2021 has seen a monumental end of year for climate change awareness, as world leaders awoke once more to the pressing climate matter at the COP26. Yet, even more important, was the light shone on both the many areas in which countries are falling down and how individuals and communities are getting together to do great things.
To capitalise on this new spark, we thought now was the ideal time to suggest a climate awareness-raising holiday reading list.
At Haut-Lac International Bilingual School, our students are growing increasingly climate conscious and are keen to do their part, so this one's for you. May you find inspiration and motivation to continue to fight for a cleaner world!
1. Turning The Tide On Plastic – Lucy Siegle (secondary level)
Journalist, broadcaster and eco lifestyle expert Lucy Siegle provides a powerful call to arms to end the plastic pandemic along with the tools we need to make decisive change. This manifesto is a clear-eyed, authoritative and accessible guide to help us to take decisive and effective personal action. If only 12 of us adopt Lucy's 'reduce, rethink, refill, refuse' approach, we could potentially ditch 3K-15K single items of plastic in a year! [1]
2. The Uninhabitable Earth – David Wallace-Wells (secondary level)
Need to get up-to-speed on our climate emergency? “The Uninhabitable
Earth” may be the book for you. In 200-odd pages, columnist and editor David Wallace-Wells deftly unpacks the past, present and future of life in the time of anthropogenic global warming. Remarkably, Wallace-Wells’s prose manages to convey not only the urgency (and anxiety) of our environmental crisis, but the opportunity we still have to seize the solutions right in front of us and turn things around. First you’ll get scared straight; then you’ll get straight to work. [2]
3. STUFF – Maddie Moat and Paul Boston (7-9 years old).png?width=135&name=download%20(2).png)
The world is filled with it. But have you ever wondered where it all comes from? And what happens to all that stuff once we no longer need it. This mind-blowing compendium of facts and eco-stories details exactly what happens to all the stuff we use and how we can reuse it. Did you know that you can make plastic packaging out of seaweed? And that elephant poo can be turned into paper? This book will help teach everyone to be more conscious of what we use every day and how it can affect the environment. [3]
4. Clean Up! – Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola (2-5 years old)
Rocket is off on holiday with her family to visit her grandparents in the Caribbean. She can’t wait to play on the beach, swim in the sea and see some dolphins! But once she arrives, Rocket discovers there is a serious plastic pollution problem and the local sea life is in danger. There’s only one thing for it, Rocket is going to have to save the day. This empowering picture book shows how it’s possible for us to all make a difference, no matter our age. [3]
- Braiding Sweetgrass – Robin Wall Kimmerer (Upper Secondary)
- This Changes Everything – Naomi Klein (Upper Secondary)
- The Lorax – Dr Seuss (Primary)
- A Hot Planet Needs Cool Kids – Julie Hall (Primary)
- Mission: Save the Planet - Sally Ride and Tam O’Shaunghnessy (Primary)
And if you're not already a part of our primary or secondary environmental committees, why not check them out in the new year too?
Happy reading!
Katie Harwood
[1] https://www.waterstones.com/book/turning-the-tide-on-plastic/lucy-siegle/9781409182993
[2] https://www.earthday.org/13-must-read-books-on-the-environment-and-climate-change/
[3] https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/children/2017/7-books-to-help-teach-children-about-the-environment.html
