Books can help children learn about the environment in ways that are hopeful, engaging and empowering. Stories that focus on solutions and action can help children understand environmental challenges while showing them that they can make a difference.
As concerns about eco-anxiety in kids grow, many parents and caregivers want their children to learn accurate information about environmental issues while remaining hopeful about the future. At the same time, families are seeking meaningful swaps for screen time. Reading and talking about environmental books together can be a powerful tool to support both goals.
How books can help build resilience & reduce eco-anxiety
We know that shared reading starting at birth offers lifelong benefits beyond literacy and helps children to develop strong relationships with caregivers. We also know that safe, stable relationships can prevent toxic stress in children.
Shared reading with a caregiver can be a great way to help buffer eco-anxiety by helping children feel safe, secure and nurtured. Books can serve as tools to help children understand and express their feelings and build resilience.
Starting conversations about the environment
Reading books with environmental themes can help give our children the superpower of Earth awareness.
Books can help start conversations about our world’s diverse environmental wonders and offer an entry point for challenging environmental topics. Storytelling can provide ideas for how children can get involved and make a difference in their community, and stories about innovative environmental pioneers and leaders can inspire children.
For older children who are independent readers, books about the environment and climate change can also serve as classroom and family discussion-starters and provide ideas for careers they may wish to explore.
Creating a sense of connection & agency
To help children cope with eco-anxiety, the most important tip for parents and caregivers is to just be present and listen to their concerns, acknowledge feelings and help them develop a sense of agency by identifying ways to take action.
Helping children find ways to get involved in their community based on their individual strengths and interests will help children feel empowered and resilient. And spending time outside together is powerful.
Time in nature also matters. Research shows that spending time outdoors supports children's physical and mental well-being. Children who connect with nature are more likely to care for it as they grow.
Tips for choosing environmental books for children
Librarians at a local public library or your child’s school are a great resource for help in selecting books. Some libraries are even working to provide more equitable access to nature, connecting communities to nature through programs, curated collections, lending and nature-rich spaces.
Very young children, including toddlers and preschoolers, are not developmentally ready for complex environmental topics. So, good choices for this age group include books that foster Earth appreciation and nature connection through gardening and outdoor play. A good source of board books for infants and toddlers, "Baby Blueberries," can be found under supplemental lists on the Blueberry Awards website.
There are many great books for children and new books are published every day. Here are some lists with recommended and award-winning nature and environmental books, so that parents and caregivers have a range of choices:
A sample of pediatrician-recommended books about the environment and nature
When it comes to selecting books, sometimes it’s hard to know where to start! This is why a group of pediatricians who are members of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), including members of the Council on Environmental Health and Climate Change and Council on Early Childhood’s Early Literacy Committee, collaborated to research and identify a sample of books on a variety of environmental themes for children with hopeful, agency-promoting content.
To create the book recommendations, below, books were reviewed for environmental content, hopeful messaging that promotes agency, diversity and inclusion, language availability, as well as awards and recommendations. While the selected books are categorized based on typical age ranges, it is important to remember that developmental readiness for challenging topics, reading level and interests vary for each individual child.
Board books, indestructible books and interactive books for infants and young children
Picture books for ages 4-8 years*: Informational fiction (a made-up story with information about the environment)
| Title | Author / Illustrator | Topic |
Mara Plants a Seed | Robert Furrow, Donna Jo Napoli/Melissa Bailey | Gardening, community rewilding collaboration |
Worm Makes a Sandwich | Brianne Farley | Composting, soil health |
We Are Water Protectors | Carole Lindstrom/ Michaela Goade | Environmental conservation, water protection |
Zonia's Rainforest | Juana Martinez-Neal | Conservation, environmental restoration- rainforest |
Walking Trees
| Marie-Louise Gay | Environmental appreciation, tree focus |
A Place for Rain | Michelle Schaub/Blanca Gomez | Conservation, water conservation/water-wise strategies |
Our Planet: There's No Place Like Earth | Stacy McAnulty/David Litchfield | Earth appreciation, environmental conservation, protection |
Something Happened to Our Planet: Kids Tackle the Climate Crisis | Marianna Celano, Marietta Collins | Climate/Environmental heroes, youth activism |
Butterflies Belong Here: A Story of One Idea, Thirty Kids, and a World of Butterflies | Deborah Hopkinson, Meilo So | Wildlife Protection-butterflies |
The Coquíes Still Sing: A Story of Home, Hope and Rebuilding | Karina Nicole Gonzalez/Krystal Quiles | Environmental restoration, hurricane recovery
|
Picture books for ages 4-8 years*: Nonfiction (true stories/facts or based on true stories)
| Title | Author/Illustrator | Topic |
How to Say Hello to a Worm: A First Guide to Outside
| Kari Percival
| Gardening, Earth appreciation |
Recycling Day: What Happens to the Things We Throw Away
| Polly Faber/Klas Fahlen | Recycle/upcycle/reuse |
No World Too Big: Young People Fighting Global Climate Change | Lindsay H. Metcalf, Keila V. Dawson, Jeanette Bradley | Climate change, youth activism |
We Carry the Sun | Tae Keller/Rachel Wada | Solar energy, humanity's relationship with the sun |
The Blue Jays That Grew a Forest | Lynn Street/Anne Hunter | Wildlife and habitat appreciation/animal environmental heroes |
Once a Wasteland: From Toxic Dump to National Park | Diane Muldrow/Amy Jindra Hodgson | Pollution, Earth Day, National Park origin story |
Trouble Dog: From Shelter Dog to Conservation Hero | Carol A. Foote/Larry Day | Animal environmental heroes, conservation dog |
Whales in the City | Nancy F. Castaldo/Chuck Groenink | Conservation, river pollution, wildlife protection |
Safe Crossing | Kari Percival | Wildlife protection-wildlife crossings, amphibian migration |
Picture books for ages 4-8 years*: Nonfiction biographies (true stories about environmental pioneers and leaders)
Early readers, chapter books and graphic novels
Middle grade books (ages 9-12 years*): Fiction
Middle grade books (ages 9-12 years*): Nonfiction
*While the selected books are categorized based on typical age ranges, it is important to remember that developmental readiness for challenging topics, reading level and interests vary for each individual child.
Booklist contributors
Members of the AAP who contributed to the book selection and writing this article include: Julia Whelchel, MD; May Shum, MD; Rene Bartos, MD, FAAP; Dow Phumiruk, MD, FAAP; Claire Castellano, MD; Sophia Darwin, MD; Marian Kummer, MD, FAAP; Belise Livingston-Burns, MD, MPH, FAAP; Cheryl Anderson, MD, FAAP; Ricki Sheldon, DO; Katrina Dank; Kainoa Quia-Park, MD; Clare Burchenal, MD, MPH, FAAP; Audrey Parmar, MD, Taylor Brewer, MD; Lori Byron, MD, FAAP; Marissa Hauptman, MD, MPH, FAAP and Kathleen Swec, MD, FAAP.
Special thanks to children’s librarian and author Lisa Rogers for providing her expertise, librarian Laura Tadena, MSLS, for information about nature-smart libraries, and author Kirsten W. Larson for information about nonfiction children’s books and award lists.
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