adventures of Kitai and his wrong hands. Steven and his BOOKS FOR CHILDREN father after they crash land on allies all use the superpowers of Earth—from Kitai’s point of the Chinese Zodiac to help them Armando and la Baula, by view. The action is set one save the world. David Robert. (Illus. by Ellie thousand years after humans Cox.) CreateSpace, 2009. abandoned Earth. After his Using an encounter between an father is injured during the eight-year-old Costa Rican boy crash, young Kitai must use his and a leatherback turtle as a wits and determination to starting off point, Armando and retrieve a distress beacon to save la Baula sets out to highlight his father and himself. how human actions can impact the environment and the animals Chavela and the Magic Bubble, that live in it. Armando is the by Monica Brown. (Illus. by boy and Bella is the leatherback Magaly Morales.) Houghton turtle—or baula. Children will Mifflin Harcourt, 2010. enjoy following along as For all those who love chewing Armando uses his imagination gum comes a whimsical tale of a to help Bella and keep a promise little girl and her magic bubble. to his father. While out with her abuelita one

day, Chavela buys a pack of Flame and Hope: An African magic chewing gum and when Adventure, by Maretha Botha. she blows a bubble she is carried (Illus. by MM Menichini and off to the Yucatan where she Holly Sellors; from Tales from learns how the chicleros use Fauna Park Series.) LionheART sustainable methods to harvest Publishing House, 2014. the sap, or chicle, from sapodilla In this coming-of-age tale set in trees to make her beloved the African desert, Flame, a bubble gum. The brightly- puppy born in the desert and colored illustrations help tell this adopted by a free-range cattle tale of rain-forest conservation. farmer, faces the challenge of proving himself to more than Convergence, by Stan Lee. one of his new family. This (Illus. by Andie Tong.) Disney book uses animal characters and Press, 2015. animalized words to immerse The first novel by Stan Lee, the reader in the animal world of author of Marvel comics like After Earth: Kitai's Journal, by the farm as it follows Flame’s Spider-Man and X-Men, Christine Peymani. (Illus. Jason adventures from puppy to a A. Katzenstein.) Harper Collins, revolves around a teenage strong and brave dog that helps 2013. protagonist, Steven Lee, and a keep The Promise of protecting team of uniquely talented allies For those who enjoyed the helpless ones in Fauna Park. who fight to keep control of the original After Earth and its world from falling into the movie, this book follows the Highway Cats, by Janet Taylor these important predators. From through the eyes of two boys. Lisle. (Illus. by David his experiences, Pedru learns to One boy has a dream of cutting Frankland.) Puffin Books, 2008. look at lions in a different way down trees to build a big Highway Cats is the tale of a and to consider peaceful, mansion. His friend, though, group of feral cats that live in workable solutions to dangerous helps him understand the the woods and their encounter problems devastation that would be with three tiny kittens. These caused by taking that course. mystical kittens are resilient and The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss. Harper The book features whimsical, help the group band together to Collins Publishers, 2010. pop-up woodland creatures and try to save the woods, their First published in 1971, this beautiful illustrations to help tell home, from being destroyed for classic tale of environmental the story. more development. While the destruction is still a great read story takes on the feeling of a after all of these years. The Moon Bear, by Gil Lewis. (Illus. fantasy tale, it is grounded in environment still needs by Alessandro Gottardo.) some present-day problems like protecting and today’s children Oxford University Press, 2014. pollution and overdevelopment. should find it relevant and While working on a bear bile engaging. farm in a city in Laos, Tam is moved to help at least one bear Lucky Beans, by Becky Bertha. escape the horrible conditions (Illus. by Nicole Tadgell.) on the farm. The bile from bear Albert Whitman & Co., 2014. gallbladders is used in Set during the Great Depression traditional medicine. In this in the 1930s, Lucky Beans tells poignant tale, Tam forms an the story of Marshall Loman unbreakable bond with the bear who uses his knowledge of and their story helps to reveal mathematics to help him guess the real-life, heart-wrenching how many beans are in a jar. plight of Asia’s endangered Will Marshall win the Lucky moon bears. Bean contest and get his ma a new sewing machine? Night of the Black Bear, by Gloria Skurzinsky and Alane Meet Franklin Bean, by Emmy Ferguson. Swain. (Illus. by Levi (Illus.; from Mysteries in our The Lion Who Stole My Arm, by Whitworth.) Emmy Swain, National Park Series.) National Nicola Davies. (Illus. by 2011. Geographic, 2007. Annabel