Celebrate Earth Day With Books, Projects, Songs and Fun All Month Long!

It's April and we have a lot to celebrate this month.  We have School Library Month, Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, and more.  

There is one April celebration that none of us simply cannot miss.  

It is Earth Day and is always held on April 22.  

From the Earth Day website, 

In 1970, the year of our first Earth Day, the movement gave voice to an emerging consciousness, channeling human energy toward environmental issues.  

Earth Day is more than just a single day, April 22, 2016.  It's bigger than attending a rally and taking a stand.  

Each year, there is a special theme.

Trees for the Earth is Earth Day's global 2016 theme.

They are challenging us as Earth Move moves closer to its 50th Anniversary to plant 7.8 billion trees.  
As we educate the world on Earth Day and all throughout the year, it is very important that we educate our children through experiences, literature, projects, and more.

And as a teacher librarian and parent, there are several books and other resources that I love to use with children and teachers as we bring attention, action and compassion towards the Earth and environment .

There are several beautiful books and songs from Cantata Learning that will be the perfect connection for Earth Day.   

It's Ecology, 

which explains the relationship between groups of living things and their environment,

and one of my favorites,

Be Kind To Your Web-Footed Friends is another wonderful connection to all of the web-footed friends and creatures that live on earth with us.

Children will love learning about all of these topics through the songs that Cantata Learning has created from their books.

You can find out more about these two and the others from Cantata Learning here on the website and...

on the Earth Day Books Pinterest Board that Brianna and I put together.

There are several picture books that have amazing connections to Earth Day!  These are a few I have added to my library over the last couple of years.

Arthur Turns Green is so much fun!  I especially love the Turn Your House Green drawing towards the back of the book.  This would be a great project for your students to do after they read this book on Earth Day.  

There is an Arthur Turns Green app too and places to learn, read, and play. 

A picture book that has a very special message is Peter Brown's The Curious Garden.  

This is an enchanting tale with environmental themes and breathtaking illustrations that become more vibrant as the garden blooms. 

You will find an activity guide at Little Brown Kids for The Curious Garden too. 

And my FAVORITE song to use for Earth Day is from my dear friend Emily Arrow and her sweet little Curious Garden Song.  

I know I will listen, share and sing this one so much on Earth Day and all throughout the year. 

I also want to tell you about a new book by Brian Yanish called Junk Re-Thunk...Amazing Creations you Can Build From Junk from ScrapKins.

I first read about ScrapKins would looking at all of the terrific things Whole Food Market does through education and program with children.  They have resources and events focused around the Earth, recycling and Earth Day too.

The characters is ScrapKins will encourage our young learners to use less, create more and build good....one that is perfect for Earth Day celebrations!

There are many books about using recycled materials with children in projects, experiments, writing, gardens, and more.

The Green Craft series from Capstone is one of my favorite with books on using newspapers, magazines, junk mail, bottle caps, CD cases, and other goods that can be recycled and used to create interesting crafts.

As you can see, Earth Day is something that is supported in creative, engaging and unique ways through all of these resources and events throughout the year.

You will find dozens of ideas on the Earth Day Pinterest Board we created.  And this month, watch what others are writing, tweeting, and sharing.  We will add these ideas to our two Earth Day boards too.