Books for Earth Day and Poetry Month ~by Christy Mihaly

Today let's explore poems about Earth! Tomorrow (April 22) is Earth Day . . . and of course . . .  

April is National Poetry Month. 

SO: Here's a quick round-up of ten Earth-themed books for kids. Of the many books out there I chose 5 outstanding poetry books and 5 favorite rhyming picture books. Please add your own in the comments! 

Nature-Themed Poetry Books

Poetry is an ideal way to encourage kids to explore nature: reading and writing poems makes us slow down, observe, and ponder the wonder and the connections.

The Wisdom of Trees: How Trees Work Together to Form a Natural Kingdom (Roaring Brook, 2021).

This new picture book is written and illustrated by Lita Judge. It illuminates cutting edge science about how trees communicate and collaborate in communities. Judge uses heartfelt, evocative poems to convey the magical-seeming properties of trees. Gorgeous art complements the scientific sidebars and helpful back matter about each spread.

A Place to Start a Family: Poems about Creatures That Build (Charlesbridge, 2019).

David Harrison's dozen poems about animal architects, illustrated by Giles Laroche, provide a fun introduction to structures that animals build, from birds to fish, prairie dogs to king cobras and more. 

Sing a Song of Seasons: A Nature Poem for Each Day of the Year (Nosy Crow, 2018) is a gorgeous 366-poem anthology edited by Fiona Waters and illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon. Though the selected poets tend toward the classical (Emily Bronte, Margaret Wise Brown, William Wordsworth, Robert Frost) with a smattering of traditional verses, it's a nice introduction for kids.

National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry: More than 200 poems with photographs that float, zoom, and bloom! (Nat Geo Kids, 2015). Whew, that title just about says it all. This book will engage young readers who love photos. It's filled with stunning Nat Geo images from around the world, paired with poems old and new. The poets here include Nikki Grimes, Langston Hughes, and Naomi Shihab Nye, and are collected by J. Patrick Lewis, a former children's poet laureate. 

Song of the Water Boatman and other Pond Poems (HMH 2005) offers wonderful kid-friendly poems about the creatures and plants that live in and around a pond. Joyce Sidman starts with my favorites -- spring peepers, those tiny heralds of spring --  and moves through the seasons with poems and informational sidebars. Striking woodcuts by Beckie Prange bring the pond ecosystem to life.

Rhyming Picture Books about Earth

Chase the Moon, Tiny Turtle: A Hatchling's Daring Race to the Sea (Page Street Kids, 2021). In rhyming verse, Kelly Jordan captures the drama of a loggerhead turtle's post-hatching sprint across the sand to the safety of the ocean. The lyrical text and Sally Walker's engaging illustrations are sure to delight young readers as they learn about sea turtles and their struggle to survive.

Ocean Soup: A Recipe for You, Me, and a Cleaner Sea (Sleeping Bear, 2021). Meeg Pincus's clever rhymes explain plastic pollution in the ocean, using the metaphor of soup -- how we threw all the ingredients in and let it simmer for years -- and includes specific actions kids can take to help. Bright illustrations by Lucy Semple keep the tone upbeat. 

 

Anywhere Farm (Candlewick, 2020) by Phyllis Root, illustrated by Brian Karas, stands out for its inclusivity. It encourages kids by letting them know you can start a garden on a city vacant lot ... or really anywhere: 

"But a pan or a bucket,

a pot or a shoe, 

a bin or a tin 

or a window will do." Empowering and inspiring.

One Earth (WorthyKids, 2020) is a rhyming counting book that does it all! In addition to teaching the numbers, text by Eileen Spinelli and art by Rogerio Coelho share the wonder of Earth, and may inspire kids to want to take care of it.

Compost Stew: Recipe for the Earth (Dragonfly Books, 2014) puts a different spin on the "ocean soup" concept. It's a zippy rhymer that explains compost to kids. With clever rhyming verse by Mary McKenna Siddals and fun pictures by Ashley Wolff, this book is a great way to get kids excited about composting. 

