Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming- Nonfiction


Title: The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming
Author: Laurie David, Cambria Gordon
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Genre: Children’s nonfiction, weather
Age level: 9-12
Themes: Knowledge about global warming, endangered species, how to prevent horrible consequences
Synopsis: Right now we are waking up to the reality that the effects of global warming are upon us. From extreme changes in weather patterns, to melting glaciers and polar ice caps, to endangered plant and animal species, global warming touches every aspect of our lives. The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming is the comprehensive resource readers can look to for understanding why global warming happens and the way it impacts our planet, and how we can work together to stop it. Irreverent and entertaining, and packed with essential facts and suggestions for how to effect change, The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming offers a message of hope. Kids and adults alike can help prevent the full consequences of global warming- we all have a part to play. There’s never been a more crucial time to come down to Earth and stop global warming!
About the author: Over the past decade, Laurie David has produced several projects to bring the issue of global warming into mainstream popular culture – including authoring the bestselling Stop Global Warming: The Solution is You! and co-authoring The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming, written for kids of all ages and published in eleven languages. The New York Times writes about the Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming: "…I’ve never seen a more comprehensive explanation of the phenomenon in so few words” and it received the prestigious Green Earth Book Award in the nonfiction category.

Cambria Gordon is an active environmentalist and children’s book author. She has written the nonfiction book Fifty Nifty Crafts to Make with Things Around the House and an episode of Madeline, the award-winning animated series, for the Disney Channel. Cambria Gordon lives with her husband and three children in Pacific Palisades, California.
Pre-reading activities: Ask students what they know about global warming, including why they think global warming is such a big issue nowadays and what they think cause it.
Post-reading activities: As a class, list ways we can all help to decrease global warming, such as recycling as much as we can, try not to use automobiles as much as we do or take public transportation when we really need to go someplace far, take shorter trips, etc. List some of the animals/plants that are endangered and think of ways to save them.
Reflection: I thought this book really gave great insight into the problem that is global warming. Though it’s written for older students, it still has a child-like feel to it, especially with some of the pictures and the captions to it. It is well-written and is very informative and useful for teachers and students alike.
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2 comments:

  1. This sounds like a very interesting book which I am definitely going to read. This is a topic that is very current in our discussions of world happenings and I think that it is important for children to be involved in what's going on in the world. My husband it a political science major and is currently studying environmental poolitics, and this is an issue that we are very interesting. I really think that it is wonderful that there is someone out there writing books to share information on a level where children can be more involved in world happenings and in being environmentally concious.

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  2. I think this book is really important to teach about global warming since it is such a huge problem nowadays. Having ways to prevent global warming and learning about the endangered species and plants and how to protect them is another important part of this book. Overall, it would be a huge teaching point.

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