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Find out moreThe books in this section all have a theme of conservation, raising environmental awareness and/or championing green issues.
A captivating, powerful and luminous story from a bestselling, award-winning author about a mother, a daughter, and the great Greenland shark. With mesmerising black and yellow illustrations and presented as a deluxe hardback with tracing paper inserts, this is a perfect gift for 9+ fans of David Almond and Frances Hardinge.
This impactful tale is beautifully crafted from a variety of viewpoints, written in a mixture of prose, narrative verse and journal entries, woven together with evocative illustrations by Natalie Sirett. While it is Kai’s story and his fall into darkness that is at the heart of the story, we also hear the voices of Orla, from the high-rise flats like Kai, and Zak from the big houses across the other side of the wilderness. This is the place where they spent most of their out of school time growing up and where they discovered and restored the bothy, which becomes the dramatic backdrop to astounding creativity but also danger, degradation, despair and near death. We later hear from new arrival Omid who has faced trauma and loss himself, which helps him make the connection with Kai, whose family has fallen apart following the loss of his beloved baby sister Sula. Despite the best efforts of his friends, Kai falls in with a dangerous crowd, gets excluded and his self-destruction seems inevitable. But the bonds forged in their childhood ultimately prove stronger. Kai’s deep connection to nature and in particular to a pair of ravens, who have their own narration, and the creativity which is sparked by Omid’s inspiring art, help to bring him home. There are so many important themes in this multi-layered novel which speaks so powerfully about the importance of urban green spaces and community and the way society can fail to recognise the true value of things. This highly original novel perfectly captures raw adolescent emotions and fills the reader with empathy and understanding. Highly recommended.
What a delight! This book is appealing on so many levels. There's the rhyming storyline which is always nice to read to young listeners. The drawings that can be coloured in. The educational aspect of the life cycle of the bees - who knew there were so many species - which is interesting for all ages and a future reference point. Also, the idea of making a wild flower garden to put all that is in the book into practice. This is a wonderful book for youngsters to engage with nature and understand the importance of bees in our world. Definitely recommended. Maureen Gourlay, A LoveReading4Kids Ambassador
From killers to conservationists, the story of three generations of the Petersen family, their history as whale hunters and later their mission to save the great whales and our planet. Summer, the Present. Fiery and fi erce, computer geek and eco-activist, Abby is holidaying with hergrandmother on an island off the Norwegian coast. Having developed and befriendedan AI computer, Moonlight, she hopes to organise a global protest. On the island, shelearns her great grandfather rejected the family's whaling livelihood, instead creatingthe fi rst whale song recording. Inspired by him, Abby and Moonlight translate thewhales' songs and discover their stories. Whales are under threat, their numbersrapidly dwindling. Abby is determined to help. Autumn, 30 years later. The world's ecosystems are collapsing. There is no sight or sound of whales. Abby, herdaughter, Tonje, and a now almost conscious Moonlight live on a isolated island in the Atlantic. They search for any sign of whales, but so far there is only silence. Winter, the future. Tonje's search was not in vain. Despite climate crisis and the threat of extinction,there is always hope for the future, as nature and technology combine in acaptivating, action-packed story with a powerful environmental call to arms.
This impactful tale is beautifully crafted from a variety of viewpoints, written in a mixture of prose, narrative verse and journal entries, woven together with evocative illustrations by Natalie Sirett. While it is Kai’s story and his fall into darkness that is at the heart of the story, we also hear the voices of Orla, from the high-rise flats like Kai, and Zak from the big houses across the other side of the wilderness. This is the place where they spent most of their out of school time growing up and where they discovered and restored the bothy, which becomes the dramatic backdrop to astounding creativity but also danger, degradation, despair and near death. We later hear from new arrival Omid who has faced trauma and loss himself, which helps him make the connection with Kai, whose family has fallen apart following the loss of his beloved baby sister Sula. Despite the best efforts of his friends, Kai falls in with a dangerous crowd, gets excluded and his self-destruction seems inevitable. But the bonds forged in their childhood ultimately prove stronger. Kai’s deep connection to nature and in particular to a pair of ravens, who have their own narration, and the creativity which is sparked by Omid’s inspiring art, help to bring him home. There are so many important themes in this multi-layered novel which speaks so powerfully about the importance of urban green spaces and community and the way society can fail to recognise the true value of things. This highly original novel perfectly captures raw adolescent emotions and fills the reader with empathy and understanding. Highly recommended.
