About the Holiday
Established in 1998, World Nature Conservation Day brings people from around the world together to wonder at nature’s diversity and raise awareness of the importance of protecting it and preserving our natural resources and ecosystems. Each person plays a crucial role in ensuring that Earth’s resources are treated with caring stewardship for ourselves and our future generations. To celebrate the day, research what you can do in your community and home to reduce waste, the use of harmful chemicals, and our carbon footprint while contributing to activities focused on preserving clean air and water, protecting endangered and threatened species, and finding new ways to leave our children a livable planet.
Enough to Share
Written by Mary Helen Berg | Illustrated by Sue Todd
Rare animals Spirit Bear and Sea Wolf live side by side in British Columbia, Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest, sharing “the ancient trees, the misty valleys, the stony shores, and the leaping fish.” In the past there has always been enough for both, but now climate change, deforestation, pollution, and overfishing threaten their survival. The resources that Spirit Bear and Sea Wolf have relied on are shrinking and growing scarcer. “Storms rage stronger.” Protection and food are harder to find.
In Mary Helen Berg’s stirring cautionary tale, lyrical passages complement factual paragraphs that introduce readers to the dwindling population of white bears and aquatic wolves, which feed on marine life and swim miles between islands in search of food, in British Columbia’s coastal temperate rainforest—the largest such rainforest in the world. She clearly exposes the toll that human damage is inflicting on this unique environment, not only for spirit bears and sea wolves but for the health of the land and waterways as well as the birds, fish, marine creatures, and other animals that call this area home.
Berg ties her story together with a haunting refrain that at once looks back to a fertile past and ahead to an unknown, possibly disastrous future, riveting readers to the immediacy of this environmental crisis. She leaves adults and children with hope, however, revealing how First Nations people, environmentalists, and the British Columbia government have teamed up to sign the Great Bear Rainforest Agreement, which protects part of the rainforest. Berg also invites readers to help “so that on a perfect fall day. . . there is enough for all to share.”
Back matter includes more information on the Great Bear Rainforest, Spirit Bears, Sea Wolves, and how people can help the cause by supporting specific organizations involved in protecting the Great Bear Rainforest and other endangered places as well doing simple things at home that contribute to the environment’s wellbeing.
Mary Helen Berg captures readers’ attention to two unique animals and the equally extraordinary place they live through her lively use of language and passion for her subject. Her eclectic storytelling envelops children on many fronts, helping them to understand the environmental issues while taking the wildlife of the Great Bear Rainforest into their hearts.
The stunning imagery of Sue Todd’s linocut illustrations will thrill young readers with their vitality and vivid perspectives. Her gorgeous color palette makes each page a showstopper that both adults and children will want to linger over and talk about.
Enough to Share is immersive nonfiction at its best, a story that is sure to engage young readers not only in the fate of the Great Bear Rainforest but in environmental conservation in general. The book is a must for public and school libraries as well as for the home collections of environmentally conscious and nature-loving children.
Ages 5 – 9
Tielmour Press, 2026 | ISBN 978-1998426218
About the Author
Mary Helen Berg writes fiction and nonfiction picture books that honor big feelings and encourage young readers to explore and protect our big beautiful world. A former journalist, she lives in Southern California, where she loves to hike, bike, kayak, and road trip. She has a degree in literature from the University of Michigan, and a masters in journalism from Columbia University. She and her husband have three grown children, one son-in-law, and one very anxious dog. Visit her at maryhelenberg.com.
About the Illustrator
Sue Todd is a Toronto-based professional illustrator who creates colorful art for books, magazines, products, posters, and public art. She is the illustrator of Mira and the Big Story and The Night Is Deep and Wide, among others. Blue Boat Home is illustrated in her new digital ink technique, a departure from her traditional hand-carved linocut style. In addition to illustration commissions, she is working on writing and illustrating graphic novels. Visit her at suetodd.com.
World Nature Conservation Day Activity
Spirit Bear Coloring Pages from the Royal BC Museum
In these two coloring pages from the Royal BC Museum, spirit bears are enjoying their natural habitat in the Great Bear Rainforest. Kids can grab their crayons or markers and give the bears’ background some color!
Spirit Bear and Salmon | Spirit Bear and Cubs
You can purchase Enough to Share from these booksellers
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop
Picture Book Review
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