"The Sky's Not Falling!" is the balanced alternative to Scholastic's fear-inducing global warming kids' book.Debuting the same day as celebrity wife Laurie David's "Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming," "The Sky's Not Falling!" is for parents sick of seeing their kids indoctrinated by has-been politicians and Hollywood stars. "The Sky's Not Falling!" is everything Scholastic's book should be - fact-filled, apolitical, fun and optimistic about the future of our magnificent, ever-changing planet. In "The Sky's Not Falling!" author Holly Fretwell, a natural resources management expert, shows kids 9-12 that its human ingenuity combined with an "enviropreneurial" spirit will lead us to a bright environmental future.Parents confronted by Photoshopped pictures of drowning animals and faux "documentaries" will embrace a book that educates rather than manipulates. Holly Fretwell brings real credentials to the debate, giving kids the scoop, not just about global warming, but the real-world consequences of the Left's responses to it.
The Sky's Not Falling!: The Sky's Not Falling!
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From the Publisher
"I'm scared that every time I ride in the car, I'm hurting polar bears and other animals."
"I'm worried that people just like me cause global warming."
"I'm afraid that my favorite outdoor places might disappear."
You've heard the claims that the earth is warming up because of cars, light bulbs, factories and the many other wonders that human ingenuity has created. But is it really true?
Well, here's news for the global warming Chicken Littles - the sky's NOT falling!
Sure, our planet is changing, but it has before and will again. There's lots more to the climate change story than you may have heard! Can we really adapt to a changing world in ways that help animals and the environment while keeping people working and countries growing strong? Of course we can!
Yes, it's OK to chill about global warming. Look inside "The Sky's NOT Falling" and find out why.
About the Author
Holly Fretwell graduated from Montana State University with a B.A. in political science and an M.A. in resource economics. Currently, she is an adjunct professor at Montana State University and a Senior Research Fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC.) Fretwell is published in both professional journals and the popular press, including the Wall Street Journal.
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67 of 85 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Holly Fretwell's "The Sky's Not Falling!" is a highly controversial book about global warming. Before writing this review, I decided to read some of the controversial comments here. One of the more colorful comments was:
"If you are a charter member of the 'Flat Earth Society,' or, if you just like teaching your child to bury his or her head in the sand like an ostrich, this book is for you."
I had to wonder if these people actual read the book. Did they base these comments on burbs posted on the Internet about the book? The reason I ask is no where in the book did the author suggest a stick-your-head-in-the-sand approach to this environmental issue. She acknowledges this problem and more.
This author suggests that instead of making fear-based decisions, we use education and innovation to find workable solutions. In the book she says "Many people are in a frenzy over global warming. They believe government can solve the problem if we just hand over more power and money." She disagrees. "If we're going to find a way to `solve' global warming or any other environmental problem, the answer will come from people who have enough time, energy, money, and freedom to use their creativity to solve the problem. It will not come from some governmental agency funded with lots of tax dollars."
"The Sky's Not Falling!" not only discusses environmental issues, but also covers enviropreneurship with six thought provoking exercises to assist the next generation in finding a positive approach to working on a solution. If you've never heard the term, enviropreneur is a person who finds creative or insightful ways to turn environmental problems into assets.
In the very back, there are five pages listing references. She encourages the reader to research.... Read more ›
"If you are a charter member of the 'Flat Earth Society,' or, if you just like teaching your child to bury his or her head in the sand like an ostrich, this book is for you."
I had to wonder if these people actual read the book. Did they base these comments on burbs posted on the Internet about the book? The reason I ask is no where in the book did the author suggest a stick-your-head-in-the-sand approach to this environmental issue. She acknowledges this problem and more.
This author suggests that instead of making fear-based decisions, we use education and innovation to find workable solutions. In the book she says "Many people are in a frenzy over global warming. They believe government can solve the problem if we just hand over more power and money." She disagrees. "If we're going to find a way to `solve' global warming or any other environmental problem, the answer will come from people who have enough time, energy, money, and freedom to use their creativity to solve the problem. It will not come from some governmental agency funded with lots of tax dollars."
