GOING GREEN WITH THE LIBRARY
from the bookshelf
With Spring in the air and both Arbor and Earth Day right around the corner, April is the perfect time to talk about all things green.
The New Orleans Public Library has tons of great items in our collection to inspire you and your family to love our planet. Plus, when you borrow from the library instead of buying new, you’re doing a small part to reduce waste. Children’s Books: In Be Thankful for Trees , Harriet Ziefert & Brian Fitzgerald use rhyming couplets to explore the many items that are made from trees as well as the environmental danger trees face in forest fires, floods, and deforestation. Split into seven sections, young readers will learn why trees are a vital part of our ecosystem and why it’s important to never take
nature for granted. For a charming, interactive tour around an ideal sustainable city, check out Tanya Lloyd Kyi & Colleen Larmour’s Our Green City . Filled with beehives and chicken coops, public transit and community gardens, outdoor classrooms and windmills, Our Green City takes a refreshingly positive message about the environment and is sure to give children some ideas of ways they, too, can live a more sustainable life. Middle Grade Reads: In We Have a Dream , Dr. Mya-Rose Craig & Sabrena Khadija introduce children to 30 young environmental activists from
put her community in danger again.
indigenous backgrounds or people of color. The collection of profiles is approachable and speaks to the diverse set of issues different groups are fighting. The First Rule of Climate Club by Carrie Firestone follows Mary Kate Murphy–a young girl living in a small suburban town–as her eyes are opened to the numerous ways her community is contributing to climate change. In response, she joins a special science pilot program, rallies her friends, and starts to fight to bring lasting change to her community. Young Adult Books: Teens and young adults will
be inspired by the cutting edge projects detailed in Buildings That Breathe: Greening the World’s Cities by Nancy F. Castaldo . The book exposes young people to green infrastructure and how urban planners, architects, and scientists are developing high-rise forests that seek to balance human activity and natural regeneration. For poetry-loving teens, Don’t Call Me a Hurricane by Ellen Hagan is a beautiful telling of how one 17-year-old navigates the after-effects of a hurricane that devastated her coastal town. Along the way, Eliza falls for Milo, a rich tourist who is at the center of a redevelopment that could
In addition to books, movies, and music, the New Orleans Public Library has a variety of unique items in our lending collection, including professional cake pans and baking equipment, tools, seeds, tablets, and more. Plus, by joining the Best Buy Teen Tech Center at Main Library, 13-18 year-olds can have access to cutting edge gadgets–like recording equipment, 3D printers, cameras, and so much more –all for free. By borrowing and sharing items, you can help lessen the number of items being produced, and eventually, thrown out.
Kacy Helwick is the youth collection development librarian for the New Orleans Public Library’s collections and acquisitions department. Marie Simoneaux is the media and communications coordinator for the New Orleans Public Library.
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10 APRIL 2023 | NOLAFAMILY.COM
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