A Child's Introduction to the Environment: The Air, Earth, and Sea Around Us- Plus Experiments, Projects, and Activities YOU Can Do to Help Our Planet! [Hardcover]

Michael Driscoll (Author), Dennis Driscoll Professor of Meteorology (Author), Meredith Hamilton (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

A Child's Introduction to the Environment provides an entertaining and instructive tour of the Earth's varied environments, along with activities and materials to encourage young environmentalists.

Kids aged 9-12 and their parents will appreciate this upbeat yet clear-eyed, interactive look at our magnificent planet and how we can safeguard it.

Exploring in turn the water, land, and air around us, the book looks at the wide variety of environmental regions of the world (deserts, forests, cities, farms, ice caps, oceans) as well as the atmosphere, weather, energy sources, plants, and animals of each area. Short features throughout offer fun facts, projects, and experiments that kids can do with parents or on their own. And a special packet inside the front cover contains a reusable lunch sack, peel-off stickers with messages such as "TURN OFF THE LIGHTS," "RECYCLE," and "UNPLUG," and a special poster from the NRDC.

Charming original watercolor illustrations throughout are perfectly paired with an accessible text by a father-and-son team of writers (Dad is a meteorologist). And it is all printed on recycled material, of course!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3–6—This wide-ranging book stresses the interconnections of all living things and the impact of humans on the environment. Suggestions for simple experiments to "discover for yourself" accompany discussions of topics such as the water cycle, urban ecology, and wind energy. The authors also provide ideas for ways that readers can take steps to conserve energy and reduce waste. The conversational writing style, plentiful watercolor illustrations, and varied page layouts add reader appeal. No single subject receives in-depth treatment, but the Driscolls touch briefly on weather, biomes, global warming, food chains, landfills, and desertification. The book has an extensive glossary and a list of related books and Web sites, but no index. A reusable lunch sack, stickers, and a poster with suggested conservation activities in English and Spanish come with the book. More useful for browsers than report writers, this eclectic volume offers a starting point for those wanting to tie environmental awareness to concrete action.—Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato
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From the Back Cover

Join us on a journey around our wonderful world…

Everything on the Earth is connected in fascinating ways—we all need one another!

Come with us and explore the world’s oceans, deserts, and ice caps; our cities, farms and forests; our animals, plants and wildlife; our climates and weather.

Learn how the environment helps us—and how we can help and protect the environment.

Do projects and experiments! Brew sun tea, create lightning, make a smog detector—and more. Us the stickers, poster and lunch sack we’ve included to inspire your friends and family to think about our planet in new ways, and help keep it beautiful and healthy for a long, long time.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579124291
• ISBN-13: 978-1579124298
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #700,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Driscoll is a reporter for the Martinsburg Journal in West Virginia, and has written for Reuters and the Associated Press. He's a former editor at Black Dog & Leventhal, where he worked on a wide range of titles, including the State Shapes series, Take Me Out to the Ballpark, and Photo Oops. Driscoll studied poetry at Emory University in Atlanta, and has been a poetry afficionado ever since.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for an 8 year old!, May 3, 2009

By 

Colin Harrison (Brookfield, CT United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Child's Introduction to the Environment: The Air, Earth, and Sea Around Us- Plus Experiments, Projects, and Activities YOU Can Do to Help Our Planet! (Hardcover)

This book has been a terrific hit with my 8 year old niece. She has been putting the stickers all over her home and reminding her parents to be careful with the environment.