, know and (hopefully) enjoy them through the book. And once you know them, you’ll begin to fall for their ideas even if you’re a bit skeptical at first. They don’t hit you over the head and make you feel like a complete eco-idiot for not jumping on your bicycle, and heading to the food co-op to stock up on a year’s worth of beeswax birthday candles. They simply offer you so many sensible, interesting, and creative ideas that you’ll find it hard to resist trying some of them.

KIWI Bookworm review:

The mother and daughter team offer a myriad of suggestions to green holiday décor, gifts and meals throughout the year. Instead of falling into old habits of mall dash then trash, the authors offer unique, low-impact ideas for every special occasion wrapped up in recycled paper and a repurposed bow.

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The Complete Compost by Barbara Pleasant & Deborah L. Martin
Storey, 2008
Recommended readers- Adults
Cautions:
Publisher’s description:
Turn the compost bin upside down with this natural Six-Way Compost Gardening System for keeping compost heaps right in the garden, rather than in some dark corner behind the garage. The compost and the plants live together from the beginning in a nourishing, organic environment. The authors’ bountiful, compost-rich gardens require less digging, weeding, mulching, and even planting. And here’s one of the best parts — no more backbreaking slogs from compost bin to garden. The authors even identify the plants that benefit most from compost and explain how the elements of a composted garden work together.
KIWI Bookworm review:
Turn your organic kitchen waste into gardening gold with this must-have guide to composting. This book is a complete how-to for all levels of composters and gardeners and emphasizes using the tools and materials you already have to enrich your garden. Let the worms do the work while you enjoy the fruits of their labor.
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Hey Mr. Green by Bob Schildgen
Sierra Club Books, 2008
Recommended readers- Adults
Cautions:
Publisher’s description:
Now the editors of Sierra magazine have distilled the best of “Mr. Green” into this enormously useful and entertaining book, organized for easy access: “At Home” offers tips on staying cool, cleaning up, and other domestic details; “Food for Thought” focuses on how to eat and drink better while spending less; “Out and About” covers getting around, fueling up, and enjoying the great outdoors; “The Three Rs” shows you how (and why) to reduce, reuse, and recycle almost everything; and “The Big Picture” considers how the environment, politics, religion, and other issues intersect—often at the dinner table.
Kiwi Bookworm Review:
The Sierra Club’s Bob Schildgen fields down and dirty questions from readers including whether to buy beer in bottles or cans (best to make your own beer or buy it in a keg) to proper use of your garbage disposal (use minimally – compost the organic waste instead). This book has humorous, but fact-based answers to all of your burning (gas grill or campfire?) questions.
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