33 Best Earth Day Books for Kids — Picture Books, Preschool Picks & More

Earth Day books for kids have always been part of how we mark the day in our home.

When my son was younger, reading stories about recycling or protecting nature made Earth Day feel real and doable.

These picture books helped us talk about big ideas—like climate change or conservation—in a way he could actually connect with.

Colorful collage of children’s book covers under the heading “Fun Earth Day Books for Kids” in bold brown, green, and blue text. Featured titles include Biscuit’s Earth Day Celebration, Recycling Is Fun, I Am Earth, I Can Save the Earth!, 101 Ways to Help the Earth with Dr. Seuss’ Lorax, Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers, Thank You, Earth, We Are All Connected, The Earth Gives More, Earth Ninja, The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle, Our Planet! There’s No Place Like Earth, and Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth. Covers showcase themes of environmental care, recycling, and Earth appreciation with vibrant, kid-friendly illustrations.

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Best Books for Earth Day

If you’re looking for Earth Day books that go beyond just one day of celebration, this list is a great place to start. These stories cover everything from recycling and conservation to global awareness and community action—without being preachy.

Whether you’re building a classroom library or planning a quiet read aloud at home, these Earth Day picks encourage kids to think about their role in the world—and how even small choices can have an impact.

Hello, World! Planet Earth

This board book was one of our earliest Earth Day reads, and it’s a sweet intro for toddlers. The bright illustrations and simple facts about land, water, and animals kept my son engaged when he was little. It’s a gentle way to start talking about the planet with very young kids.

Biscuit’s Earth Day Celebration

If your kids love Biscuit, this one’s an easy win. It’s a quick read, and the familiar character makes Earth Day feel cozy and fun. We used this one to talk about little things we can do—like picking up litter or turning off lights—and it actually stuck.

Afterward, we pulled out these Earth Day coloring pages, which tied in perfectly with the book’s simple message and made for a relaxing activity.

Recycling Is Fun

This was one of those books that got pulled off the shelf again and again. It’s cheerful and super easy to follow, and it helped introduce recycling in a way that felt exciting rather than preachy. A good fit for early readers, too.

My Friend Earth

This one’s poetic, beautifully illustrated, and full of movement—both in the art and the story. It personifies Earth in a really gentle way that made my son pause and think. We always came back to this one in spring when everything was blooming.

Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth

This is one of my favorite picture books in general, not just for Earth Day. Jeffers has a way of making big concepts feel accessible, and the humor works on multiple levels. It opened up lots of great conversations for us about kindness, nature, and the world as a whole.

It’s Earth Day! (Little Critter)

Little Critter was already a familiar character in our house, so this Earth Day-themed story felt like a natural fit. It covers easy actions kids can take—planting a tree, turning off lights—and makes it feel doable without being too heavy.

The Earth and I (Rise and Shine)

This one’s quiet and reflective. The story follows a young child’s connection to nature, and it helped us slow down and really notice what was around us. It’s a lovely read for a rainy afternoon or as a calming bedtime book during Earth Week.

The Earth Loves Me

This one surprised me with how sweet it was. The message is simple—Earth gives us so much, and we should love it back—but the gentle tone made it great for starting deeper conversations later. It worked well as a morning read to set a positive tone for Earth Day.

The EARTH Book

Todd Parr books were a big hit in our house when my son was younger, and The EARTH Book was no exception. The bold colors, short sentences, and clear examples—like using both sides of paper—made it a perfect intro to eco-friendly habits for preschool and early elementary.

After reading, we used these Earth Day bookmarks as a coloring activity—my son loved personalizing his own to go with the book.

Why Should I Recycle?

We read this one when we were trying to build better recycling habits at home. It doesn’t just say “recycling is good”—it actually explains why in a way that clicked with my son. It felt more informative than some other Earth Day books, but still totally kid-friendly.

To follow up, we used this Earth Day word scramble—a fun way to reinforce the vocabulary and ideas from the story.

I Am Earth

This one personifies Earth in a way that really clicked for my visual learner. It covers everything from the planet’s formation to how we can protect it now. We ended up rereading this when we did a unit on the solar system, and it worked just as well there, too.

How the Crayons Saved the Earth

This story has a fun, creative twist—crayons working together to save the planet—and it was a nice break from more serious titles. It gave us a fun jumping-off point for talking about teamwork and responsibility, without being too heavy.

Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years

Told from Earth’s point of view with a bit of sass and humor, this one quickly became a favorite. It blends science and personality in a way that kept my son’s attention and made him want to learn more. Great for curious kids who ask a lot of questions.

Thank You, Earth: A Love Letter to Our Planet

This book feels like a quiet walk through nature. The photos are real (not illustrations), which gave it a different kind of beauty. We read it aloud before going outside for an Earth Day scavenger hunt—it helped us slow down and really see the world around us.