"The Sky's Not Falling!" not only discusses environmental issues, but also covers enviropreneurship with six thought provoking exercises to assist the next generation in finding a positive approach to working on a solution. If you've never heard the term, enviropreneur is a person who finds creative or insightful ways to turn environmental problems into assets.
In the very back, there are five pages listing references. She encourages the reader to research.... Read more ›
64 of 92 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Holly Fretwell's book has a clarity and logical simplicity without being simpleminded. I've been a science writer for a long time and I recommend that anyone who has kids 9-18 or who has contacts with kids this age try out the book on them. It's not a pirate or Star Wars thriller, but it's lively and it will spark some kids to challenge the conventional wisdom. It will also be a reliable relief to any science teacher looking for a solid non-partisan critique of current knowledge. It's a good demonstration that science is not the selective popular wisdom often found in newspapers and magazines and on television, but a process of learning.
A good example of the kind of clarity this book brings to the issue is that Fretwell acknowledges the conventional wisdom, or the alarmist view, and gives its data--such as a graph of the hockey stick spike in temperatures or of growing intensity of hurricanes. Readers say, exactly! So why isn't that convincing? Then she gives the wider context, the longer graph and readers see how the alarmists have misled people. It's good expose without being triumphal.
Finally kudos to Fretwell and/or the publisher on the format. It's easily readable, nicely illustrated, chapters the right length for short attention span kids, and nice "fun facts" in the margin--"we didn't leave the Stone Age because we ran out of stones" and "In New Zealand, belches, farts, and other gaseous emissions from cattle and sheep are a greater source of greenhouse gas than cars."
This is a book by soneone who knows kids. It's got the kind of material that a lot of kids will quote or add after, "Did you know . . . "
A good example of the kind of clarity this book brings to the issue is that Fretwell acknowledges the conventional wisdom, or the alarmist view, and gives its data--such as a graph of the hockey stick spike in temperatures or of growing intensity of hurricanes. Readers say, exactly! So why isn't that convincing? Then she gives the wider context, the longer graph and readers see how the alarmists have misled people. It's good expose without being triumphal.
Finally kudos to Fretwell and/or the publisher on the format. It's easily readable, nicely illustrated, chapters the right length for short attention span kids, and nice "fun facts" in the margin--"we didn't leave the Stone Age because we ran out of stones" and "In New Zealand, belches, farts, and other gaseous emissions from cattle and sheep are a greater source of greenhouse gas than cars."
This is a book by soneone who knows kids. It's got the kind of material that a lot of kids will quote or add after, "Did you know . . . "
22 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By Terplover
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A good place to begin a conversation especially if you want your child to be a thoughtful, slightly skeptical consumer. Helps them to understand that everything that is published is not necessarily true. Children need to learn to how to seek out facts, evidence and data and how to separate that out from hype, speculation, fear-mongering and marketing.
66 of 95 people found the following review helpful
By Amy
Format:Paperback
This book is a refreshing change from the usual hysterical ranting and raving we see on this issue. Children are facing the issue in school, and this book provides a well-balanced perspective. Well-written, with an engaging format and fun graphics and facts, this book educates children and adults alike.
36 of 52 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Holly Fretwell, The Sky's Not Falling!: Why It's OK to Chill About Global Warming (Kids Ahead, 2007)
I guess it's inevitable that any time someone writes a book critical of the currently accepted wisdom on global warming, it's going to get attacked-- doubly so if that book is written for the preteen set. (After all, one has to Think of the Children(TM)!) Predictably, the usual suspects have come flying out of the woodwork to attack Holly Fretwell's book, and predictably, the tone of many of the negative reviews makes me wonder if the critics have actually read the book. Many point to "theories [actually hypotheses, but let's not quibble] that have been debunked for years", while even the quickest skim of Fretwell's rather impressive bibliography shows a surprising number of papers written in the past couple of years, for example. Unfortunately, Fretwell has released a book that's almost a catalog of things that the knee-jerk will criticize (heaven help the writer who dares to propose that the market could ever do any good!), so even before it gets off the ground, this is a book that's almost guaranteed to be doing little other than preaching to the choir; no one who's on the fence about global warming is likely to buy it for their kids, let alone anyone who's bought wholesale into the shameless fearmongering and exaggeration that's replaced wisdom and critical thinking on the subject.