Flooded is the funny and beautifully illustrated tale of animals who live in a city that is ever so slowly flooding. The flood comes gradually at first. All the animals ignore the obvious and go about their busy lives, disjointed from one another and preoccupied by their own problems. Eventually, the flood water reaches a height that they can no longer ignore and they have to work together to save their city. All the animals join together in a line and pull out the plug that is drowning the city. This is an exceptionally illustrated story that teaches a message not to let problems fester and with a little team work and community spirit, no problem is insurmountable.
The first story in an illustrated magical adventure series from the bestselling author of the Unicorn Academy, brimming with drama and an environmental theme. The Keepers are a secretive tribe of little people who live in the middle of Whispering Woods, coming out at night to care for the countryside and rewild it when humans (or Ruffins as they know them) are careless with it. Young Keepers Cora and Jax have just finished school and are embarking on a trial, with several friends, to become fully-fledged Keepers. But their first venture out on their own ends in disaster when they become distracted with playing in the Ruffin children's playground instead of concentrating on the task they've been given. Can they ever be trusted to be Keepers in their own right? A brilliant new magical series perfect for 6-8 year olds combining animal rescue, nature conservation and adventure.
Shortlisted for the Blue Peter Awards 2022 Best Story | A heart-warming and magical story of a very special relationship between a child and a polar bear which will inspire readers of all ages to realise that they, like April, can make a difference in the battle against climate change. When animal loving April arrives on Bear Island in the Arctic Circle where she will live for the next six months while her father runs the scientific operations she is told that, despite the island’s name, there are no bears on it. The melting ice caps mean that the polar bears can no longer arrive from the nearest mainland near Svalbard. But April soon finds out that there is one bear left. And April needs to do everything she can to keep him alive. Confident of her ability to communicate with the bear and to feed him, April nourishes the bear and even plans his return to safety. Beautifully illustrated by Levi Pinfold, The Last Bear invites readers to care about the science behind the fate of an endangered species and to believe in one girl’s magical solution to the problem. **The images and illustrations in this extract are subject to copyright © Levi Pinfold and may not be used without permission.
Olive is an eleven-year-old who is very shy and finds talking to people overwhelming – but she loves her old oak tree and can talk to the trees. Of course, her family struggle to understand this relationship with her 400-year-old oak tree – even whilst encouraging her to have human friends. When her father, Sir Sydney, decides he needs a new summerhouse to impress his friends(!) it is Olive’s oak tree that is threatened. This means Olive must speak up in defence of her tree – because everyone is so shocked to hear Olive speak her father gives her the day – 7 hours – to come up with something ‘more impressive’. This is the start of the wonderful exploration – aided by a great deal of tree magic – of the history of the trees in the park – one tree per hour in the day. Each has a full and engrossing story to share, each looking at a small part of their history. This book is a delight, with a sense of a series of fairy tales, but very grounded in the modern concerns of the world and the care we need to take of our planet. The illustrations are beautiful – full of colour and detail, whilst also sharing details of the seven trees focussed on in colourful, informative double page spreads at the start of each chapter. This is a book for nature lovers, devotees of fairy tales, and people who want a beautiful book to treasure – I am sure this is going to be a big hit with readers of all ages.
Originally published in France in 2009, this first publication in England could not be timelier as world leaders meet at COP26 and the crisis presciently foreseen in 2009 is all too visibly present. Set in a dystopian future where society is run by and for industrial giants, people live in overcrowded and polluted cities stacked vertically miles into the sky. Narrated by a lonely fourteen-year-old boy, remotely parented by his high-flying executive mother, who meets the mysterious Celeste on her first and last day at his school. Despite vowing never to fall in love, he becomes obsessed by her and tracks her down to her home on the 330th floor of tower 330. She has become very ill with mysterious markings on her face and body. He tricks his mother into sending the doctor her family could never afford but comes to realise that he has allowed the corporations to take her at the same time as he realises that her body is mirroring the sickness of the Earth itself- a message ‘they’ want to hide at all costs. Is it too late to save her and the Earth? This short and beautifully written tale would be the perfect class read at this time and would give children an empowering message about not losing hope.