Zonia’s Rain Forest

This book stood out right away—both for the stunning illustrations and the focus on the Amazon through the eyes of a child. Zonia’s love for the rainforest felt relatable, and it gave us an easy way to talk about deforestation and conservation with younger kids without overwhelming them.

We are all Connected: Caring for Each Other and the Earth

This one has such a calming message—it’s not just about taking care of the planet, but also each other. I appreciated how it gently introduced big ideas like interdependence and empathy. It sparked a good talk with my son about how everything (and everyone) plays a part.

What If Everybody Did That?

We’ve had this book for a while, and while it’s not just about Earth Day, it’s a perfect fit. The cause-and-effect structure really helped my son understand why little choices matter. It’s playful but makes a strong point about personal responsibility.

Not for me, please!: I choose to act green

This book worked really well when we were trying to teach habits like turning off lights and using less plastic. It’s written in rhyme, which kept my son engaged, and the message—choosing to be more eco-conscious—was clear and actionable without being preachy.

The Earth Gives More

We used this book as a springtime read—it celebrates all the gifts Earth provides throughout the year. The rhyme and rhythm made it a fun read-aloud, and the seasonal approach helped connect the story to what we were actually seeing outside.

Earth Ninja: A Children’s Book About Recycling, Reducing, and Reusing

If your kids are into superheroes or ninja-themed stories, this one’s a great pick. It turns eco-friendly choices into missions, which made my son way more interested in trying things like recycling and turning off water. It’s part of a series, too, so you can expand on the idea.

We followed it up with this Earth Day matching game, which helped reinforce ideas like reduce, reuse, and recycle through play.

The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle

This book tells the recycling story from the bottle’s point of view, and my son found it surprisingly entertaining. It explains the recycling process clearly without being too technical, and it helped him understand where “trash” really goes—something he hadn’t thought about much before.

I Can Save the Earth!

This one’s fun and silly—perfect if your child doesn’t usually go for “message” books. It follows a little green monster who learns how to make better choices for the environment. The humor helped lighten the topic, and my son loved that it felt like a story, not a lecture.

This Class Can Save the Planet

We read this one during Earth Week one year, and it totally inspired a mini clean-up project at home. The comic-style layout and bold visuals grabbed my son’s attention, and the list of kid-friendly actions gave us ideas we could actually do.

Earth Day Every Day

This is a solid read for introducing Earth Day to early elementary kids. It blends a fictional narrative with facts and suggestions, and I liked that it showed a child taking action in her own neighborhood. We used this as a lead-in to making an Earth Day pledge together.

Our Planet! There’s No Place Like Earth

Told with the same charm as her earlier books, this one gives Earth a voice—and a pretty funny one. The mix of facts and humor made it easy to get through in one sitting, and the focus on biodiversity sparked some great curiosity about different habitats.

Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth

We used this book when we were learning about composting and starting our own small bin. It’s an A to Z of compost-friendly items, and the rhyming text made it a fun, memorable read. Even weeks later, my son would say, “Wait, we can compost that—like in the book!”

One Earth

This one reads like a poem—short and simple, but full of heart. It’s a celebration of the beauty and diversity of our world, and it worked well as a reflective read before a nature walk or a quiet art activity. A great pick for younger kids who love rhythm in stories.

101 Ways to Help the Earth with Dr. Seuss’s Lorax

If your child already knows The Lorax, this is a fun companion. It’s filled with easy-to-understand tips and quick actions that kids can try. We kept this one out all week during Earth Day and picked a new idea to try each day—it helped make the ideas feel doable.

Nate the Great and the Earth Day Robot

We’re longtime fans of Nate the Great, so this Earth Day mystery was a hit. The robot twist made it especially fun, and it gave us an easy way to talk about energy use and recycling while still feeling like a classic detective story. Great for early independent readers, too.

One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia

This true story really stuck with us. My son was fascinated by how one woman’s idea helped transform a whole community. It opened the door to a deeper conversation about plastic waste and also introduced him to a part of the world he didn’t know much about.

We also used this Earth Day word search to reinforce some of the terms we learned—great for independent practice.

What a Waste: Trash, Recycling, and Protecting our Planet

We used this like a reference book during Earth Week. It’s packed with short facts, diagrams, and explanations about pollution, waste, and sustainability. Great for kids who like to dive into real-world topics and prefer “browsing” nonfiction over sitting through a story.

The Ultimate Book of Planet Earth

This book is visually stunning and packed with lift-the-flap pages, which made it more interactive than most nonfiction. My son loved flipping through it, and I found it helpful for connecting Earth Day ideas to broader geography and earth science topics.

Black Beach: A Community, an Oil Spill, and the Origin of Earth Day

This book gave us a real sense of where Earth Day started. It tells the story of the 1969 oil spill that led to the first Earth Day movement, and the historical angle gave my son a bigger picture of how change happens. It’s powerful without being overwhelming for kids.

Last Updated on 14 May 2025 by Clare Brown

Best Books for Earth Day

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