Wright.) Candlewick, Meet Franklin Bean is the first Children can join Jack and 2014. book in a series that features a Ashley Landon as they struggle Zoologist Nicola Davies uses dog who helps a boy deal with to figure out what could be plain, simple language in this some of life’s challenges, like causing the growing number of illustrated novel for young moving, going to a new school, bear attacks in Great Smoky readers that proves you don’t and bullying. Mountains National Park. With need two arms to be strong. the help of some new friends, Enhanced with black and white A Mighty Tree, by Diane René will the Landons be able to help mixed media, the story centers Christian. (Illus. Raina YuSi park officials figure out what’s around Pedru, who is attacked Christian.) Asian Kid Lit, 2015. causing the bizarre bear by a lion and loses his arm. Written and illustrated by a behavior? Pedru is bent on revenge until he mother-daughter team, A Mighty and his father kill the wrong lion Tree explores the meaning of One Love, by Cedella Marley and come to learn more about environmental preservation and Bob Marley. (Illus. by Vanessa Newton.) Chronicle habits and characteristics of Threatened, by Eliot Schrefer. Books, 2011. various sea creatures, including Scholastic Press, 2014. Adapted from one of Bob an anemone, a beluga, a Threatened recounts the story Marley's most beloved songs, Portuguese man-of-war, and a of Luc, an orphan adolescent in One Love brings the joyful spirit seahorse. Gabon who agrees to help a and unforgettable lyrics of his researcher find chimps in the music to life for a new jungle. Luc is an AIDS orphan generation. Readers will delight and, therefore, the book also in dancing to the beat and touches on the societal impacts feeling the positive groove of of HIV/AIDS in Gabon. As a change when one girl enlists her child, he was afraid of chimps, community to help transform or “mock men,” but, through the her neighborhood for the better. course of the book, he learns not Adapted by Cedella Marley, only to appreciate them but to Bob Marley's first child, and feel as though he is part of their gorgeously illustrated by Tanner Turbeyfill and the Moon family Vanessa Newton, this Rocks, by Anna Browning. heartwarming picture book (Illus. by Josh Crawford.) To Be a Drum, by Evelyn offers an upbeat testament to the Diamond DMT Publishing, Coleman. (Illus. by Aminah amazing things that can happen 2013. Brenda Lynn Robinson.) Albert when we all get together with Filled with beautiful illustrations Whitman & Company, 1998. one love in our hearts. of the Earth, moon, and stars, Combining mixed-media Tanner Turbeyfill and the Moon illustrations with simple text that Poacher Panic, by Jan Burchett. Rocks takes kids on an conveys the drumbeat of a (Illus. by Diane Le Feyer; from adventure into space. Tanner people, To Be a Drum relates the the Wild Rescue Series.) Stone dreams of going to the moon to history of African Americans Arch Books, 2012. get some lunar rocks to add to from their origins in Africa, Poacher Panic is one book in a his rock collection. He’s through slavery to the present series called Wild Rescue, surprised to learn that he might day. Accomplishments in which features twins Ben and just get what he wished for! science, the arts, the military, Zoe who travel the world on Anna Browning strikes a good and the Civil Rights Movement secret missions for their uncle's balance between science and are recounted. Ultimately, elite environmental whimsy in this tale about though, this book exhorts organization, WILD. In this chasing your dreams. everyone to follow their own book, Ben and Zoe must help heartbeats and become their own rescue a tiger and her two cubs There Was an Old Lady Who drums. from a gang of vicious poachers. Swallowed a Frog!, by Lisa Collandro. (Illus. by Jared D. Trouble on the St. John’s River, Sea Watch, by Jane Yolen. Lee.) Cartwheel Books, 2014. by Jane R. Wood. (Illus. by (Illus. by Ted Lewin.) Philomel, In this spin on the classic Elizabeth A. Blacker.) Florida 1996. nursery song, everyone’s Kids Press, Inc., 2008. Jane Yolen and Ted Lewin team favorite old lady swallows a frog This book follows the up again to bring us this instead, among other things. adventures of three siblings as collection of fourteen poems With its rhyming text and fun they lead a crusade to clean up that celebrate the mystery and illustrations, children will get a their favorite fishing pond. As diversity of the sea. Yolen’s good laugh at how this old lady they work to enlist others in lyrical poetry is accompanied by makes a garden. their cause, they have an Lewin’s beautiful watercolors to encounter with a manatee, visit a reveal intriguing facts about the center that rehabilitates injured sea turtles, and take a boat tour provide fruit and shade, trees all National Park Series.) National on the St. Johns River. What over the world also bring beauty Geographic, 2008. they learn through these and joy