by Shaun Tan
“We promised to set things right. But so many years have passed now, and … we just don’t know how to get it down”
Recommended audience: Ages 14+, Ages 8-13
Year Published: 2018
Continental Setting: Unspecified
by Shaun Tan
“After all, dear beloved, I need you as much as you need me. And where could we live if not in the bottomless den or each other’s shadow?”
Recommended audience: Ages 14+, Ages 8-13
Year Published: 2021
Continental Setting: Unspecified
by Shaun Tan
“But maybe pigs suffer in a way we can’t know. Who can say for sure what another animal is feeling?”
Recommended audience: Ages 14+, Ages 8-13
Year Published: 2021
Continental Setting: Unspecified
by Shaun Tan
“After all, dear beloved, I need you as much as you need me. And where could we live if not in the bottomless den or each other’s shadow?”
Recommended audience: Ages 14+, Ages 8-13
Year Published: 2021
Continental Setting: Unspecified
“We believe that at the center of this effort must be a genuine commitment not only to environmental, racial, and climate justice, but to the empowerment of girls and women, who are facing the crisis most acutely and are at the forefront of efforts to combat it.”
Recommended audience: Ages 14+
Year Published: 2021
Continental Setting: Across the World, Africa, Uganda
by Bao Phi
“Dad smiles, his teeth broken and white in the dark, because we have a few fish and he knows we will eat tonight.”
Recommended audience: Ages 0-3, Ages 4-7
Year Published: 2017
Continental Setting: North America, United States
“It is difficult for anyone born and raised in human infrastructure to truly internalize the fact that your view of the world is backward… even if you know that the wilderness is the default state of things…. you will still struggle to understand that human constructs are carved out, and overlaid, that these are the places that are the in-between, not the other way around.”
by Hua Lin Xie
“The Recycled Orchestra went on to play all over the world, changing the lives of the young people born near the landfill. More and more people become invested and involved in this project, even founding a music school.”
“Modern human civilization has developed within just 10,000 years, yet our success as a species has tipped the planet’s systems outside their natural limits.”
Recommended audience: Ages 14+
Year Published: 2018
Continental Setting: Across the World
by K. O'Neill
“I know our village is small, and we can only do small things to help the sea. But I still think we should do them. Even if other people are harming the reef, it doesn’t make it okay for us to as well.”
“I screw my eyes tightly closed, place my palms together and say a prayer . . . I hear the rushing water of the Ganges, the mountain winds whistling their way through the valleys of Moormanali and connect to the ancient rhythms of my ancestors.”
by Jon Scieszka
“So now it’s up to you to figure a way out. You can: a) Burn less fossil fuels or b) Find another planet with air and water and plants and animals, just like Me.”
by Jon Scieszka
“That’s it, Homo Sapiens—the hard and inescapable truth. I am your Perfect Planet. I will take care of you. But you have to take care of me”
Recommended audience: Ages 8-13
Year Published: 2021
Continental Setting: Unspecified
by Jon Scieszka
“Even though the Water Planet did not turn out to be a good Goldilocks Planet, it did turn out to be a good lesson on how to take care of a planet.”
“Saving the environment is harder than fractions. Harder than getting my sisters to be nice. Harder than dreaming nightmares. Or searching for mermaids.”
Recommended audience: Ages 8-13
Year Published: 2015
Continental Setting: North America, United States
“School is not the only place to find a teacher.”
Recommended audience: Ages 4-7, Ages 8-13
Year Published: 2020
Continental Setting: Across the World
“As a bee, honey’s pretty important to me. It’s important to all bees. We invented it. We make it. And we protect it with our lives.”
Recommended audience: Ages 14+, Ages 4-7, Ages 8-13
Year Published: 2007
Continental Setting: North America, United States
“And here’s the wonder: her tiny body (not even an inch) holds everything she needs to create a whole colony of bees.”
Recommended audience: Ages 4-7
Year Published: 2021
Continental Setting: North America, United States
“We take care of the land… as the land takes care of us. Gunalchéesh, I say giving thanks.”
Recommended audience: Ages 4-7, Ages 8-13
Year Published: 2022
Continental Setting: North America, United States
“Merwin. All life is in danger. Remember, life began as a gift, and it must always be treated as such. No matter how unstoppable the danger seems, no matter how unavoidable, there’s always something you can do.”
Recommended audience: Ages 14+, Ages 8-13
Year Published: 2023
Continental Setting: Unspecified
by Julie Flett
“Our new home sits on a hill overlooking a field … The field is covered in snowdrops.”
Recommended audience: Ages 4-7, Ages 8-13
Year Published: 2019
Continental Setting: North America, United States
“The more Sam learned, the more powerful she felt. There were so many ways to help!”
Recommended audience: Ages 4-7, Ages 8-13
Year Published: 2023
Continental Setting: North America, United States
by Ryan Coogler
“Wakanda is strong enough to help others and help ourselves.”
Recommended audience: Ages 14+
Year Published: 2018
Continental Setting: Africa, United States
“Children hearing the Skywoman story from birth know in their bones the responsibility that flows between humans and the earth.”
Recommended audience: Ages 14+
Year Published: 2013
Continental Setting: North America, United States
“I learned that in twenty years, the number of monarchs has fallen by ninety percent. The problem is so big, and butterflies are so small.”
Recommended audience: Ages 4-7
Year Published: 2020
Continental Setting: North America, United States
“Most people stare up into space with wonder. Yet, we have this almost alien world on our own planet just teeming with life. But it’s a world people almost never explore.”
by Jason Chin
“With so many species living in such a small space, it’s no wonder coral reefs are called cities of the sea.”
Recommended audience: Ages 4-7, Ages 8-13
Year Published: 2011
Continental Setting: North America
“No water – no water bugs, no frogs, no birds, and no brook trout. The lost creek was quiet under the sun.”
Recommended audience: Ages 4-7
Year Published: 2017
Continental Setting: North America, United States
by Micha Archer
“On Tuesday, Daniel climbs the old oak tree. He sees Squirrel. ‘Squirrel, do you know what poetry is?’ ‘Poetry is when crisp leaves crunch,’ Squirrel tells him.”
Recommended audience: Ages 0-3, Ages 4-7
Year Published: 2016
Continental Setting: Unspecified
“This is not about saving our planet, it’s about saving ourselves. The truth is, with our without us, the natural world will rebuild.”
Recommended audience: Ages 14+, Ages 8-13
Year Published: 2020
Continental Setting: Across the World
Earth is in a state of climate emergency. Our mission is to promote climate literacy as a means to transition to an ecological civilization. We offer you the resources to teach about climate change with literature, film, and other media for young people.
Climate Lit is an initiative of the Center for Climate Literacy at the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development.
