Customer Reviews

Trouble on Earth Day

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Great idea for a preschool or kindergarten book. Illustrations are wonderful, but the story is pretty basic. A good introduction to a recycling unit. The extension ideas at the back are wonderful project ideas that many kids can accomplish at school or at home. Parents looking for simple projects on rainy days would find a good resource with this purchase.

In Kathy Stemke's charming picture book, Trouble On Earth Day, little Shelby squirrel is excited to announce her first place ribbon in the Earth Day poster contest at school. Shelby's explanation of the concepts on her poster to her parents gets everyone to think about how we can rethink, reuse, and recycle in our homes. Follow along as Shelby answers cries of despair from the forest with what she has learned at school and saves the day.

A perfect introduction to Earth Day concepts that will keep kids thinking all year long, Trouble On Earth Day features an engaging tale with colorful illustrations by Kurt Wilcken that children will love. The bonus in this edition is the section of teaching materials that allow children to extend and apply the concepts taught in the story. Perfect for a traditional classroom or a homeschooling environment, the book offers discussion ideas, songs, activities and crafts to create a multi-sensory learning experience.

I found the characters very relatable, and my children enjoyed the story and illustrations. The included activities are easily done at home with every day supplies. I think this story would have great appeal for early elementary grades as well as pre-school.

Kathy Stemke is a retired teacher with degrees from Southern Connecticut State University and Covenant Life Seminary. She has done graduate coursework at New York Institute of Technology and Columbia University. Kathy has published many articles and two previous children's picture books. Learn more about Kathy's ongoing work in writing and education at her blog [...]

Trouble on Earth Day is a great way to help children learn about recycling and conserving the Earth's natural resources.

The story begins as Shelby the squirrel comes home excitedly waving a first place ribbon she won in the Earth Day poster contest. She told her parents that the poster was to remind people to help the earth by finding ways to recycle. They began searching for things they had which could be reused in some way.

Shelby hears crying outside and follows the sound to a small bluebird, who needs to find materials to make a new nest after losing his. This provides a great opportunity for Shelby to recycle some things her family has found and help out her new friend.

This colorful and beautifully illustrated book also includes activities, a song, game, things to make using recycled items, and information about Earth Day. It is a wonderful tool for teaching about environmental responsibility in a fun way.

We've all heard that we have to re-think, re-use, and re-cycle, but how many of our children have concrete ideas on how to do that? How many picture books for young children support the notion? Kathy Stemke's Trouble on Earth Day does just that. There's not actually a lot of trouble, but when young shelby wins the Earth Day poster competition, she's full of enthusiasm for the principles that she uses in her winning sign - "Re-think, Re-use and Re-cycle". Shelby and her parents brainstorm a bunch of ideas for doing those things, and then, when she finds a bluebird who has lost its home, Shelby puts her newfound recycling capability to good use and saves the day.

Trouble on Earth Day is a simple book that is easy for very young children to understand and for early readers to read themselves. Kurt Wilcken's bright cartoon images have lots of fun detail (like a baseball cap on the guitar playing bird), and children will relate to the vivacious young animals. The first half of the book features the story, and the second half is activities that kids can do around Earth Day. These include word matches, a sing-along, discussion points, games, and lots of crafts, both indoor and outdoor. Homeschoolers and pre-school teachers will particularly enjoy using this book, and the lesson plan in the back makes it easy.

This is a lovely, valuable offering that will help turn ecological interest into real learning, fun activities, and environmental activism that will grow with children.

Magdalena Ball is the author of Sleep Before Evening

There are zillions of books for kids about holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, but not nearly as many about Earth Day. Trouble on Earth Day by Kathi Stemke not only fills that void, it's also a delightful picture book that will encourage children to appreciate and care for our environment all year long. The pictures and plot are cute and young kids will enjoy hearing the book read aloud to them. Older children can read it themselves and participate in the many educational activities suggested. This would be a great book to add to school libraries as well as for families.

Trouble on Earth Day, by Kathy Stemke, is the story of Shelby Squirrel, a youngster who is thrilled to have won an Earth Day Poster contest. As Shelby's family of squirrels contemplate the meaning of her poster, namely to "re-think" how some items might be recycled, they start brainstorming ways to put their saved and cast-off items to good use.

When Shelby encounters a bird in short supply of materials with which to build her nest, she comes to the rescue with some of the items her family had recently decided to recycle. Shelby and her new friend pool their efforts and resources to create a beautiful new nest.

With interactive games and projects, including additional Earth Day history information at the back, this book is an excellent resource for educators on the topic of recycling.

Trouble on Earth Day earns the Literary Classics Seal of Approval.

In an Earth Day poster contest Shelby the squirrel wins a blue ribbon. With her knowledge of recycling and reusing items, she looks around to see what she can do. Pretty soon the whole family finds ways they can, too. Shelby hears a bird crying, because it can't find enough things to use to build a nest. She gives newspapers and a ball of pink string, and the two construct a nest together.

If you're looking for a way to introduce kids to recycling and reusing in an effort to show them how they can make a positive impact on the environment, Trouble on Earth Day is the book for you. Stemke's book can help get kids involved and actively recycling and reusing. It empowers children by showing them concrete ways they can improve the environment and have fun doing it. It includes an extensive teacher's guide, over ten pages. Among the pages of the teacher's section are activities, songs, craft projects, reading comprehension questions, and more. Kurt Wilken's bright illustrations will capture the children's imagination and gives the characters a spark of personality.

I highly recommend this book.