Board Books about the Environment

June 5 – World Environment Day

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About the Holiday

Sponsored by the United Nations, World Environment Day encourages worldwide awareness and action for the protection of the environment. Each year a different country hosts the day’s events. This year the Republic of Korea has been chosen as the host country, with a focus on ending plastic pollution globally. Ridding the planet of plastic pollution is an important contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations, including those on climate action, sustainable production and consumption, protection of seas and oceans and repairing ecosystems and retaining biodiversity. Everyone is needed to make a difference. You can learn more about World Environment Day, the 400 million tons of plastic produced each year (200 tons of which is single-use) and the dangers of microplastics throughout the environment, as well as the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and how you can join the #GenerationRestoration movement on the UN World Environment Day website.

Thank you to Phaidon Press for sharing this book with me for review!

Nature’s Tiny Champions: The Big Book of Little Creatures Doing Mighty Things

Written by Ben Lerwill | Illustrated by Nic Jones

 

If you are awed by nature then you might know that “there are at least two million animal species on planet Earth.” But were you aware that some scientists believe the number might be more than eight million? So where are they? Well, all around—they’re just not easy to see. As Ben Lerwill reveals, “almost all of them are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.” In fact, most could “sit on the tip of your little finger, and some are so impossibly minuscule that a whole herd of them could be hiding on the period at the end of this sentence.”

Illustration © 2025 by Nic Jones, text copyright © 2025 by Ben Lerwill.

So should we be thinking out of sight, out of mind? Absolutely not! And Nature’s Tiny Champions is here with detailed profiles of 20 phenomenal creatures to show you what an enormous impact itty-bitty animals make, plus back matter that presents short, illustrated entries on 21 more tiny champions of the air, land, and sea. Ready to dive in? Let’s go!

Each two-page spread in this cleverly designed oversized book introduces readers to an animal through Ben Lerwill’s easy-going, conversational description of the primary trait that makes it a champion, an often mind-boggling discussion of its crucial contribution to its ecosystem, and a sidebar containing even more memorable facts about natural phenomena such as camouflage, prey species, migration, metamorphosis, teamwork, survival, keystone species, indicator species, self-defense, and more.

Illustration © 2025 by Nic Jones, text copyright © 2025 by Ben Lerwill.

Each page spread stuns with Nic Jones’ vivid and gorgeously realistic illustrations that set each tiny creature in its natural habitat. Actual-size renderings of each animal is a highlight and are sure to spark plenty of “oh my gosh!” and “it’s so cute!” reactions. These images also allow kids to learn about how the animal is perfectly suited to its environment. Kids will enjoy comparing each animal to the size of their hand, finger, or even—in the case of the water bear—a grain of sugar. Where the animal is too small to see and be labeled clearly in its natural size, the image is expanded and labeled with the scale of magnification. 

Ready for a few examples of what readers will learn? Get this:

  • “The tiger piston shrimp is only the size of a french fry, but when it snaps its claw, the noise is louder than a gunshot!
  • “Leafcutter ants can carry 50 times their own weight. That’s like you carrying an RV—with your teeth!
  • A water bear “can go for 30 years without food or water,” it can survive temperatures as cold as -454ºF and as hot as 302ºF, and it has “even stayed alive after being blasted into outer space.”

Illustration © 2025 by Nic Jones, text copyright © 2025 by Ben Lerwill.

For budding zoologists, entomologists, and nature lovers at home and in the classroom, Nature’s Tiny Champions: The Big Book of Little Creatures Doing Mighty Things is a fascinating sure winner that will keep kids enthralled, watching out for the tiny creatures in their own area, and eager to learn more. The book’s impressive  would make a much-appreciated gift. It is highly recommended for home bookshelves and is a book librarians will be thrilled to display and recommend.  

Ages 6 – 9+

Phaidon Press, 2025 | ISBN 978-1838669973

About the Author

Ben Lerwill is a multi-award-winning children’s author and freelance writer who has written for over 50 publications, including National Geographic Traveller, The Sunday Times, and BBC Travel. Previous recognition for his books includes a Wainwright Prize for Children’s Nature Writing shortlist, a National Geographic Kids’ Magazine ‘Book of the Month’ and a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Visit him at benlerwill.com.

About the Illustrator

Nic Jones has been a professional illustrator for nearly 5 years. Previous works include Earth Clock: The History of Our Planet in 24 Hours, and Above and Below: Dusk til Dawn.