to our lives. This In this book, Jack and Ashley experiences inspires them to beautiful book, in poetry and Landon accompany their create The Greenies and chart a illustration, is a story of two mother, a veterinarian, to course of action that captures the families who plant trees in two Yellowstone Park to investigate attention of many. Along the different parts of the world. As an incident in which a hunting way, they also learn that kids the trees flourish, so do the dog was purportedly chased can make a difference when they families. This book, with its onto park land and killed by a are inspired to do so. clear ecological message, would pack of wolves. be good to share on Earth Day, Waiting for the Owl’s Call, by Arbor Day, or any day. Gloria Whelan. Sleeping Bear BOOKS FOR PRETEENS Press, 2009. Where in the World is Away, by This beautifully illustrated book Michael Franti. (Illus. by Ben & TEENS deals with a not-so-beautiful Hodson.) Stay Human Books, topic: child labor in the rug 2012. After the Snow, by S.D. making industry. The book tells This engaging book helps show Crockett. Square Fish, 2013. the story of eight-year-old children what happens when In After the Snow, there is no Zulviya, who lives in they throw something “away.” liquid water—only ice and Afghanistan, who joins the other In the process, they learn that snow. It’s a struggle for survival girls and women of her village away really just means for Willo and his family, who in weaving rugs all day. It somewhere else. The story is have chosen to live out in the expresses the longing of Zulviya about the importance of wilderness away from the and her friends to venture recycling, reducing waste, and government’s control. It outside or possibly go to school. reusing what we can. It also can becomes even harder for Willo This book would be a good one be enjoyed with its read-along when his family disappears and to read along with a child and CD. he has to rely on himself to find discuss the problem of child refuge and his family. labor. Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold, by Joyce Sidman. Before We Were Free, by Julia (Illus. by Rick Allen.) Houghton Alvarez. Laurel Leaf, 2007. Mifflin Harcourt Books for In this book, Julia Alvarez Young Readers, 2014. introduces young readers to Winter Bees takes kids on a Anita de la Torre and her family, journey out into the wintertime who live in the Dominican to learn about how animals stay Republic and grapple with their alive and their secret lives under political ideals that are at odds the snow. Joyce Sidman with those of the Dominican combines science and poetry dictator, Rafael Trujillo—or El with Rick Allen’s illustrations to Jefe. While the book tackles the show kids that the seemingly harsh realities of life under a barren winter is actually alive dictatorship, it does so slowly with the hidden activity of plant We Planted a Tree, by Diane and gently. The story is told and animal life. Muldrow. (Illus. by Bob from Anita’s point of view and

Staake.) Golden Books, 2010. her voice rings clearly Wolf Stalker, by Gloria In addition to helping to clean throughout the book. Skurzinsky and Alane Ferguson. the air, enrich the soil, and (Illus.; from Mysteries in our Breakfast Served Anytime, by African American. Will Dragons at Crumbling Castle: Sarah Combs. Candlewick, Brendan’s mother and And Other Tales, by Terry 2014. grandfather be able to put the Pratchett. (Illus. by Mark In this coming-of-age story, past behind them and reunite as Breech.) Houghton Mifflin Gloria sets out to spend the a family? Harcourt, 2015. summer before her senior year at This collection of never-before- a camp for gifted and talented The Day of the Wave, by Gina published funny and inventive students. Though she doesn’t Hamilton. Turning Tide Cottage tales by Terry Pratchett offers a know quite what to expect, Press, 2011. glimpse into the master Gloria resolves to make the best The Day of the Wave takes place storyteller’s humor and wit. of her new circumstances and to during and after the earthquake These tales are early works by try to overcome the heartache of and tsunami that devastated the Pratchett and as such are good losing her grandmother and best island of Sumatra, Indonesia the examples of his fictional friend. This honest and touching day after Christmas in 2014. imaginings, from dragons who story of growing up is imbued This book follows the story of invade a castle because their with the serene atmosphere of Merpati, a twelve-year-old girl caves were flooded to tiny Kentucky’s natural landscape. who gets separated from her people who live in a carpet. parents during the tsunami. She becomes responsible for an orphan and an ancient blind villager and struggles to keep them alive as she searches for her family. This coming-of-age story provides a glimpse at the daily life of villagers in Sumatra as well as a look at the resilience and spirit of those who survive a natural disaster.

