As a lover of nature and travel, Iâve long been interested in how communities worldwide protect their environments. While living and traveling in Latin America, I learned how Indigenous knowledge and practices make our planet healthier for everyone. Several of my ten childrenâs books deal with these issues, including my novel Tree of Dreams, inspired by my time in the Amazon rain forest with a Huaorani community whose home was threatened by oil operations. This led me to collaborate with the Kichwa leader, Patricia Gualinga, on the picture book,Stand as Tall as the Trees: How an Amazonian Community Protected the Rain Forest, available in English and Spanish in July, 2023.
Sea turtles fascinate me. Iâve had the joy of learning about them on trips to Central America and Mexico, and I was thrilled to discover this fabulous middle-grade novel on the topic. Twelve-year-old Olivia is on summer vacation in Florida, struggling to deal with her parentsâ recent separation. When she realizes that the local sea turtle population is in danger, she feels called to act. She must find courage to defend the sea turtles while facing her own personal pain in the process. This is a wonderfully written story, accessible and relatable. It offers incredible information about sea turtles while providing a model for how kids can make a difference in protecting endangered species.
An inspiring and timely story of friendship, courage, and the magic that can happen when we stand up for what's right.
Normally, Olivia spends all year looking forward to her family's summer vacation in Florida. But not this year. Not when her parents have recently separated, and her father has to stay behind in Colorado. Olivia doesn't know what she'll do all summer without him. They've always been a pair, and she's never felt the same bond with her mother or younger sister. So Olivia plans to spend the summer laying low, and trying to ignore the hurt gnawing atâŚ
Iâve had myriad careers in my life but the through-line has always been Shakespeare. I became smitten with the âwords, words, wordsâ seeing a production of Twelfth Night in 3rd grade and itâs been a passion ever since. Acting led to being a âJournalist, Editor, Speaker, Spyâ but everything Iâve done was to fund my secret joy of being in a dusty old archive, transcribing manuscripts. Even though my first favorite book was Frances Hodgson Burnettâs The Secret Garden (that was already taken here!), I wasnât that âoutdoorsyâ, but when the wonderful Japanese artist SumiĂŠ Hasegawa showed me her Botanical Shakespeare drawings, I got excited about approaching Shakespeare in a totally new way.
I fell in love from the first line of the Prologue: âThis book is about the wildlife that lives right under our noses, in our gardens and parks, between the gaps in the pavement and the soil beneath our feet.â Why do we miss the beauty that is right in front of us, not to mention the opportunity to heal? Nature & Shakespeare share being taken for granted because they are always there for us. Yet they are the two things that took center stage during the darkest days of the pandemic, and for the same reason. They are here to heal and anchor us in our shared humanity. We do worry about losing Shakespeareâs plants though, a number of them are now on the endangered species list. But something like plantain (not a banana) really does grow in the cracks of cement, and has amazing healing properties, as ShakespeareâŚ
'Exquisite...should be read by every gardener in the country' Observer
The Garden Jungle is a wonderful introduction to the hundreds of small creatures with whom we live cheek-by-jowl and of the myriad ways that we can encourage them to thrive.
The Garden Jungle is about the wildlife that lives right under our noses, in our gardens and parks, between the gaps in the pavement, and in the soil beneath our feet. Dave Goulson gives us an insight into the fascinating and sometimes weird lives of these creatures, taking us burrowing into the compost heap, digging under theâŚ
My father was an artist who painted passionately, almost always outdoors. When I told him I wanted to become an art historian, he was sad partly because he hated art historians, but mainly because he imagined me chained (as a writer) to a desk, rather than marching the countryside looking for things to paint or draw. Like most writers, I sometimes get seriously bogged down, and his sadness comes back to haunt me. But then I pick up a book that, in just a few pages, puts my writing back on track, gladdening my fatherâs ghost.
Unable to finish a manuscript? This delicious book came about (Iâm told) by accident, when its author, struggling with his vast magnum opus, decided to put it down, almost randomly, into a little book of startling essays. The result is an eye-opening study of how âthingsâ need âpersonsâ to speak on their behalf, becoming personable. Includes amazing insights into iconoclasm, ecological litigation, and the legal fight of Abolitionists. And teaches how to write less, cut more, and edit with creative abandon.
A strikingly original work, Friends of Interpretable Objects re-anchors aesthetics in the object of attention even as it redefines the practice, processes, meaning, and uses of interpretation.
