Beautiful Earth Day Picture Books to Add to Your Collection

Earth Day is coming up on April 22nd but we enjoy reading about our planet any day of the year. Every year there seem to be more and more beautiful books to choose from, to educate and inspire us to make better choices, bigger changes, to take care of this precious planet of ours. Here is a list of our top 10 Earth Day picture book reads this year:

One World: 24 Hours on Planet Earth

by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Jenni Desmond (Candlewick Press)

A beautiful nonfiction that takes readers through a 24 hour period, hour by hour, around the world, inviting us to see how different animals and wildlife go about their routine and the challenges they face due to climate change.

This is the Planet Where I live

by K. L. Going, illustrated by Debra Frasier (Simon & Schuster)

A stunning new picture book that shares a simple story about our planet - the people, the homes we live in, the food we grow, the animals, the trees, the sky, and everything in between, and how we are all connected.

How to be Human: A Bear's Guide

by Sophia Kolinas, illustrated by Aparna Varma (Owlkids)

A clever new picture book about the ways humans behave versus bears. A bear decides he is going to try to act home when he befriends a little girl who decides to teach him. Together they discover that humans can do well to act a little more like bears, and take care of the earth we share.

Pedro Loves Saving the Planet

by Jess French, illustrated by Duncan Beedie (Quarto Group)

Part of the Nature Heroes picture book series, Pedro is all about ways he/we can learn to help planet earth. Throughout the story there are facts and ideas on ways we can all do our part to save the planet.

A Planet Like Ours

by Frank Murphy & Charnaie Gordon, illustrated by Kayla Harren

(Sleeping Bear Press)

A beautifully illustrated picture book and a cautionary tale about the damage we are causing our planet, but also shares the many ways we can make changes for the better, together.

Dear Earth

by Isabel Otter, illustrated by Clara Anganuzzi (Tiger Tales)

A sweet intergenerational story about a young girl, her grandfather, and the stories he shares about his wondrous explorations, which inspires her to write a love letter to earth about all the beauty and wonder our planet has to offer.

The Girl Who Heard the Music

by Marni Fogelson-Teel, illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguéns (Sourcebooks)

A beautifully illustrated picture book that shares the story of Mahani Teave. A story that not only shares her musical journey but how that journey inspired a community to come together and turn the ever growing garbage problem into a wonderful music school.

The Planet in a Pickle Jar

by Martin Stanev (Flying Eye Books)

A stunning intergenerational picture book about the beauty, wonder, and fragility of our planet and how vital it is to preserve its beauty for future generations.

The Forest Keeper: The True Story of Jadav Payeng

by Rina Singh, illustrated by Ishita Jain (NorthSouth Books)

An inspiring picture book biography about the remarkable life of Jadav Payeng, a tribesman and environmental activist from Majuli, India. Payeng single-handedly planted and grew an entire forest on an abandoned sandbar in northeast India resulting in a migration corridor for elephants and other wildlife.

Bloom

by Julia Seal (Sunbird Books)

Luna is a jellyfish who loves the sea but one day she begins to notice some big changes - it is quieter, there are unfamiliar fish floating around, and the cool ocean now feels warmer. Luna sets off to find her friends but discovers a bloom of jellyfish and together they start to make big waves.