World Environment Day Activity

Environment Word Search Puzzle

 

Find the words about our environment and protecting it’s resources in this puzzle! 

Environment Word Search Puzzle | Environment Word Search Puzzle Answer Key

You can purchase Nature’s Tiny Champions: The Big Book of Little Creatures Doing Mighty Things from these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Picture Book Review

June 5 – World Environment Day

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celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-this-little-environmentalist-cover

About the Holiday

Sponsored by the United Nations, World Environment Day encourages worldwide awareness and action for the protection of the environment. Each year a different country hosts the day’s events. This year Pakistan has been chosen as the host country. Today’s holiday also launches the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which runs from 2021 to 2030 and “aims to prevent, halt, and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on every continent and in every ocean.” This work is crucial to the survival of our planet. The statistics are alarming. Studies have found that every three seconds the world loses enough forest to cover a soccer field and over the last century, half of our wetlands and as much as fifty per cent of our coral reefs have been destroyed. This year’s theme is “Reimagine. Recreate. Restore.” Everyone is needed to make a difference. You can learn more about World Environment Day, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and how you can join the #GenerationRestoration movement on the UN World Environment Day website.

This Little Environmentalist: A Love-the-Earth Primer

Written by Joan Holub | Illustrated by Daniel Roode

 

Take any little one outside and they’re immediately fascinated with plants, animals, and bugs they see. They want to play in the water at the beach or lake. And who doesn’t like to take a boat ride on a river? When they look up, there are fluffy clouds and birds passing by, and, of course, the tall trees provide shade for outdoor play. Kids instinctively want to protect nature and seem to be born with compassion for animals – their pets and those that live in the wild. 

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-this-little-environmentalist-sylvia-earle

Image copyright Daniel Roode, 2021, text copyright Joan Holub, 2021. Courtesy of Little Simon.

This Little Environmentalist: A Love-the-Earth Primer recognizes young children’s desire to help and learn more about nature with mini-biographies of ten people who have found distinct ways to preserve the environment today and for future generations. Each biography is introduced with a rhyming verse that makes it easy for little readers to understand and remember how each of these activists made an impact. They then learn more specifics about each person’s work to protect open land, inspire new environmental laws, save forests, support clean water, and fight against climate change.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-this-little-environmentalist-wangari-maathai

Image copyright Daniel Roode, 2021, text copyright Joan Holub, 2021. Courtesy of Little Simon.

Children learn about Edgar J. Helm, who created the Goodwill company that provided jobs and decreased trash; Wangari Maathai, who “got African women to plant millions of trees in Kenya to provide fruit, shade from the sun, wood for building , and firewood for cooking”; Vandana Shiva, who encourages farmers and communities to create seed banks for the future; Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao who have devised a way to “break down hard-to-recycle plastic trash”; and six more influential environmentalists.

Following these ten biographies are one– or two-sentence profiles of seventeen other people, including writers, artists, politicians, scientists, and other visionaries who are involved in protecting our earth. The last frame is left blank for the next environmentalist on the scene – could it be you?

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-this-little-environmentalist-chico-mendes

Image copyright Daniel Roode, 2021, text copyright Joan Holub, 2021. Courtesy of Little Simon.

With her straightforward and informative text, Joan Holub will inspire kids to follow in the footsteps of well-known personalities and community leaders and keep an eye out for ways they can make a difference at home, school, or in their neighborhood. Inclusion of environmentalists from around the world give readers knowledge about a wide range of environmental concerns and innovative ideas people have for addressing them.

Daniel Roode’s bright and engaging illustrations help kids visualize the place where each environmentalist lives and the type of work they do. Background details give kids and adults plenty to talk about as they read and as they take walks in the neighborhood, go to the park, visit the grocery story and farmers market, and notice more about their own area.

A smart, inclusive, and timely addition to the This Little series, This Little Environmentalist: A Love-the-Earth Primer is a must for fans of the series as well as for classroom and public library collections.

Ages 3 – 5

Little Simon, 2021 | ISBN 978-1534475588

World Environment Day Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-recycling-maze

Recycling Maze

 

This little boy wants to help the environment! Can you help him pick up recyclable items in this printable maze?

Recycling Maze

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-this-little-environmentalist-cover

You can find This Little Environmentalist at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Bookshop | IndieBound

Picture Book Review