Miguel Tamen's concern is to show how inanimate objects take on life through their interpretation--notably, in our own culture, as they are collected and housed in museums. It is his claim that an object becomes interpretable only in the context of a "society of friends." Thus, Tamen suggests, our inveterate tendency as human beings to interpret the phenomenal world gives objects not only a life but also a society. As his work unfolds,âŚ
I am passionate about this book list because it helped me get where I am today, a multiple-times bestselling author and an award-winning senior reporter. I began working as an overnight police round reporter before moving into sports, where I became one of Australia's best news-breaking rugby league journalists. I was then appointed News Corp Australia's Chief National Motorsports Writer and traveled the world chasing Formula 1 story, as well as covering Australia's V8 Supercar races. Everyone has to start somewhere, and for me, this list of books helped me begin and continue to grow to reach the level of success that I have.
This one didnât change my life, but it did provide me with a no-nonsense guide to pesky things like conjunctions and clauses, superlatives and synonyms, prepositions and pronouns, and, obviously, alliteration. Ha.
What I liked most about this book is that it isnât written like a textbook. I read what is widely considered to be the writer's bible, The Elements of Style by William Struck and E.B. White, and considered giving up on my dream of becoming a writer because the book made me feel as if only someone with an Einstein-like intellect could write.
But, as Mr. King wrote, the story is what matters; everything else is just dressing. But in saying that, being able to string together sentences helps (I think my jokes are funny, but no one else does), and this book gives a simple explanation of how to make your copy sing.
On Writing Well has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity and the warmth of its style. It is a book for everybody who wants to learn how to write or who needs to do some writing to get through the day, as almost everybody does in the age of e-mail and the Internet.
Whether you want to write about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, the arts or about yourself in the increasingly popular memoir genre, On Writing Well offers you fundamental priciples as well as the insights of a distinguished writer and teacher. With moreâŚ
I write picture books about nature to inspire curiosity and care for our planet. I have been writing about wildlife conservation and particularly endangered species since studying ecology, campaigning with Greenpeace, and working with the Natural History Museum in London. Now as a full-time author, I have an extraordinary opportunity to learn through experience and in conversation with scientists, teachers, and children about how best to tell this ever more urgent, evolving story. The statement "Ecology? Look it up! Youâre involved" writ large in 1969 by the first Greenpeace campaigners on billboards around Vancouver, still says it all for me.
Michelle Nijhuis tells the history of conservation over the last three hundred years with compelling narrative and fascinating detail. She shines a new light on the context and stories of familiar as well as lesser-known, pioneering conservationists. I loved it and learnt so much.
Beloved Beasts explores different perspectives of an increasingly desperate human story. Cutting to the underlying narrative⌠"people are still killing too many animals and destroying too much habitat" Nijui urges that as our societies become ever more connected, perhaps there is hope that we humans can sort ourselves (and our planetâŚ) out. Letâs hope so.
In the late nineteenth century, humans came at long last to a devastating realisation: their rapidly industrialising and globalising societies were driving scores of animal species to extinction. In Beloved Beasts, acclaimed science journalist Michelle Nijhuis traces the history of the movement to protect and conserve other forms of life. From early battles to save charismatic species such as the American bison and bald eagle to today's global effort to defend life on a larger scale, Nijhuis's "spirited and engaging" account documents "the changes of heart that changed history" (Dan Cryer, Boston Globe).
With "urgency, passion, and wit" (Michael Berry,âŚ
My passion for hunting Tibetan wildlife (with a camera) started with tracking the near-mythical Takin in Bhutan for BBC Wildlife Magazine. The Takin is a beast about the size of a moose and surprisingly agile on steep mountain slopes. Where wild animals live, there is always lots of beautiful wild scenery! But Wilderness is in very short supply on the planet these days. So, my passion branched into speaking up for these wild animals and for preserving their precious habitats. In various books, such as my guidebook to Tibet (Bradt Travel Guides), I profile the incredible animals of Tibet. But the biggest inspiration is the readers themselves.
This hugely ambitious book by Indian cartoonist Rohan Chakravarty takes on the whole world, targeting audiences of all ages, from 8 to 88. It is composed of gag cartoons and comic strips based exclusively on wildlife and nature. A staunch advocate for Mother Earth, Rohan goes for the jugular on environmental injusticeâon land, in the air, under the sea.
