*Meadowlands: A Wetlands Survival Story (2011)

Meadowlands: A Wetlands Survival Story by Thomas E. Yezerski (2011) is a true story about the destruction and revival of a tract of land in New Jersey. It’s a written and pictorial history beginning hundreds of years ago. “The Meadowlands was 20,000 acres of marshes, swamps, and bogs that were home to many different plants and animals.” Dutch explorers in 1609 hunted animals for fur and felled the cedar swamps for lumber and farming. This kind of exploitation continued through the 1800’s. Eventually, the Meadowlands became a dumping ground for chemicals, sewage, and garbage. “By the 1960s, there were only 11,000 acres of wetlands left in the Meadowlands.” In 1985, this dropped to 7,000 acres after developers built homes, stores, stadiums, and apartments on the land.

On the bright side, when the dumping stopped, the wetlands began to heal. A wide variety of creatures gradually moved back in. “In July 2007, for the first time in fifty years, a young osprey–a bird of prey–leaped out and took flight from a nest its parents had built in the Meadowlands.”

An author’s note, selected bibliography and websites closes the book. The illustrations in this book are outstanding. This is a story of hope. 

*Welcome to the ICE HOUSE (1998)

*Welcome to the ICE HOUSE is another poetic masterpiece by  Jane Yolen (1998). This book would be boring in the hands of many other writers. The only other author I know who writes this well is Jonathan London. Laura Regan does a nice job of illustrating creatures of the arctic. Jane gives her many creatures to picture on the land and under the sea. “Yet this is not just a landscape of snow, blue sky above, ice below. The Arctic seas are blue and black. Beyond the ice crack swim gray and brown seals: spotted seal, ring seal, and harp.” Delicious writing!! This book belongs in every classroom and every young child’s bookcase. My only other exposure to Jane Yolen is Owl Moon, which I feature here. 

*There's a Sea in My Bedroom (1987)

*There’s a Sea in My Bedroom by Margaret Wild (1987) is a wonderfully imaginative story. Young David fears the sea. When he finds a conch shell and hears the sea inside it, he brings it home. “He felt sorry for the sea. It couldn’t enjoy being trapped inside the shell, he thought. Perhaps he could let it out...just for a short while.” Then David’s imagination takes over. No, it’s not the cliche dream. Maybe that’s what’s so much fun about this story. Pictures by Jane Tanner are perfect.

*Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World (2012)

 *Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World  by Laurie Lawlor (2012) is a must read. From humble beginnings, Rachel Carson’s work ethic earned her full scholarships for college and graduate school. When the culture denied work to women, Carson continued to research and write about the environment. After finally getting work with the Bureau of Fisheries, her writing was so good that her supervisor told her to send it to the Atlantic magazine. Her subsequent writing projects were again stymied by the times. Nevertheless, she worked as a brave biologist for 15 years. She noticed a disturbing trend human destruction of the environment.

In 1951 she published The Sea Around Us. Next came The Edge of the Sea (1955). While battling breast cancer, Rachel Carson took four years to write Silent Spring, which was published in 1962. The Epilogue at the end of the book is both sobering and encouraging. Silent Spring provoked a firestorm. “The chemical industry and several government agencies mounted a vicious, well-funded campaign against Silent Spring...” and Rachel Carson herself. The book was a best seller and inspired grassroots environmental groups to push for federal protections for the environment. In 1972, DDT was banned.

Source notes fill the final page.

May this picture book fill children with confidence as they continue a fight to save the earth. 

Ahoy there, Polar Bear (1988)

Ahoy there, Little Polar Bear by Hans de Beer (1988) is a timeless story. The young polar bear Lars lives with his family at the North Pole. One day he is accidentally caught in a humongous fishing net. On the fishing vessel, he meets a cat named Nemo. Together they arrive at port. When Lars sees the lights of civilization on the evening horizon, he’s excited to visit this new land. “What he found...surprised and disappointed him. Everything was so untidy and dirty.” Nemo guides him off the dangerous streets and introduces him to a group of friendly cats. A cat named Johnny says his ship will leave for the Arctic in the morning, and this is how Lars goes home. This is a story about discovering places beyond home and a story about pollution. It’s also a story for children learning about the fragility of the arctic. 

We Are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know (2021)

We Are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell (2021) is a book for all ages. The ‘story’ is in the form of one-page class presentations. Each student in a classroom researches and then presents on a topic relevant to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The topics are: assimilation, allotment, Indian New Deal, termination, relocation, tribal activism, self-determination, Indian Child Welfare & Education, religious freedom, economic development, language revival, and sovereign resurgence. Frene Lessac illustrates each assignment as a two-page spread. The text is brief, taking only half page. At the back of the book are More Information, a TimeLine from 1870 to 2007, Glossary of Terms, Sources, and Author’s Note. 

The Robins in Your Backyard (1996)

The Robins in Your Backyard by Nancy Carol Willis (1996) is the kind of nonfiction picture book perfect for young readers. It comes with back matter about “How to Help a Baby Songbird” and a glossary. The author was a volunteer for Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, Inc. Her lovely illustrations have a softness that evokes a warm, fuzzy feeling. I need this velvety style for the pictures of an embryo and featherless hatchlings with bulging purplish eyes. I love the robins in this book. They are close up and rendered as I remember them.

It's a glorious privilege to have a backyard and to have robins visit. I watched a robin nest right outside my window one year. The eggs were tiny, blue ovals. The baby birds were magical. Mother and papa robin worked tirelessly to feed them. This spring, a robin repeatedly flew from a nearby evergreen into one of my windows. Why? Did it see its reflection? Did it want to investigate the palm that grows just inside that window?

This book could only improve if we could hear the birdsong that robins bring with them. 

Love to Race (2020)

Love to Race by Amber Sawyer (2020) was a difficult book for me. This true story of Derek Bromac N is told by the horse. How does Sawyer know what this racehorse is thinking and feeling? At the back of the book is a nonfiction biography of Derek Bromac N that lists  his bankroll, starts, and wins. Also the “very severe tear to his suspensory ligament (at age 13)”. This horse spent a year healing this leg injury at a family farm in Wisconsin. Then, he raced again at county fairs. To hear the horse tell it, the racing life was a blast. There’s also a photo and narrative by the author. Receiving Derek began Sawyer's “love for training older horses.” 

I spent (only) 16 years in the horse world. One of my best friends “broke” yearlings, that is, she taught them to accept the saddle and bridle. At two, she mourned when they went to the track because she felt strongly that their bones were still too fragile for racing. Yet, in this story, Dereck says, “When I was only 2 years old, I got to start racing!”, like this is a good thing. 

Tami Joe DeLisle illustrates this horse well, which is no easy feat. 

Are the people in this story smiling because Dereck won races and money? Or are they smiling because they somehow just know Dereck loves the lifestyle?

The Mitten (1989)

The Mitten  is another stunning book by Jan Brett (1989). This is a Ukrainian Folktale “adapted” by Brett. She offers special thanks to her “Ukrainian friend, Oksana Piaseckyj”. I thought that I found a full page description of the original folklore and how Brett came to this adaptation in another edition of this book. But I don’t see it in the one I own now, and I could be mistaken. Nicki is a young boy who loses a mitten that his grandmother made. It becomes home to several forest animals. This story gives Brett plenty of opportunity to illustrate the forest and its inhabitants, which she does so beautifully. I was lucky to discover another version of this folktale. I compare the two stories on my WordPress blog here.

.