Perhaps more amusing, however, are the five-star reviews that call the book "fair and balanced." It's about as fair and balanced as Fox News (and if you truly believe Fox News is fair and balanced, then perhaps you need to read Fretwell's concluding note to parents about the importance of critical thinking).... Read more ›
I guess it's inevitable that any time someone writes a book critical of the currently accepted wisdom on global warming, it's going to get attacked-- doubly so if that book is written for the preteen set. (After all, one has to Think of the Children(TM)!) Predictably, the usual suspects have come flying out of the woodwork to attack Holly Fretwell's book, and predictably, the tone of many of the negative reviews makes me wonder if the critics have actually read the book. Many point to "theories [actually hypotheses, but let's not quibble] that have been debunked for years", while even the quickest skim of Fretwell's rather impressive bibliography shows a surprising number of papers written in the past couple of years, for example. Unfortunately, Fretwell has released a book that's almost a catalog of things that the knee-jerk will criticize (heaven help the writer who dares to propose that the market could ever do any good!), so even before it gets off the ground, this is a book that's almost guaranteed to be doing little other than preaching to the choir; no one who's on the fence about global warming is likely to buy it for their kids, let alone anyone who's bought wholesale into the shameless fearmongering and exaggeration that's replaced wisdom and critical thinking on the subject.
Perhaps more amusing, however, are the five-star reviews that call the book "fair and balanced." It's about as fair and balanced as Fox News (and if you truly believe Fox News is fair and balanced, then perhaps you need to read Fretwell's concluding note to parents about the importance of critical thinking).... Read more ›
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must read
Just one look at the number of 5-stars versus 1-star Amazon reviews(about 50-50)that have been posted so far is enough to show how divided we are on the subject of global... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Valaya Gaudet
1.0 out of 5 stars
A biased book with discredited science by a non-scientist
I am a retired middle school science teacher, and I strongly recommend against buying this book for your children. Read more
Published 16 months ago by loblolly
1.0 out of 5 stars
A "Hot Failure"
This book is terrible and utterly false! Global warming will affect everyone in a negative way. There is no way we can "just live with it" without all suffering serious... Read more
Published on April 2, 2010 by Vincent M Belovich
1.0 out of 5 stars
A book for people who live in bubbles
I read this book because i wanted to hear a different opinion about global warming.After i finished reading it i realized that it was just another case of a human saying ''We... Read more
Published on April 1, 2010 by Susan Slesinger
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buy it
Go right on and buy it. Now buy every other book you can find that is designed to discuss politics and current issues with children. Read more
Published on March 30, 2009 by A. Curran
3.0 out of 5 stars
just food for thought
I was taking a look at this book, and then the reviews. Like one I read on another site, I wonder if most of the negative reviewers even read the books. Read more
Published on August 28, 2008 by C. Sawyer
1.0 out of 5 stars
And life's a bowl of (pesticide-ridden) cherries
While it's always important to examine all sides of an issue, overall this book scares the daylights out of me. Read more
Published on July 9, 2008 by R. Little
1.0 out of 5 stars
A Head in the Sand
The Sky's Not Falling!: Why It's OK to Chill About Global Warming is a book that should not have been published and deserves no stars. Read more
Published on July 2, 2008 by Orrin H. Pilkey
5.0 out of 5 stars
EVERYBODY MUST READ THIS BOOK!
I just finished reading Holly Fretwell's new book, THE SKY'S NOT FALLING: Why It's OK to Chill about Global Warming and I want to recommend it to every parent, grandparent,... Read more
Published on May 23, 2008 by Terry
1.0 out of 5 stars
Biased analysis
I give it one star for bringing attention to the fact that kids should hear both sides of an issue and use critical thinking to form their own opinion
Published on April 30, 2008 by Book Reader
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