Environmental Science & Ecosystems, Go Green!, Environmental Conservation & Protection

You Are the Earth: Know Your World So You Can Help Make It Better

Name: You Are the Earth: Know Your World So You Can Help Make It Better
Author: David Suzuki
ISBN: 9781553654766

by David Suzuki, Kathy Vanderlinden, Wallace Edwards

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Overview

This lively collection of fascinating facts and fables, colorful cartoons, and dynamic illustrations explains how everything on Earth is connected. Since its original publication, concern for the environment has grown, and although environmental damage has increased, so too have "green" strategies. This new edition reflects these changes, with expanded discussion of environmental issues and new technologies, as well as many more activities. New sidebars offer extra facts, tips, and real-life examples of things other budding ecologists have done to make the world a better place.

Synopsis

About the Author, David Suzuki

David Suzuki is the acclaimed geneticist and environmentalist, the host of The Nature of Things, the founder and chair of the David Suzuki Foundation, and the author of more than forty books. He is the recipient of the UNESCO Kalinga Prize for Science, the United Nations Environmental Medal, and the UNEP's Global 500 award, and he has been named a Companion of the Order of Canada. He was selected as the 35th most important green campaigner of all time by the British newspaper, The Guardian. In addition, he holds eighteen honorary degrees and has been adopted into three First Nations clans. Suzuki lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Kathy Vanderlinden is a writer and an editor with an extensive background in children's literature. She is the author or co-author of four previous children's books, including Eco-Fun (also written with David Suzuki), which was nominated for a Silver Birch Award. One of the many titles she edited, Transformed, won the prestigious Norma Fleck Award for children's non-fiction in 2006. She lives in Victoria, B.C.

Wallace Edwards was raised in Ottawa, and is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art. He is an award-winning illustrator and won a Governor General's Children's Literature - Illustration Award in 2002 for his book Alphabeasts. Wallace lives in Toronto and is working on a number of children's books.

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Editorials

From the Publisher

"From a less visionary thinker, such a broad range of subjects might be a confusing tangle, but Suzuki's accessible text, illustrated with useful diagrams and attractive paintings of plants and animals, skillfully emphasizes his basic message about the vital importance of interconnections." —Booklist

"...an outstanding title that can be utilized by teachers in science, health, and environmental studies classes or as a fun, inspiring read."—School Library Journal, starred review

“Incorporating content that varies from scientific to the personal to cultural—with folk tales juxtaposed next to scientific evidence—the book entices one to keep reading just to see what is on the next page.”Science Magazine

Children's Literature - Sharon Salluzzo

With major environmental issues looming before us, Suzuki says, "Everything depends on everything else." Explaining the interconnectedness of humans to everything in the world sounds like an enormous undertaking for middle grade nonfiction. However, Suzuki makes it accessible and fascinating. He divides the whole into its components and discusses each one in its own chapter: air, water, soil, the sun's energy, biodiversity, love, and spirit. He shows how each is critical for a high quality life. He discusses why we need each and every one, why each is important and necessary, and what each does. His explanations are clear and intriguing, with statements such as, "...the next breath you take will contain dinosaur breath" and when you sleep your body gives off "as much heat as a one-hundred-watt light bulb." Each chapter contains a simply told myth from the Greeks, Africans, or Native Americans. Sources are provided on the verso in the Credits. The illustrations are helpful in understanding the concepts presented. Things to Do section offers simple experiments and projects, and explanations of the outcomes. There is also a section that recounts how activist students are improving the world around them, and what each of us can do as activists in our own communities. This has been updated from the previous edition, including new art work, and is highly recommended for schools, libraries, and home reference. It is a good nonfiction read aloud. A Glossary, a Question and Answer section, and an index are also included. Reviewer: Sharon Salluzzo

School Library Journal

Gr 4–8—A handsomely illustrated, revised, and updated volume (2000) that examines the interconnectedness of life on Earth and the planet's resources. Seeking to instill conservation ethics in children, the authors of Eco-Fun (Greystone, 2001) discuss clean air, water, soil, the sun's energy, and plant and animal life. A highlight of this clearly written book is the inclusion in each chapter of a pertinent myth, tale, or legend from peoples across the globe. Each chapter ends with a "Things to Do" section that suggests three related experiments with easy-to-follow directions and follow-up questions. The final chapter, "It's Your World Now," encourages readers to take action to save the world's resources and includes many suggestions that young people can implement. Full-page and spot art and diagrams (all new to this edition) are found throughout the book. It concludes with a question-and-answer section to review the book's contents. Overall, this is an outstanding title that can be utilized by teachers in science, health, and environmental studies classes or as a fun, inspiring read.—Patricia Ann Owens, Illinois Eastern Community Colleges