Children’s Books: Global Perspectives
The American media often highlights the role of the United States and Europe in stories about environmental activism. Books can paint a broader picture, showing how environmental heroes arise on every continent.
The six children’s books below tell true stories of people who tackled environmental problems through tree planting, recycling, and other concrete actions. These books are quick to read, but their stories span years—often decades. Most of the heroes of these stories faced resistance from their communities. Some doubted whether their efforts even mattered. But over time, their work helped hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people.
If you’re reading this blog, you’re probably working hard to make the world a better place. But you might sometimes get discouraged. Next time you stop for a rest, consider reading about a boy in India who planted a forest—by himself. Or about a woman in Kenya who started a movement to plant 30 million trees. Or about a woman in the Gambia who turned piles of garbage into opportunity. These stories serve as reminders that environmental activism happens all over the world, and that hard, slow work really does change the world.
Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa by Jeanette Winter, illustrated by
The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families by Susan L. Roth, illustrated by Cindy Trumbore
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