Celebrate all things green and natural!

Welcome to the Preschool Book Nook, an informative place invoking those book-filled, cozy corners in classrooms and libraries.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, April 22, spend the month celebrating and caring for our planet. As teachers, you play a vital role in educating young children to do their part to protect the environment. Here are some books that will introduce positive and encouraging Earth-friendly concepts to your youngsters. After all, it's never too early to start thinking and acting green!

We planted a tree and it grew up,

While it reached for the sky and the sun.

We planted a tree,

And that one tree

Made the world better.

We Planted a Tree is an excellent introduction to the many benefits of planting a tree-from preserving the soil and cleaning the air, to providing shade and food. After reading the book, discuss the variety of trees that can be found in your neighborhood. Also discuss the concept of indigenous trees; how the trees in your neighborhood would or could be different from ones found in Africa or Japan or France , as noted in the book.

After discussing with the class all the benefits of planting a tree, the class can create a petition to have a sapling planted in their schoolyard or a local park. Contact a nearby nursery to encourage them to donate a tree for this project. Don't forget to invite local media to cover your tree-planting event. It might encourage other schools to do the same in their neighborhoods!

Recycling is going on all the time, everywhere.

The Earth is continually recycling itself naturally. But sometimes it can use a little human help. After all, what happens to those glass jars and bottles, after the jam and pickles are all eaten? Share The Smash! Smash! Truck with your class for an introduction to naturally-occurring and man-made recycling.

Have your class and school organize a recycling day or week. Students can bring in recyclable items and sort them according to your state's recycling regulations. Invite your students' families to get involved as well. A tally can be kept to graph which category had the most items, which the least. Students can create category cheers every time items are brought in. "Smash! Smash!" can be the cheer for any glass items; "Rip! Rip!" for any paper items.

What do you do with nearly thirty-two hundred tons of garbage? That's 6,400,000 pounds of smelly trash! Based on a true 1987 incident of a garbage barge trying to unload its haul, this news story helped to establish recycling enforcement.

To recycle is to reuse. After studying the illustrator's artwork, have the students bring in reusable junk and scraps from home-fabric, paper, buttons, empty spools, toy parts, etc. Have them create mobiles or dioramas promoting recycling. For more details on the illustrator's technique, look inside the book jacket!

For more books celebrating and promoting ecology and conservation, use our Search by Theme! tool.

And don't forget Dr. Seuss's quintessential global-issue spokes-character, the Lorax! Visit the Lorax Web site for free classroom resources!