An Environmental Guide from A to Z, N is for Nature, and Earl the Earthworm

f you’re looking for something fantastic to do for Earth Day that will help the environment, you should check out the three fantastic new books from Green Sugar Press: Earl the Earthworm Digs for his Life, N is for Nature: An Environmental Alphabet Book, and An Environmental Guide from A to Z. These books take environmentalism seriously from their production right through their content. All of Green Sugar’s books are printed with soy-based ink on 30% recycled paper, and the press itself is a member of “1% for the Planet”, a global movement of companies that donate one percent of their sales to a network of over one thousand environmental organizations. The books are also printed in Chicago, which reduces transportation pollution if you’re a consumer that lives in and around Chicago.

The content of the books is no less environmentally friendly than their production. Earl the Earthworm chronicles the life story of Earl from his birth on through his existential crisis (he realizes that he is simply a lowly earthworm), and finally through his self-actualization (he discovers the true importance of earth worms in the world). The illustrations are colorful and realistic, which is nice to see in a book about environmental issues. A child reading this book could directly relate the illustrations to the natural world they see in real life. In addition to the story, there is a running stream of information about the environment in the book that will help parents to teach their children about the cycles of nature, the food web, and the importance of various animals. In all honesty, I think the best thing about this book is that it’s about a lowly earthworm, and not a flashy animal of the “charismatic mega-fauna” variety. It’s important to emphasis the little creatures that keep nature’s cycles running smoothly, and it’s even more important to teach our children this from an early age.

N is for Nature: An Environmental Alphabet Book, and An Environmental Guide from A to Z aren’t story books the way Earl is, but rather they’re alphabet books that take kids through the environment one letter at a time. N is for Nature is for younger readers. It features simple illustrations and a word relating to the environment to go along with each letter. For example, “C” is for “Centipede” and “W” is for “Wetland.” The illustrations in this book follow a similar pattern to those in Earl, which is to say that they mimic the real world, they aren’t cartoony, and honestly, I find them to be quite beautiful and attractive to the eye.

An Environmental Guide from A to Z is very similar to N is for Nature, but for older readers. This book features a person, animal, place, or idea related to the environment and conservation for each letter of the alphabet. Along with each letter comes a paragraph describing the importance of whatever was chosen for the letter, in addition to intellectually challenging and conversation-starting questions about the issue at hand. The illustrations are similar to those in the other book. Though I’m not an artist, I would say that they look like they’re done in paints, probably water color, which gives the book an interesting and vibrant look. I also really appreciate that they didn’t always go for the most obvious choice for each letter, which might result in parents learning along with their kids when they read this book. For example, “M” is for the “Muir Woods”, which is a park in California named after the famous mountain man and conservationist John Muir. John Muir–mountain man extraordinaire–might not be well known to many, but was an incredibly important figure in the beginnings of the conservation movement.

I’m very impressed with these books. Any parent who wants their child to grow up caring about the environment should check these out. Not only are they “green” in every way, they’re also fun, beautiful, and they push the limits of children’s books.

If you’d like to learn more about the author of these books, Tim Magner, check out his blog or this video. Happy Earth Day, everyone!