The New Book Review

This blog, #TheNewBookReview, is "new" because it eschews #bookbigotry. It lets readers, reviewers, authors, and publishers expand the exposure of their favorite reviews, FREE. Info for submissions is in the "Send Me Your Fav Book Review" circle icon in the right column below. Find resources to help your career using the mini search engine below. #TheNewBookReview is a multi-award-winning blog including a MastersInEnglish.org recommendation.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Earth Day Reading for Kids

Title: Trouble on Earth Day
Author: Kathy Stemke
Illustrator: Kurt Wilchen
Published by Wild Plains Press
ISBN: 978-1-936021-36-9
Genre: Children's Lit

Reviewed by Karen Cioffi


As a proponent of conservation and the environment, I love children’s books that approach this topic in an engaging and entertaining format. Trouble on Earth Day by Kathy Stemke does just that.
 

The story begins with the main character, Shelby the squirrel, winning the Earth Day poster contest; the young reader is quickly brought into the focus of the story, our environment. Shelby’s poster has “Rethink, Reuse, and Recycle” boldly and colorfully written on it.
 

As the story progresses, Shelby and her parents discuss the different ways individuals and families can conserve, such as using old clothing for a quilt.
 

It also delves into the effects of deforestation. When Shelby hears the cries of a “little bird,” she searches until she finds it, then asks the bird what’s wrong. The bird explains, “The workman cut down my tree and my nest. I found a new tree, but I can only find twigs to make a new home.”

Using ingenuity and what she learned from her parents, Shelby helps the bird build a new nest using recyclable items from her home. Trouble on Earth Day will quickly heave children asking about the environment and looking around their homes for items that can be recycled.

Adding to the invitingness of this delightful story are amazing full page illustrations by Kurt Wilchen. Each page has vivid and bold illustrations that will surely grab and hold a young reader’s attention. Along with all this, Stemke includes pages and pages of activities, and additional information about conservation and the environment, all to help children better understand the story’s theme. It even includes a song titled “The Fuzzy Squirrel” that children can sing to with the music from “I’m a Little Teapot.”

Some of the activities and information include in Educator’s Edition:

  • Reading comprehension activities
  • Original topic related lyrics that children can sing to the melody of classic favorites
  • Discussion topics, such as Why Trees are Important and What Things Can be Reused
  • Games, including the Going Green Game
  • Recycling activities, such as making napkin rings using recycled toilet paper rolls, recycling old CDs to make ornaments, and how to recycle old crayons
  • Dolch Sight Word activity page

My favorite information page in Trouble on Earth Day briefly explains what went on before the first Earth Day in April 1970, what the focus of Earth day is, and why it’s so important.
 
Learning how each of us can take steps to protect our environment is important for children and adults alike. It will take all our efforts to help improve the environment for a healthier tomorrow. Trouble on Earth Day is a great start for children.
 
~Reviewer Karen Cioffi is a published author, ghostwriter, and editor for 4RV Publishing. For writing and marketing information, and to find out more about Karen and her books, visit: http://karencioffiwritingandmarketing.com. While there, be sure to sign-up for her newsletter, A Writer’s World.

Learn more about the author, Kathy Stemke. She is an award-winning author, educator, and freelance writer. Her Trouble on Earth Day and Sh Sh Sh Let the Baby Sleep earned the Children's Literary Classics Seal of Approval.  Sign up for her free monthly newsletter, Movement and Rhythm: http://educationtipster.blogspot.com/
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

9 comments:

NancyCL said...

Great review for a great author!

Bill Kirk said...

Wow! Great review, Karen. I have been totally asleep at the wheel and missed the buzz about "Trouble On Earth Day". Not only that but this is my first visit to this site and I'm already grooving on it.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson said...

Bill, thanks for dropping by. Glad you like this review/blog idea. And Earth Day lit! Watch for a book of poems on the subject. Yep, it will be here. Coming up!

Best,
Carolyn

T. Forehand said...

Great review. Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

Thanks for stopping by Bill and Nancy. Thanks for hosting my book Carolyn.

Mayra Calvani said...

Thanks for the great review, Karen. The books sounds delightful!

Connie Arnold said...

It's a fun and educational book. My grandsons enjoy it. Well done, Kathy! Thanks for sharing the great review, Carolyn.

Mary Jo Guglielmo said...

Great review. I will definitely check the book out.

Mary Jo Guglielmo said...

Thanks for the review, I will check it out.