The Bookshelf is Stacked

AEGeneral · #1 04-10-2008, 11:22 PM

Winston of Churchill: One Bear's Battle Against Global Warming

Polar bear Winston lives in the town of Churchill, Manitoba, and is worried about the ice cap melting. He shares the book he has written about global warming with his fellow bears, who realize that they need people to help them save their habitat. Brave and fearless Winston mobilizes the others to march with picket signs in front of the tourists who have come to look at them. Sprinkled with quotes from Sir Winston Churchill, this book attempts to raise awareness of the effects of climate change. The quotes will be lost on children, and the cigar-chomping, glasses-wearing bear will not ring bells with most of them. However, the message is important, the book-within-a-book allows the author handily to present factual information, and the picket signs provide memorable visual bites: "Turn down the furnace"; "Make less garbage." Trammell's delicate illustrations are charming and friendly. This picture book should spark discussions among young readers.

Why Are the Ice Caps Melting?: The Dangers of Global Warming (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) (Paperback)

The prolific Rockwell takes on the controversial subject of global warming in this effective entry in the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out series. The book begins by introducing Earth as a remarkable place that may be the only spot where conditions are right for life.^B She goes on to explain in simple language the greenhouse effect, the sources of global warming, what the effects of warming have been so far and what they might be in the future. Some solutions are also offered, good ideas like planting trees, riding bikes instead of driving, and buying foods that aren't prepackaged. Global warming criticism gets about a half page of rebuttal, but Rockwell notes, even if the critics are right, it is still a good idea to try to stop the increase of greenhouse gasses. The ink-and-watercolor art, brimming with action, has a lightness the subject belies, but it adds child appeal. A final two-page spread offers some activities to extend the text. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth (Paperback)

A practical and upbeat guide to saving resources and protecting the en vironment. Each brief chapter begins with an often humorous "Take a Guess," followed by an overview of a problem in "Did You Know," "What You Can Do," and "See For Yourself" sections. Statistics and measurements are translated into age-appropriate terms, such as comparing children's weight to the amount of garbage thrown away in a year. Simple demonstrations (counting cans in a supermarket) im press upon readers the vast quantities of materials and energy routinely used. As books that deal with pollution and/ or ecology generally present the prob lem first and append a chapter recom mending action, they lack the optimis tic and encouraging tone of this book. Some of the suggestions are not easy, and adult assistance and advice are em phasized. Parents and teachers will find this to be a useful guide for increasing awareness of environmental problems and a superb teaching tool. Black-and- white drawings decorate each page. Newton's Taking a Stand Against En vironmental Pollution (Watts, 1990) is for older readers.
-Meryl Silverstein, formerly at Meyer Levin Junior High School, Brooklyn
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Earth Book for Kids: Activities to Help Heal the Environment (Paperback)

Creative ideas with easy-to-follow instructions show kids how to make their own paper, compare phosphate levels in detergents, test the effects of oil pollution, conduct a recycling survey, create a trash sculpture, redesign a package, chart a flush, measure acidity and make a difference in many other exciting ways.

An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming (Hardcover)

Grade 5–8—This young readers' version of the recent documentary film's companion adult volume cuts the page count by about a third but preserves the original's cogent message and many of its striking visuals. After explaining that his interest in the environment predates even his mother's reading of Silent Spring aloud to him as a teenager, Gore proceeds to document steeply rising carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere, and then to link that to accelerating changes in temperature and precipitation patterns worldwide. Using easy-to-grasp graphics and revealing before-and-after photos, he shows how glaciers and ice shelves are disappearing all over the globe with alarming speed, pointing to profound climate changes and increased danger from rising sea levels in the near future. O'Connor rephrases Gore's arguments in briefer, simpler language without compromising their flow, plainly intending to disturb readers rather than frighten them. He writes measured, matter-of-fact prose, letting facts and trends speak for themselves—but, suggesting that "what happens locally has worldwide consequences," he closes with the assertion that we will all have to "change the way we live our lives." Like the film, this title may leave readers to look elsewhere for both documentation and for specific plans of action, but as an appeal to reason it's as polished and persuasive as it can be.—John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

AEGeneral · #2 04-10-2008, 11:31 PM

The Sky's Not Falling!: Why It's Ok to Chill About Global Warming (Paperback)

"The Sky's Not Falling: Why It's OK To Chill About Global Warming" is for parents sick of seeing their kids indoctrinated by has-been politicians and Hollywood stars. Unlike books written by would-be celebrities without any scientific or economics background, "The Sky's Not Falling" is everything a book about the environment written for kids should be: fact-filled, apolitical, fun and optimistic about the future of our magnificent, ever-changing planet.

In "The Sky's Not Falling," author Holly Fretwell, a natural resources management expert, shows kids ages 8 and up that human ingenuity combined with an "enviropreneurial" spirit will lead us to a bright environmental future, not one where people ruin the earth.

Parents confronted by Photoshopped pictures of drowning animals and faux "documentaries" will embrace a book that educates rather than manipulates. Holly Fretwell brings real credentials to the debate, giving kids the scoop not just about global warming, but the real-world consequences of the Left's responses to it.

I searched for "kids global warming" on Amazon, and this was the extent of it. Out of 50 books, only 1 conveys the skeptics' point of view.

They're starting 'em young. Ages 4-12 on a lot of them.

mcclane · #3 04-10-2008, 11:45 PM

ha ha ha !!!! in regards to winston of churchill, they say to "turn down the furnace". Well, if you live or even know how bone chilling cold it gets in Churchill, you won't be turning down any furnace period.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode