Keeping It Clean

How best to care for the environment is one of today’s most controversial issues. How do we maintain a reasonable quality of life while conserving resources for future generations? What are the pros and cons of the various energy sources available? What are the facts regarding global warming? What can each one of us do to reduce our carbon footprint? All of these issues will become increasingly pressing as the years pass, and the current school-age generation needs as much awareness and preparation as possible. The following series all have something to contribute in terms of providing the necessary information.

Gr 2-5–This series focuses on how children can become actively involved in protecting the environment. At the beginning of each book, readers are given a mission and advised to be alert to the facts provided so that they can successfully answer the questions at the end. Next comes a neatly organized list of “What You Know”–facts to keep in mind while reading–and then kids are off on an imaginary trip. In Compost It, they visit a gardener who walks a reporter through building his own compost heap. In Growing Your Own Garden, a class visits a school in Pennsylvania that is doing exactly that. Reduce provides numerous easy ways in which children can step up to the plate and recognize their responsibility to the planet. Other titles transport them to China so they can understand the plight of pandas, or to Africa where elephants’ endangered status is explored. No matter which scenario is presented, children are made to feel part of the process; suggestions for how they can become involved abound. The books include “Further Missions” sections that describe such projects as creating a greenhouse in a jar and designing an animal friendly backyard.

Gr 2-4–Though they cover similar material, the text in this attractive series is shorter and simpler than that in ABDO’s “Future Energy,” making it accessible to a younger audience. Chapters are confined to a spread each, with the chapter heading in an eye-catching banner on the top left, one important fact placed in a similar banner on the bottom left, and text on clean white space in between. The recto features a clear photograph complementing the information provided opposite. Each book refers readers to a PowerKids Web site with relevant links that will be updated on a regular basis.

Gr 3-6–These books have a great deal of information packed into them. The left-hand side of each chapter spread addresses a specific topic and includes a box with a quote from an agency, a group, or an individual active in environmental protection. The recto continues the text from the left and includes a boxed “case study” that serves as an example for the point being made in the main narrative. A small, captioned inset illustration is also included, and, on some pages, a “Fact bank” provides several bullet-pointed tidbits, or a pink box addresses a question such as, “What Can be Done?” All of these elements are set on top of a faintly printed, full-spread background illustration, which is sometimes distracting and often interferes with the text. Still, the information here is solid. All of the authors include concrete examples from around the globe. Though no political agenda is espoused, their passion for the planet comes through as their writing style is more energetic than in the other series reviewed here. In fact, as in ABDO’s “Future Energy” (see below), the books have a distinct undercurrent of frustration that although there have been signs for some time that the condition of Earth’s environment is becoming dire, not enough time or effort has been spent trying to find a solution.

Gr 1-5–These well-designed books will be a hit with browsers as well as with report writers. The background color of the chapter spreads alternates between lime green and lemon yellow, both of which are easy on the eyes. The logically organized texts, enhanced by a clear photograph on every page, emphasize using less in the first place. Clothes and Toys, for example, discusses protecting your clothes when doing messy things, wearing old clothes when playing outside, etc. A box on each page features either a “Did You Know?” fact or “You Can Help” suggestion. In Food Waste, a “Did You Know?” box informs readers that more than half of all food dumped in landfills is untouched, and a “You Can Help” spot encourages children to suggest that their parents buy unpackaged food. End matter includes a section for further information divided into specific subjects with correlating activities.

Gr 3-6–These books have a logical, clear format. Those that discuss types of fuel feature chapters that explain what the source is and how it is formed, how it is harvested or harnessed, positive and negative aspects of its use, and future possibilities–whether the problems with fossil fuels will be alleviated and whether nuclear waste can be disposed of, etc. Ollhoff does not suggest that any of these questions will be easily answered; rather, he proposes that scientists must continue to pursue the matter in an earnest fashion. Future Energy is the only title to discuss global warming at any length, but none of the controversies swirling around it are mentioned. It is also the only book that includes suggested activities for children to do at home. All of the books feature clear, crisp photographs; one depicts two children ill with cancer as a result of the Chernobyl disaster. Suitable for reports.

Each of these series has something to recommend it, and librarians will need to make decisions based on curriculum demands and student interest. Both ABDO’s “Future Energy” and Crabtree’s “Protecting Our Planet” are excellent sources for report writers, but children are not likely to be attracted to them without that impetus. These series also take the least optimistic approach to the situation. Rosen’s “Powering Our World” contains solid information and is more upbeat. Rosen’s “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!” contains practical ideas children can actually implement, but Cherry Lake’s “Language Arts Explorer: Save the Planet” takes the most creative approach in its presentation of the information and is the series most likely to inspire children to become actively involved in environmental concerns.