A November 2021 Star Book! | Reeling with high-stakes adventure, Shadow Town smoulders with big themes delivered in engaging style. There’s something Neil Gaiman-esque about the tone and matter of fact delivery, with emotional forces simmering, barely contained, beneath the surface. This masterful sparseness creates tremendous tension throughout Shadow Town’s classic quest to return home, with Toto here taking the form of Alfred the cat, and Dorothy manifested as Toby, a lonely, unhappy boy from suburban London who finds himself pulled into an alternate world during the upheaval of his parent’s impending divorce. Toby’s dad is an unkind grump, embittered by his lot in the world, and consumed by the fantasy novel he’s been writing since before Toby was born. Toby’s mum is a climate activist. Neither parent really pays him any attention, and his sole friends are their lodger and her cat, Alfred. Toby’s miserable lot is shaken up when a shadow appears in his garden and his dreams, and he finds himself transported to a strange land, where elemental forces (blazing fires, floods and earthquakes) are at play in a kingdom ruled by a tyrant. A realm in which Dreamers can envision things into existence. Here Toby meets otherworldly, ethereal Tamurlaine. As he helps recover her memory (cue a succession of unexpected, shocking revelations), and helps others along the way too, Toby shows his true self through taking responsibility and looking out for those who are weaker than him, and through fixing things rather than settling for the status quo. Alongside exploring themes of self-determination and forging your own path, rather than treading the one that’s expected of you, Shadow Town’s fantasy world is an allegory of Toby’s life in the real world, and also a kind of political allegory - “The Dreamers dream what the government tells them to. What the government wants. And the Regent is head of the government. The Regent has made dreaming like a machine - he churns out dreams. He gives the people what they want.” Above all, though, Shadow Town is a smart, punch-packing page-turner, with engrossing atmosphere.
When animals talk, it's time humans listened.. Harlon has been raised to protect her younger siblings, twins Ash and Xeno, and their outlawed power of communicating with animals. But when the sinister Automators attack their mountain home they must flee for their lives. Xeno is kidnapped and Harlon and Ash are separated. In a thrilling and dangerous adventure they must all journey alone through the ice fields, forests and oceans of Rumyc to try to rescue each other and fulfil a mysterious promise about a lost island made to their mother. A stunning environmental epic with cover and chapter illustrations by award-winning illustrator, Jackie Morris.
At once a page-turning adventure set in the Californian wilderness, and an inspiring call to action for young environmentalists, Jewell Parker Rhodes’ Paradise on Fire teems with real-life issues (grief, racism, climate change and social inequalities) and emotional wisdom. Following the death of her parents in a fire, the novel’s endearing heroine, Addy, is being raised in the Bronx by her beloved Nigerian grandmother. From the outset, Addy’s grief is tangibly evoked - “Being an orphan is like being a crusted-over scab. Leave me alone. Don’t touch.” Similarly, though we never meet her directly, Addy’s grandmother feels ever-present, like a firm and loving hug that inspires confidence. “To know yourself, you need to journey, Adaugo. Remember what’s forgotten” - such advice echoes through the novel, spurring Addy to handle the most perilous of circumstances. This summer, Addy’s grandma has enrolled her on a wilderness program, which she joins with five other kids of colour for a few weeks of camping, climbing and hiking in the Californian wilderness. Usually insular, Addy flourishes at camp - her sharp mind, spatial awareness and keen cartographer’s eye come into their own here. Then, when fire strikes the forest, it falls to Addy to not only face her greatest fear, but to save her fellow campers from certain death. Gripping to the end, and underpinned by potent messages about climate change and the joys of connecting with nature, Paradise on Fire explores literal and metaphoric survival with heartfelt gusto and a mythological vibe courtesy of Addy’s name (which means “of the air. Far-seeing. Watchful”) and connection to eagles.
Set in a near-future world on the brink of ecological catastrophe, Lauren James's novel is a gripping, witty and romantic call to arms.
Gripping and prescient, Leyla Suzan’s Giften cuts to the chase of the climate crisis through a haunting dystopian thriller that will have readers on the edge of their seats as it provokes thought, and very possibly action, too. Since the brutal time of The Darkening, life has been a ruthless struggle, not least for those of the Field. With the earth parched and largely fruitless, saying alive is a daily battle. As a Giften, Ruthie possesses the vital gift of being able to restore food to the barren earth. And, as such, she’s revered by her community, and wanted by a ruling regime that’s set on hunting the Giften for their uncanny skills. And so Ruthie is compelled to undertake a high-stakes quest in the company of friends, a quest that will see them face direct conflict with the regime and its dark army. A quest on which humanity’s future might hang. With characters readers will become deeply invested in, and in compelling style (a smooth blend of dynamic dialogue and action with tremendous atmosphere), Giften is a hauntingly pertinent novel of our times.
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