Doomed, by Tracy Deebs. Walker Childrens, 2013. In this fast-paced novel that is sure to appeal to gaming fans, Pandora sets off a global Brendan Buckley’s Universe and computer virus by playing a Everything In It, by Sundee T. virtual-reality game called Zero Frazier. Yearling, 2008. Day. The virus takes out the The Evolution of Calpurnia Brendan Buckley is a biracial Internet, cell phones., utilities, Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly. boy with a passion for science traffic lights, hospitals, law Henry Holt and Co., 2009. who discovers that he is much enforcement, etc. In order to try This 2010 Newbery Honor Book like his grandfather, whom he to restore order, Pandora teams offers a charming tale of a girl at has never met. When he does up with step-brothers Eli and the turn of the twentieth century meet him at a rock club meeting, Theo to enter the virtual world who doesn’t abide by the usual he discovers that his of Zero Day and to try to track social norms for girls during that grandfather’s skin is pink and down her long-lost father, who time period. Instead of getting not brown like his. He also may be the only hope to saving caught in the trappings of tight learns that his grandfather has the world. corsets, cookery, and been estranged from his mother handiwork, Calpurnia prefers to since she decided to marry an observe and collect scientific specimens with her grandfather. optimistic visions of the golden the story of a girl discovering Told in vivid first-person age of science fiction. Included what it means to be human. narrative, this book provides a are works by Stephenson, Cory tale of self-discovery that would Doctorow, Elizabeth Bear, and be hard to put down. more.

Gilded Girls, by R.K. Johnson. Hoot, Flush, Scat, Chomp CreateSpace Independent Collection, by Carl Hiassen. Publishing Platform, 2014. Ember, 2013. Gilded Girls is a tale of four This collection of four ebooks friends, Missy, Hazel, Poppy, by Carl Hiassen is set in Florida and Countess, all living in and features kids facing Washington, D.C. during the environmental problems and Gilded Age. It explores their how they try to help. The books friendship, love, and coming-of- are full of Hiassen’s signature age among Washington’s quirky characters and humor in African American bourgeois an age-appropriate package. after the Civil War.

Mousemobile, by Prudence Green Boy, by Susan Cooper. Breitrose. Disney-Hyperion, The Neptune Project, by Polly Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2014. Holyoke. Disney Hyperion. 2002. This sequel to Mousenet follows 2013. In this fantasy novel by the continuing adventures of This SciFi dystopian story about Newberry Award-winning Megan, Joey, and a bunch of kids who were genetically author Susan Cooper, twelve- mice that have evolved into engineered to survive in the year-old Trey and his silent possibly the smartest creatures ocean offers a twist to other brother, seven-year-old Lou, are on earth. When the Big Cheese, stories in this vein. Although the transported to another world that leader of Mouse Nation, asks for kids involved were initially is strident, polluted, and their help to figure out who unaware of the fact that they overcrowded. In this world, Lou betrayed him, Megan and Joey were genetically engineered, is hailed as a mythic hero who head out to California, with way they have no choice but to adapt will bring both destruction and too many mice, to try to save to their special powers in order renewal. The tension continues Mouse Nation. to avoid becoming pawns of the to mount in this adventure as the totalitarian government. Their children strive to save the alien Nelson Telson: The Story of a journey through the ocean to world as well as their own True Blue Blood, by Heidi asylum won’t be easy, but it will beloved Long Pond Cay. Mayo. CreateSpace Independent be necessary in order for them to Publishing Platform, 2014. build a better world underneath Hieroglyph: Stories and Visions Who hasn’t dreamed of being the water. for a Better Future, by Ed Finn able to talk to the animals like and Kathryn Cramer. William Dr. Doolittle? In this book, The One Safe Place, by Tania Morrow Paperbacks, 2015. Mariah Miller gets to do just Unsworth. Algonquin Young Inspired by New York Times that when she discovers a magic Readers, 2015. bestselling author Neal spearhead on the beach that After his grandfather dies, Devin Stephenson, this is an anthology allows her to talk to a wise old must face an uncertain future on of stories, set in the near future, horseshoe crab, Nelson Telson, his own. He is unprepared to from some of today’s leading and a host of other animals. take care of the family farm— writers, thinkers, and visionaries Blending scientific content and one of the few left on earth. So, that reignites the iconic and ageless themes, Heidi Mayo tells he sets out for the city and finds animal life is perhaps even more that children there are left to relevant today than when it was their own devices. He befriends written over 50 years ago. a girl named Kit and they both eventually end up at the Gabriel Seed Savers, by Sandra L. H. Penn Home for Childhood, Smith. Sandra L. Smith, 2012. where things seem too good to There are three volumes in this be true. What will be the fate of series about a not-too-distant Devin and the other