Celebrate Earth Day every day by reading some of these great children's books about Mother Earth, recycling, planting trees, and all things green! Fittingly, most of them are printed on recycled or eco-friendly paper. Looking for more? Use our Book Finder tool to search for new books for kids of all ages!
The Earth Book by Todd Parr
Vivid illustrations help kids understand all the reasons to care for our planet. "I turn the faucet off while I brush my teeth..." the narrator says, "because I love the fish." The book comes with a poster listing simple "go green" tips for kids.
One Tree by Green Start
This board book is part of the Green Start series, an eco-friendly line of books made from 98 percent recycled materials and printed with eco friendly inks. One Tree tells kids about all the magnificent jobs a tree performs, such as housing baby birds and feeding hungry bugs. Consider reading it before a preschool nature walk.
Grade Level: Preschool and up
Curious George Plants a Tree by Margret and H.A. Rey
Our favorite little monkey is eager to help out at the local museum's "Green Day" by kicking off his own recycling crusade. As usual, George's excitement gets ahead of him, and he lands in a bit of trouble! But in the end, he makes it to the museum's celebration and enjoys planting trees with his community — making this the perfect book for your tree-planting day.
Grade Level: Preschool and up
The Earth and I by Frank Asch
This story is full of sensitivity that will resonate with adults, too. "The Earth and I are friends," the book begins. "Sometimes we go for walks together. I tell her what's on my mind. She listens to every word." We're reminded that although it seems like nature will always be there for us like a dear old friend, we cannot take it for granted.
Grade Level: Preschool and up
The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
City-dwelling kids will especially love this story. A little boy named Liam comes across a struggling garden and decides to give it some TLC. Over time, it spreads throughout the dismal gray city, bringing some lush nature back to the landscape. Talk about going green!
Grade Level: Preschool and up
Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals
This book offers "An A to Z Recipe for the Earth" — a cute how-to for composting. Young children who love dirt and worms will be big fans of composting because, as the story points out, you can mix everything from eggshells to fruit pulp to grass clippings and hair snippings — plus an insect or two.
Grade Level: Preschool and up
Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf by Olivia Bouler
Olivia Bouler — a young bird lover who was worried about the effects of the 2011 Gulf oil spill — took action in an awe-inspiring way. She wrote a letter to Audubon saying she was "11 years old and willing to help," and included her beautiful paintings of birds. Audubon, in turn, published the artwork and interesting bird facts in Olivia's Birds, which raised more than $175,000 for the oil spill cleanup. How cool is that?!
Grade Level: Kindergarten and up
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
First published in 1971, this eco-minded classic by Dr. Seuss is still a great read for Earth Day. When the greedy Once-ler cuts down the lovely Truffula Trees for the sake of manufacturing, the fuzzy yellow Lorax speaks up "for the trees have no tongues." The story reminds us all that Earth's beauty could be fleeting without our help.
Grade Level: 1st grade and up
Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel
Who is Michael Recycle? A green-caped superhero with the power to educate and excite towns about recycling, of course! This rhyming story gets creative in conveying the importance of recycling to kids.
Grade Level: 1st grade and up
The Magic School Bus and the Climate Challenge by Joanna Cole
Trying to explain the complex concepts of global warming and climate change to kids? Turn to Ms. Frizzle! In this adventurous field trip on the Magic School Bus, children travel up in the air above their town to see harmful carbon dioxide emissions in action — giving them a good reason to go green back on the ground.
Grade Level: 2nd grade and up