Happy Earth Day!

It's Earth Day, and while this title hasn't yet been released publicly (according to BN.com and Amazon.com the release date is May 1, 2010), this is definitely one Earth Day title you'll want to advance order!

Pallotta, Jerry.
Who Will Plant a Tree?
May 1, 2010.
Sleeping Bear Press.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

Readers can easily be introduced to an entirely different look at "Earth Day" in Jerry Pallotta's Who Will Plant a Tree. Just like humans, animals interact with their surroundings on a daily basis. Children will quickly find out the impact that animals have on the role of planting new trees, a concept that will, to many children, be foreign - they see trees as man-planted. However, Pallotta easily shares the simple stories of how animals have a role in this process as well!

Last fall a squirrel buried an acorn. He didn't know it , but he planted an oak tree!
Seeds stuck to the messy fur of an apple-eating black bear. The bear tripped, a seed fell off, and he planted an apple tree!

As I'm sure you can gather from those two examples, the story itself is brief and to the point - exactly what young children need, especially when being introduced to a new concept! While the story itself doesn't insinuate anything Earth Day related, it is perfect for the occasion, especially if you use Earth Day as a time to teach children about the important role trees play in our lives on a daily basis. However, what's really nice, considering this book isn't going to be released until May 1, is that it isn't geared specifically towards Earth Day! You can use this book at any time of the year when you see fit! This could be one of my favorite books that I've come across so far in 2010!

Learning/Reading Activity:

• Read this story in collaboration with Patricia Lauber's Be A Friend to Trees. Discuss why trees are important to both humans and animals. Also discuss how trees are grown and the different ways in which they are planted (people, animals, wind, insects, etc.).
• Sleeping Bear Press, publisher of Who Will Plant a Tree? has also put out an incredible teacher's guide that can be downloaded and used free of charge here. There are guided reading activities, math counting activities, upper-case/lower-case letter matching activities, creative writing activities and even a page asking children to research a way some different animal (not in the story) helps plant a tree!
  

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!