Title: Our Planet! There’s No Place Like Earth
Author: Stacy McAnulty
Illustrator: David Litchfield
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company, 2022
Ages: 4-8
Format/Genre: nonfiction
Themes: planets, Earth, climate, climate change, energy, renewable energy, flora, fauna, solar system
Opening:
Hi, I’m Earth.
Also known as Planet Awesome.
Also known as your awesome home.
Actually, I’m home to all the plants in the solar system and all the animals, including all the humans. That’s nearly eight billion people.
Synopsis:
This is the next in Stacy McAnulty’s Our Universe series. Earth is home to all the plants and all the animals in the solar system, and is uniquely suited to sustaining this incredible variety of life. Sadly, humans have accidentally moved Earth’s climate change into the fast lane, and she need your help to put on the brakes. Earthlings need Earth, and Earth needs Earthlings. A beautiful and educational earth to pull together to save the planet.
Why I like this book:
This book is dense with kid-friendly facts about our planet, and is written and beautifully illustrated from the POV of Earth herself, which makes her message more intimate and personal. It is a friendly introduction to climate change with a strong environmental message for young readers.
I think it is worth reading Stacy’s first Earth!My First 4.54 Billion Years book with this one, where Earth exhorts readers on how to take better care of her gifts. I love how Stacy presents this environmental science and challenge in a comprehensible and personal way. She focuses not just on how humans have messed up but also on ways to rectify the situation. It is hard to read this and not be aware of our individual responsibility. It is a terrific addition to this series and one to add to your classroom and library shelves.
Resources/Activities:
A great read for earth day, but equally useful in any nuit on planets or climate.
Each week a group of bloggers reviews picture books we feel would make great educational reads. To help teachers, caregivers and parents, we have included resources and/or activities with each of our reviews. A complete list of the thousands of books we have reviewed can be found sorted alphabetically and by topics, here on Susanna Leonard Hill’s website.
In my 20's, with only my guitar and a rucksack, I wandered the continents, immersing myself in the lives of some wonderful people, projects and stories, which changed the way I view my responsibility to others and this earth. Right now I'm a European transplant in the US who writes books for children and young adults. Stories can help us not only navigate our world but can connect us to others, and allow us to inspire and help each other. I believe that equity and empathy should be at the core of our all actions, words, and stories.
I am also a school librarian and I get a kick out of book-matchmaking! And I use the pronouns she/her.
Great review, Joanna! I’m looking forward to reading this next installment in Stacy’s series. By the way, I bought Old Wood Boat for Rem, and I can’t get over the illustrations, so much like woodcut, but made with paper. Jawdropping. Thanks for that rec, too!
I really love the cover as it invites kids to explore their planet. I haven’t read the first book, so will check them both out! What great books for teachers to read aloud to students — and perhaps talk about what each of them can do or do together as a class! Can’t get enough of stories like this one! Thanks for sharing!
I love this entire “series” by Stacy McAnulty. I can’t wait to read this one. Thanks Joanna for your great review of it. I’m off to the library today and added it to my list.
This looks so great! I love the sample and how it shows the engaging voice.