The Legend of the Sleep-Eating Elephant (Global Beekeeping Tales)

Written by Nicola Williams

Illustrated by Henry Ezeokeke

A charming legend from Kenya relates the tale of an elephant who cooperates with the humans and animals of his village by watering the crops.

One day, a cabbage is missing from the fields. On subsequent days, more crops are missing. Elephant becomes distressed as do the other animals and humans of the village. The members of the beehive community invent a clever solution.

Readers discover the problem and the innovative solution after reading this book. They also learn facts about elephants, honeybees, the environment, and conservation.

A good choice for the classroom or home bookshelf for children who enjoy learning about animals, problem-solving, and conservation.

Recommended for ages six through twelve.

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Save the Arctic (Save the Earth)

Written and Illustrated by Bethany Stahl

This book is the second in the Save the Earth series.

The picture book targets children in the early elementary grades. It centers around the plight of a polar bear named Nanu. He is hungry because the Arctic is warming and many of his food sources have become scarce.

Nanu meets a Beluga whale named Toklo who introduces him to Ahnah who lives in a local village. They join together to employ conservation measures to conserve energy and increase food resources.

A good introduction to the subject of climate change and conservation for young children.

Two Little Raindrops: An Exciting Story about Raindrops

Written by Adele Lamothe

Illustrated by Steve Tu

A new earth science picture book that explains the wonders of the water cycle to young children. Written in lyrical prose, the book features two adorable raindrop characters, Splish and Splash. Children love to splash in puddles. When curiosity about where this rain is coming from pops into their minds, read this book to answer their questions. The book teaches them the importance of the water cycle to our survival and how to conserve water through two endearing raindrops, Splish and Splash.

The diagrams are informative and easy to understand. The AB beat makes the book a fun read aloud. I recommend this book to curious minds ages three and older. Science teachers put this one on your shelf for class discussion.

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SCRAPS TO SNACKS: A Cookbook by Kids for Kids

Written by Lightsabors Phoenix Squadron

This is a unique recipe book written by a robotics team composed of students, ages nine through thirteen. Alarmed by the fact that almost one-third of our food goes to waste, these students compiled a list of recipes that use food scraps.

There are some intriguing entries. They succeed in concocting pizza, ices, candy wraps, chocolate milk and peanut butter pops and apple desserts. For the holidays, why not try Christmas Day French Toast? These students are certainly to be commended for originality. At the end of the book, there is a short profile for each of the students on the team.

This book is a fun twist on a recipe book. Steps are outlined for each recipe, but the photos could be larger to make the recipe more enticing. Recommended for elementary and middle-grade students.

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Becky and the Butterfly Girl

Written by Janet Young

Illustrated by Vladimir Cebu

Charming picture book featuring a child named Becky who guides her young readers on a tour of her butterfly garden. Becky’s garden is designed as a wild flower garden with water features, a pond filled with fish, birdhouses and bee houses, but most importantly it provides a safe haven for butterflies. Monarch butterflies are quickly disappearing due to the rapid expansion of roads and cities. Becky’s tour leads us through cone flowers, monarda, asters, goldenrod and milkweed. This garden is free of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. The monarch butterflies lay their eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves; which are the only kind of food they eat, but which are poisonous to humans. Once the eggs become caterpillars, Becky’s dad carefully moves them to a cage where they continue to feed on milkweed leaves until they form a chrysalis. After about ten days they emerge as butterflies, when they are carefully released from their cage.

The illustrations depict Becky and her beautiful garden plants and animal friends. Story is based on Becky Lecroy, a genuine character whose parents raise monarch butterflies in their own wild flower backyard. Nice way to teach children about the life cycle of the monarch butterfly and the importance of conserving the species. Targeted for grades preschool through grade four, this book should be included on classroom shelves in elementary school as well as those in libraries and environmentally conscious parents who might want to undertake the project on a smaller scale. I personally plant milkweed in my tiny garden to encourage monarchs to settle there. Sadly, in recent years, I have noticed a dramatic drop in the lovely creatures that used to fill my backyard.

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