children at future where gardening is the home? The mystery and illegal, corporations own the suspense in this dystopian story seeds, and real food is no longer gradually unfold but stop short available. Set in 2077, this series of becoming truly horrific. follows the journey of three children as they go on a quest to One White Dolphin, by Gill find a place called “The Garden Lewis. Atheneum Books for State.” They also learn more Young Readers, 2012. about gardening and how to Written by veterinarian Gill Orleans, by Sherri Smith. make a change back to the old Lewis, One White Dolphin Speak, 2014. ways. captures the beauty and wonder In Smith’s compelling and of the undersea world and disturbing novel, the Gulf Coast Seekers, by Erin Hunter. carries a strong environmental has been formally separated HarperCollins, 2009. message. In this story, when a from the U.S. since 2025, after a In this ecological adventure baby albino dolphin caught in deadly plague called Delta Fever series by Erin Hunter, popular old fishing netting washes emerged from the horrific author of the Warriors series of ashore, Felix and Kara work conditions following years of books, readers meet three bear with vets and specialists to save increasingly destructive cubs—Kallik, a polar bear; her and reunite her with her hurricanes. Survivors have Lusa, a black bear; and Toklo, a mother. These actions set off a divided themselves into tribes brown bear—who have been chain of events that might just based on blood type, which now separated from their families. save a nearby reef from matters more than race, religion, The story follows their dredging. or wealth. After her best friend adventures as they go on a dies in childbirth, Fen sets out to perilous journey to find their Operation Redwood, by S. get the baby outside the Wall to way in the world. Terrell French. Amulet the safety of the Outer Lands. Paperbacks, 2011. Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated In this environmental adventure The Pond, by Robert Murphy. Narratives from Black History, novel, 12-year-old Julian and his The Overlook Press, 2013. by Joel Gill. Fulcrum friends band together to save an Set in the early 1900s, The Pond Publishing, 2014. area of redwood forest known as tells the story of Joey and his Strange Fruit is an illustrated Big Tree Grove from his greedy visits to a beautiful pond as he anthology of stories from uncle and his uncle’s company. grows from a boy to a man. His African American history that In order to take on the big adventures in and around the recounts nine uncelebrated corporation, the kids take up pond help him come to heroes, including: Henry "Box" residence in a tree house where understand his place in the Brown, who escaped from they face down the uncle to save world and to appreciate the slavery by mailing himself to the forest. The story shows how animal and plant life Philadelphia; Alexander determined individuals can stand surrounding it. This tale about Crummel and the Noyes up to wrongdoing. respecting and preserving Academy, the first integrated school in America; Marshall Waiting for Unicorns, by Beth Jeneba, living thousands of "Major" Taylor, a.k.a. the Black Hautala. Philomel Books, 2015. miles away. Cyclone, the first black Still dealing with grief after the champion in any sport; and Bass death of her mother from cancer, Reeves, the most successful Talia has to leave her home to lawman in the Old West. These go with her father to Churchill, stories help to illuminate the Manitoba, where he can study struggles and triumphs of some beluga whales out on the ice. important figures in American Talia takes along her “jar of history. secret wishes” to try to hold onto the past. As she begins to Toby Alone, by Timothée de explore her new surroundings, Fombelle. (Illus. Francois however, she starts to open up to Place.) Walker Books Ltd., new friends and new 2009. possibilities. Toby Lolness and his community are just two millimeters tall or less (just smaller than the tip of a pencil). They live in an enormous oak they call the Tree. Their society, however, has been turned into a totalitarian nightmare by the power machinations of a builder. When Toby’s father discovers that the tree is endangered by its continued development, Toby is forced to become a fugitive and try to rescue his parents and stop the builder.

The Tyrant’s Daughter, by J.C. Wild Wings, by Gil Lewis. Carleson. Ember, 2015. (Illus. by Yuta Onoda.) Laila, her mother, and brother Atheneum Books for Young have to flee their Middle Eastern Readers, 2012. country after her father is killed Set mostly in Scotland, but in a coup. They end up in the eventually spanning to West suburbs of Washington, D.C., Africa, Wild Wings tells the where Laila has to adjust to a story of Callum McGregor and new school, new friends, and the Iona McNair as they observe a intrigue surrounding her rare endangered bird—an mother’s attempts to avenge her Osprey. Intent on keeping the father’s death and get back the bird safe from poachers and egg position and power they had. thieves, the two keep the bird a Will Laila help her mother or secret until they run into some will she choose to do what is trouble. It’s then that they learn best for her country? that they can count on the people in their village as well as people, like a little girl named