Common Ground: theWater, Earth, and Air We Share by Molly Bang (1997) is a plea to readers to beware of using up the earth's resources. It begins with a little history; "Long ago, a village was built around a commons." This common ground belonged to everyone in the village. All residents had the privilege of grazing their sheep on the common ground. However, this became unfair when owners with more sheep used more of the land than owners with few, or no sheep at all. Eventually, the common area was grazed into oblivion. Some people moved away. Bang uses this story an an analogy when describing how oceans are over fished, forests are felled, and fossil fuels are extracted. "So then, here is our common question: . . . what will stop us from destroying our whole world--our common ground?" It's a frightening book when I think about how powerless young children may feel.