His witty caricatures target serious issues like climate chaos and the man-animal war zone. Rohan creates both concept and illustration, delving into the many reasons why the planet is in deep trouble. Human-caused trouble. This book is one-of-a-kind, meaning there is no other book to compare it to. Superlative!
ohan ... isgifted with the ability to convey hard truths about science and people with a skill that is rare and unique. [Thisbook is] a must read. -Dia Mirza, Actor and Producer, United NationsSDGS Advocate, Wildlife Trust of India Ambassador Rohan findsways to portray the most stark environmental injustices ... I am yet to come across a more talented and effective advocate for Mother Earth and her voiceless children. -Faye D'Souza, Journalist and Entrepreneur Green Humour For A Greying Planet is a curation of gag cartoons and comic strips based exclusively on wildlife and nature, perhaps the first of itsâŚ
I am an author, illustrator, herbalist, and aromatherapist with a Bachelorâs of Science in Biology. Iâve spent years working with native flora and fauna from propagating endangered plants back into their natural habitats and swimming through alligator-infested waters to rescue baby manatees whoâve been abandoned. This list is a look into the wonderful works that have touched me deeply and pivoted me deeper into understanding the world we share.
I was handed this book after meeting Dr. Jane Goodall herself and was captivated an inspired by our worldâs animals.
This book left me feeling hopeful in the otherwise disparaging world news of habitat loss and species extinction. Remaining optimistic has been a huge part of my journey and this book will leave you with just that: hope.
Interweaving firsthand experiences in the field with premier scientists and environmentalists, Jane Goodall presents a hopeful look at the animals once on the verge of extinction that are now coming back. This book is an illuminating look at how, through the grace of nature and the dedicated work of scientists and environmentalists, we can and are actually saving animal species. Through Goodall's signature impassioned narrative, we read fascinating accounts of how the course of fate has been reversed for these animals. Each chapter illustrates the crucial need to continue saving habitats and the species that live there, as well asâŚ
Growing up, I spent summers and weekends with my grandmother, who introduced me to wild food foraging. Grandma Josie and I harvested purslane and lambs quarters weeds from her garden, dandelions and meadow mushrooms from the pasture, and watercress from a nearby spring. On daily walks we gathered peppermint, yarrow, and other wild herbs for tea. She cooked on a wood stove and kept a pot of tea warm at all times. Grandma nurtured my interest in wild plants, wilderness survival, and self-sufficiency. Inspired by her, I built my own stone and log house, teach survival skills and botany, and I still cook on a wood stove just like she did.
The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants is the only book to list all edible species (about 4,000 plants) that have been used as food by humans on the vast North American continent. The book contains a comprehensive account of each species, including etymology, geographical location, uses of each part, history of the uses, composition, medicinal uses, possible toxicity, endangered species, and much more.
Author Francis Couplan, Ph.D. blended scientific expertise with thirty-five years of personal experience consuming edible plants. By relating to the senses and to the pleasure of discovering amazing new tastes and flavors, the book encourages the reader to develop new relationships with nature.The book also includes traditional Native American cooking techniques and uses for plants which the author recorded while living with various tribes around the country.
I am a tropical ecologist turned writer and editor focused on biodiversity, climate change, forests, and the people who depend on them. I did my doctoral research in rainforests in Borneo and Papua New Guinea and have since worked for media organizations and research institutes, and as a mentor to journalists around the world who report on environmental issues. Ecology taught me that everything is connected. Rainforests taught me that nature can leave a person awe-struck with its beauty, complexity, or sheer magnificence. I try to share my passion for these subjects through my writing.
I happened to be at a conference of scientists trying to conserve endangered species when I first heard about Daniel Hudonâs book. It struck a chord. It is a beautiful little collection of one hundred eulogies for lost animal species. Some are briefâjust a few lines long. Others are more expansive, taking in literature and reportage. But all are poignant reminders of the permanence of extinction. Hudonâs aim is simply to acknowledge that these species existed, to recognize them and make them better known. It is a beautiful and unique collection, stunning in the cumulative force of his poetic words. A perfect gift, Hudonâs tales are both tragic and inspirational.
In this collection of one hundred brief eulogies, science writer and poet Daniel Hudon gives a literary voice to the losses stacking up in our present-day age of extinction. Natural history, poetic prose, reportage, and eulogy blend to form a tally of degraded habitats, and empty burrows, and of the songs of birds never to be heard again.
I am a chocolate loving writer, goat yoga enthusiast, and author of several successful childrenâs books specializing in early learning, along with an award-winning line of gratitude coloring journals. I hope to inspire a love of reading through education and laughter. My latest book, Gomer the Gassy Goat has sold over 21,000 units since 2021, and was recently referenced in The New York Times about the importance of using humor in books for kids to inspire a love of reading. âNot every book has to reach a lesson. Sometimes it can just be fun.â - Mr. Price
Who doesnât love a book about poop... Steve the Dung Beetle rolls this ball of dung past all the animals on the Savanah and along the way he teaches them why the dung beetle is so important to the environment. The illustrations are just fabulous and zookeepers write about the more endangered animals mentioned in the book. But I think the biggest plus are the poop jokes on the back of the book. Guaranteed laughs...