This booklist recognizes the human experience with nature and nature holistically as its own experience. The books selected encourage our understanding that we are a part of nature, not apart from it.

Also see these related booklists: Environment / Climate Justice, Food and Water Justice, and Healthcare

Titles that we recommend are featured below. The ones with reviews are noted with an asterisk (*). Some titles are recommended with a caveat.

Early Childhood | Elementary | Middle School  | High School and Adult

All from a Walnut

By Ammi-Joan Paquette and Felicita Sala (Illustrator)

The Beeman

By Laurie Krebs and Valeria Cis (Illustrator)

Being Mindful Like Grandpa

By Sheri Mabry and Ilaria Urbinati (Illustrator)

Berry Song

By Michaela Goade

Brave Like Fireweed

By Jesse White

Bright Star

By Yuyi Morales

Brown Is Beautiful

By Supriya Kelkar and Noor Sofi (Illustrator)

A Cup of Quiet

By Nikki Grimes and Cathy Ann Johnson (Illustrator)

A Day with Yayah *

By Nicola I. Campbell and Julie Flett (Illustrator)

Fatima’s Great Outdoors*

By Ambreen Tariq and Stevie Lewis (Illustrator)

A Flicker of Hope: A Story of Migration

By Cynthia Harmony and Devon Holzwarth (Illustrator)

A Garden to Save the Birds

By Wendy McClure and Beatriz Mayumi (Illustrator)

Good Night, Wind: A Yiddish Folktale

By Linda Elovitz Marshall and Maelle Doliveux (Illustrator)

Hiking Day

By Anne Rockwell

If I Were a Tree

By Andrea Zimmerman and Jing Jing Tsong (Illustrator)

Jayden's Impossible Garden

By Mélina Mangal and Ken Daley (Illustrator)

Johnny's Pheasant*

By Cheryl Minnema

Joy Takes Root

By Gwendolyn Wallace and Ashleigh Corrin (Illustrator)

Memory Garden

By Zohreh Ghahremani and Susie Ghahremani (Illustrator)

Mnoomin Maan'gowing / The Gift of Mnoomin

By Brittany Luby and Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (Illustrator) 

My Baba's Garden

By Jordan Scott and Sydney Smith (Illustrator)

My Book of Butterflies

By Geraldo Valério

Nothing Special

By Desiree Cooper and Bec Sloane (Illustrator)

Our School Garden!

By Rick Swann and Christy Hale (Illustrator)

Outside in

By Deborah Underwood and Cindy Derby (Illustrator)

Rise Up and Write It: With Real Mail, Posters, and More!

By Nandini Ahuja and Anoosha Syed (Illustrator)

Salvatore and the Goats of Mount Etna

By Uschi Müller and Brittany Lane (Illustrator)

A Sky That Sings

By Anita Sanchez, George Steele, and Emily Mendoza (Illustrator)

Stand Like A Cedar

By Nicola I. Campbell and Carrielynn Victor (Illustrator)

Still This Love Goes On *

By Buffy Sainte-Marie and Julie Flett (Illustrator)

Tanna's Owl

By Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley,  Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley, and Yong Ling Kang (Illustrator)

Ten Ways to Hear Snow

By Cathy Camper and  Kenard Pak (Illustrator)
Spanish edition available: Diez maneras de escuchar la nieve

 

The Thing about Bees: A Love Letter

By Shabazz Larkin

A Walk in the Woods

By Nikki Grimes, Jerry Pinkney (Illustrator), and Brian Pinkney (Illustrator)

Where Wonder Grows

By Xelena Gonzalez

Where's Rodney*

By Floyd Cooper

Wounded Falcons*

By Jairo Buitrago, Rafael Yockteng (Illustrator) and Elisa Amado (Translator)

Wygenia and the Wonder of the World Leaf

By Summer Edward

Yaya and the Sea

By Karen Good Marable and Tonya Engel (Illustrator)

Zonia's Rain Forest 

By Juana Martinez-Neal

Alicia and the Hurricane / Alicia y el huracán: A Story of Puerto Rico / Un cuento de Puerto Rico *

By Leslea Newman, Elizabeth Erazo Baez (Illustrator), and Georgina Lazaro (Translator)

Buzzing with Questions: The Inquisitive Mind of Charles Henry Turner

By Janice N. Harrington and Theodore Taylor (Illustrator)

Call Me Tree / Llámame Árbol *

By Maya Christina Gonzalez 

Creekfinding: A True Story *

By Jacqueline Briggs Martin and Claudia McGehee (Illustrator)

Every Tree Has a Story 

By Cécile Benoist and Charlotte Gaustaut 

The First Blade of Sweetgrass

By Suzanne Greenlaw, Gabriel Frey, and Nancy Baker (Illustrator)

The Forest Keeper: The True Story of Jadav Payeng

By Rina Singh and Ishita Jain (Illustrator)

The Girl and the Wolf

By Katherena Vermette and Julie Flett (Illustrator)

Jada Jones: Nature Lover

By Kelly Starling Lyons

The Lion Queen: Rasila Vadher, the First Woman Guardian of the Last Asiatic Lions

By Rina Singh and Tara Anand (Illustrator)

Mothers of Xsan series

By Hetxw'ms Gyetxw (Brett D. Huson)

The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver

By Gene Barretta and Frank Morrison (Illustrator)

Singing with Elephants

By Margarita Engle

Birds on the Brain

By Uma Krishnaswami and Julianna Swaney (Illustrator)

Forest World*

By Margarita Engle

Saving Sunshine *

By Saadia Faruqi and Shazleen Khan (Illustrator)

Wild Dreamers

By Margarita Engle

Where Have All the Birds Gone? Nature in Crisis

By Rebecca E. Hirsch

Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World

By Christian Cooper
Author interview on Democracy Now!

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us

By Ed Yong

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Learn about our criteria for selecting titles at Social Justice Books. Feedback on these lists and suggestions for additional titles are welcome.

Most of the books on these lists are linked for more information or purchase to Bookshop (an indie bookstore platform) and / or Powells.com (an independent, unionized bookstore). A small percentage from book sales through these links goes to Teaching for Change.

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