Meet Onyx and the orcas of J pod, the world’s most famous whales. Illustrated with stunning photos, this picture book introduces young readers to the orcas humans first fell in love with. The members of J pod live in the Salish Sea, off the coast of Washington and British Columbia. Moby Doll was the first orca ever displayed in captivity, Granny was the oldest orca known to humanity, and Scarlet was the orca humans fought to save.
This gorgeously illustrated picture book is a celebration of summer vacation and West Coast island life. Every day is different on Gran's island in the Salish Sea as granddaughter climbs big-leaf maples, eats blackberries, explores tide pools and sandstone caves and examines ancient middens and petroglyphs. She and Gran watch harbor seals sunning themselves and Gran's neighbor carving an eagle out of a piece of cedar while drinking fresh nettle tea. And on her way home, our young narrator sees a pod of orcas, breaching, tail lobbing and spy-hopping as she says goodbye to the island for another summer.
Cyrus and Rudy spend the last days of summer selling dahlias, blackberries and tomatoes at their roadside stand. When a neighbor drops off a bin full of red wigglers, California earthworms that break down compost into fertilizer, Rudy and Cyrus become worm moguls as they discover just how in demand the Eisenia fetida are. Black Gold is the third book featuring Cyrus and Rudy’s adventures on the farm, following Not for Sale and Blackberry Juice.
A Whale’s World follows a pod of spy-hopping orcas as they explore the ecosystems of the Great Bear Sea while hunting for their next meal. Past rocky shores and through kelp forests, they observe foraging wolves, hungry grizzly bears, curious black bears, graceful fin whales, splashing porpoises, slippery seals and other members of the Pacific coastal food web. The book gives readers an introduction to the many ways that marine and land animals interact with their environments and with each other.
Over the past 500 years, thousands of species of plants and animals have become extinct. The Late, Great Endlings pays homage to some of the more well-known endlings of the past century with rhyming stanzas that accompany watercolor illustrations and factual descriptions of each animal, along with the circumstances that led to their species' extinction. Together, these portraits of animals, like the passenger pigeon, the Pinta Island tortoise and the Tasmanian tiger, are a poignant symbol of a world irreversibly altered by human development, habitat loss and climate change. Readers are invited to reflect on the interconnectedness of all life forms on our planet with an additional look at animals that are at risk of becoming extinct in our lifetime. Concluding on a hopeful note, the final page offers suggestions for what kids can do to change the course of this mass species extinction crisis.
Jacky notices that the climate is changing and the summers are becoming hotter and drier... Little Jacky is a Jack pine cone who loves living in the woods with all of her animal friends. When a fire breaks out in her forest, all her friends run to safety and the firefighters battle the flames. The fire threatens to get too close to a neighboring village and Jacky watches as the people who live there, and the fire crew, take measures to make sure everyone is safe. While the village is protected from the fire, Little Jacky is scorched by the flames and finds out that the heat is important for her to continue her life cycle. Beautifully detailed illustrations integrate science with storytelling, and children will enjoy finding new bits of information with every read.
Lightning sparks a forest fire deep in the mountains near the town of Waterton. Days later, the sky is blue and the air is clear, so it doesn’t seem like an emergency, until crews of firefighters begin to arrive and townspeople start to prepare. Cricket and her friends watch deer and birds flee the forest and run right through town. But what about the slower animals? What about the porcupines and squirrels, the salamanders and snakes? Cricket searches for a way to help until the fire surprises everyone by quickly switching directions and racing towards the town. She hopes that the preparations and the firefighters' experience will be enough to save her home. But what about all the animals she loves? This is the fifth title in the Cricket McKay series, following Cougar Frenzy, Bats in Trouble, Ospreys in Danger and Salamander Rescue.
This illustrated nonfiction picture book by child psychologist Dr. Jillian Roberts introduces children to the important topic of the environment. Crafted around a conversation between a grade-school-aged child and an adult, this inquiry-focused book using age-appropriate language and tone will help children shape their understanding of the natural world and how they participate in protecting it. Dr. Roberts starts the discussion with the types of pollution and trash that children might notice on a nature walk or a trip to the beach, how they are caused and how to work to improve things in their own lives and communities. The World Around Us series introduces children to complex cultural, social and environmental issues they may encounter outside their homes, in an accessible way. Sidebars offer further reading for older children or care providers who have bigger questions. For younger children just starting to make these observations, the simple question-and-answer format of the main text will provide a foundation of knowledge on the subject matter. This is the newest title in The World Around Us series, following books that address poverty, tragedy, prejudice, online awareness and body safety and body image.
Every spring the Great Bear Rainforest becomes a nursery to some of the most adorable baby animals out there. Award-winning nature photographer Ian McAllister has photographed the cutest of the cute to teach the little ones in your life about some of the little ones found in this temperate rainforest on British Columbia's Pacific coast. Orca calves, wolf cubs, seal pups and herring eggs (arguably not traditionally cute but still interesting!) feature in this vibrant exploration of one of the most beautiful great outdoors on offer in this big wild world.
A Whale’s World follows a pod of spy-hopping orcas as they explore the ecosystems of the Great Bear Sea while hunting for their next meal. Past rocky shores and through kelp forests, they observe foraging wolves, hungry grizzly bears, curious black bears, graceful fin whales, splashing porpoises, slippery seals and other members of the Pacific coastal food web. The book gives readers a fun introduction to the many ways that marine and land animals interact with their environments and with each other.
Ducks and frogs, swallows and dragonflies, beaver lodges and lily pads a multitude of wonders enchant the child narrator in this tender, beautifully illustrated picture book. A tribute to those fragile, wild places that still exist, In the Red Canoe celebrates the bond between grandparent and grandchild and invites nature lovers of all ages along for the ride.
The Great Bear Rainforest is a majestic place full of tall trees, huge bears and endless schools of salmon. Award-winning photographer and author Ian McAllister's luminous photographs illustrate the story of a lone wolf who swims to one of the small islands that dot the rainforest's coast. The island provides him with everything he needs deer, salmon, fresh water everything, that is, but a mate. When a female wolf arrives on the island's rocky shores, she and he start a family and introduce their pups to the island's bounty.
Justine and her friends are all about being green and helping the planet, one fun-filled environmental project at a time.
In Justine McKeen, Pooper Scooper, the third book in the Justine McKeen series, Justine gets her friends to help her clean up the dog poop in the park across from the school board's offices in an effort to get the attention of the superintendent of schools. She hopes the efforts of her crew of cheerful pooper scoopers will help get the superintendent to see that bringing their school librarian back to work is the right thing to do.
In Justine McKeen, Walk the Talk, the second book in the Justine McKeen series, Justine decides there are too many cars idling in front of her school. So she comes up with a solution that should help keep the air cleaner. But she soon discovers not many adults trust her crazy ideas.
Maxine loves her giant tree in the Walbran Valley, but as she gazes at clearcuts from the car window, she worries. What if her tree is gone? Her family and friends trek through the old growth forest, and Maxine runs on ahead to check. Yes, her tree is there. She stands at its foot and listens, but it doesn't make its special sound, "Keer, keer." She will soon learn that "Keer, keer" is the sound a marbled murrelet (a mamu) makes. The mamu is an endangered seabird that flies far from the sea to nest in the high flat branches of the Sitka spruce. When a tree-climber confirms the presence of a mamu nest, Maxine's tree will be safe forever.
