Discover the real story behind the first Earth Day celebration and some of the biggest U.S. climate catastrophes, in a book that busts history’s biggest misconceptions and environmental fibs and offers solutions for protecting the environment. Simultaneous. Illustrations. - (Baker & Taylor)
"Myths! Lies! Recycling scams? Discover the real story behind the first Earth Day celebration and some of the biggest US climate catastrophes--and their solutions!"-- - (Baker & Taylor)
Myths! Lies! Recycling scams? Discover the real story behind the first Earth Day celebration and some of the biggest US climate catastrophes--and their solutions! Don't miss the award-winning History Smashers series as they get to the truth on the biggest environmental fibs!
In April 1970, twenty million people grabbed their rakes, gloves, and recycling bins to celebrate the first Earth Day. Since that environmental kickoff, nature has never been in better shape. RIGHT?
WRONG! The real deal is a bit muddier than that. It’s true that the first Earth Day encouraged people around the globe to clean up their act when it came to the environment. But activists have been working for centuries to save the planet! Native people across the world developed sustainable farming practices, women in eighteenth-century India stood up to protect trees, and amateur scientist Eunice Foote discovered the science behind global warming all the way back in the 1850s!
Join the History Smashers team to bust history's biggest misconceptions and figure out what in the world really went down before (and after!) the first Earth Day—and how you can join the fight to protect the environment.
Ready to bust new myths? Check out more titles in the History Smashers series: The Mayflower • Plagues & Pandemics • The Titanic • The Underground Railroad • The Salem Witch Trials - (Random House, Inc.)
Booklist Reviews
Here comes another offering from the middle-grade series History Smashers, multifaceted nonfiction works designed to let kids in on the real stories behind historical events and social issues. The hook this time is that while Earth Day may seem like an annual celebration that popped into existence in 1970, humans have taken steps to conserve natural resources and protect the environment for thousands of years. Indigenous cultures in both North and South America instituted sustainable farming systems long before the Industrial Revolution, and many nineteenth-century scientists and activists worked to improve sanitation, water, and air quality and campaigned to conserve wild spaces. It amusingly notes that the iconic nature-recluse Thoreau is actually a mediocre example of conservation advocacy, as Walden Pond was only about a 20-minute walk from his mom's Concord abode (and she allegedly did his laundry). Multiple biographical profiles accompany accessible coverage spanning evolving political issues, legislation, environmental disasters, radical activism, climate change, and solutions, supported by generous back matter. This attractive treatment provides solid information, debunks a few climate-catastrophist claims, and should help assuage eco-anxiety. Grades 4-8. Copyright 2025 Booklist Reviews.