Bottom line: Nature inspires great writing! This post just scratches the surface -- what other great books do you recommend?

Kids' Nonfiction and Work-for-Hire ~ by Patricia Toht

On February 9, the world welcomed this book:

The Junior Ranger Activity Book
is available here and here.

It's a book of facts, games, puzzles and fun about the U.S. National Parks -- terrific for traveling families. And a GROGger is one of its authors!

Congratulations to...

Who better to co-write a book about the great outdoors than an author who is so at home there?

I had a chance to speak with Christy about her experiences writing the book:

Congratulations on the JUNIOR RANGER ACTIVITY BOOK, Christy!

Thanks, Patty. I was so pleased to see this book in print after months of working on various electronic and pdf versions of the manuscript. It's available online at the National Geographic website, as well as local booksellers and online sellers.

How did you come to write it? Do you have an agent who arranged it? Did you write a proposal to National Geographic Kids?

I wrote the book under contract with a book packager. There's no author credit given, but I felt fortunate to be part of the team.

How did it happen? I attended a Highlights Foundation nonfiction writing workshop in 2013, and there I learned about the option of working with a book packager. Basically, publishers contract with packagers to produce books they want -- mostly specific nonfiction titles. The packagers find the writers. Lionel Bender, founder of Bender Richardson White (a book packager), presented at the workshop. I was really impressed with his description of the work he does, and it sounded like an excellent option for getting my work published. I sent my resume to him (in England!), and nearly two years after the workshop, he asked if I would be interested in this project.

National Geographic Kids originated the concept for the book, and they asked Bender Richardson White to hire the writers.

So, NGK + BRW = a sweet writing job for CM!



Can you give our readers an insight into work-for-hire?

With work-for-hire, a writer is hired to perform a specific task for a set fee. With a book, the publisher sets the subject, length, word count, etc. Writers can work directly for the publisher or a packager, and contracts vary. My contract specified my hourly rate, deadlines, and deliverables for writing outlines, reports and text. In most arrangements, a writer is paid a fee upfront, rather than receiving royalties.

How did you go about researching the book?

Well, sad to say, I didn't get a travel budget! My research was through books and online sources. National Geographic also has a vast amount of information about national parks, and I utilized that.


What was your favorite part of working on the book?

I loved learning about the history of the parks, and so many odd animal facts! It was a great deal of fun seeing the book come to life as the photographs were collected and the text was incorporated into the books design. I also really enjoyed coming up with quiz questions, and the wrong answers for the multiple choice questions.

Christy's dog, Cheddar, is very supportive!

What draws you to writing about nonfiction?

I like all kinds of writing, but I particularly enjoy turning factual material into fun, interesting stories that appeal to kids. If even one child reads something I wrote and learns from it, how cool is that??

What advice do you have for aspiring authors of kids' nonfiction?

•  If you're interested in doing work-for-hire, check out the educational market. Laura Purdie Salas offers a very helpful book about this market, along with other resources. You can find all of her books for writers here.

• Regardless of what you want to write, I'll share the same advice I've heard more than once:

Know your market -- read, read, READ!

Hone your craft -- write, write, WRITE!

Find a critique group, preferably one with 

other writers in your genre -- revise, revise, REVISE!

Go to conferences -- network, network, NETWORK!

• Enhance your credentials as a subject matter expert through further education in your field, volunteer work, and publishing short pieces in your specialized area.

• Attend conferences that focus on nonfiction, like the 21st Century Children's Nonfiction Conference. For insights into the conference, see this GROG post.

• Check out other GROG posts about nonfiction and educational markets by Tina Cho, Sherri Jones River's interview of Miranda Paul, and an interview with Nancy I. Sanders.

Christy with Marc and Abby

Thank you for all of the terrific information, Christy. I can't wait for your Spring, 2017 rhyming picture book! And good luck with your middle grade nonfiction proposal that is making the rounds. 

For more about Christy Mihaly, check out her website here, 
*especially the section for Educational Publishers, where Christy presents her credentials for writing nonfiction.*