Want to cozy up with a good book while the cold winds blow? Perfect for Wildlife Conservation Day on Dec. 4, these seven books celebrate environmental efforts and winter animals.
You might also turn to books published by Washington-based National Geographic for Kids. Their nonfiction books and magazines engage curious youngsters from 2 to 10 years old and make fantastic holiday gifts. Their website features games, activities and fun facts. And next year, look for the re-opening in downtown Washington of the newly renovated National Geographic Museum of Exploration. It promises a learning adventure for the whole family.
Tots – Age 7
“Counting Winter”
By Nancy White Carlstrom
Illustrated by Claudia McGehee
Eerdmans, 2024, $18.99
Snowshoe hares, red squirrels, owls and chickadees range through the snowy landscape in this beautiful book. Inspired by her Alaska home, Nancy White Carlstrom presents a poetic counting book vibrantly complemented by Claudia McGehee’s scratchboard illustrations. Text and art locate each wild creature in their natural habitat. Ravens perch in pine trees, for example, and voles skitter through snow-topped underground tunnels. And the final double-page spread reprises each featured species, offering a delightful seek-and-find.
“Arctic Animals”
By Jennifer Szymanski
Illustrated with color photos
National Geographic Kids, 2023, $5.99
The icy, freezing Arctic may seem an unlikely home, but polar bears, narwhals and puffins thrive there. An easy-reader text, multiple photos and instructive captions help youngsters discover much about this little-known region and its fascinating denizens.
“Whales in the City”
By Nancy F. Castaldo
Illustrated by Chuck Groenink
Farrar Straus Giroux, 2025, $18.99
The stunning cover depicts a whale breaching against the New York City skyline. Surely this is fiction! But no-before white Europeans settled this area, ancient whales traversed “water [that] was clean and fresh and clear.” The new settlers, though, cluttered the waterways with boats, polluted and overfished the waters and hunted the whales. The great creatures left. But as the water grew more toxic, people began to protest. They “demanded laws to protect the river”— which resulted in eventual passage of the Clean Water Act. As people worked to clean the Hudson River, the fish and smaller wildlife began to return. And finally, after being gone for a century, so did the whales. This lyrical picture book is both a cautionary tale and an inspiring mandate for hard work and change. Hopefully, the damage done to the environment can still be halted and, with time and effort, reversed.
“Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough”
By Hayley Rocco
Illustrated by John Rocco
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2024, $19.99
Wife-and-husband team Hayley and John Rocco bring beloved naturalist David Attenborough vividly to life in this picture book biography. They trace his passion and deep concern for wild places from his childhood fossil-hunting in England to his animal-focused TV broadcast career. Attenborough has made hundreds of documentaries, many of which chronicle the shrinking of wild places and wild animal populations. The book opens with an incredible fact: “On our planet, there are 8.7 million types of animals.” And it reminds us to safeguard that diversity and abundance. Attenborough has long been a model of caring conservation. As he states: “We must rewild the world. If we act now, we can yet put it right.”
Preteens
“Trouble Dog: From Shelter Dog to Conservation Hero”
By Carol A. Foote
Illustrated by Larry Day
Eerdmans, 2025, $18.99
This lively chapter book draws on the experiences of two shelter dogs too energetic for the usual family home. In the story, Tucker is finally adopted by Laura, who patiently trains the large, rambunctious dog. Tucker’s keen nose, smarts and intensity now work in his favor. He learns to sniff out invasives, like rosy wolf snails, for removal. He travels the world to find the snares of poachers who illegally trap and kill wild animals. Tucker even searches out the scat of elusive wild animals for scientists, who can then determine an animal’s size, diet and movements from their poop. Bonus: Extensive back matter on the traits and training of conservation dogs. This book will appeal to young dog lovers and environmental activists alike.
“The Adventures of a South Pole Pig”
By Chris Kurtz
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013, $9.99
Flora, a pig, sets out to fulfill her dream of exploration and adventure. She yearns to pull the expedition sled beside the strong, steady huskies. The problem? Biology is destiny, at least in Flora’s case. The humans and other animals regard her more as a tasty morsel than a team member. With the help of a snarky cat and an old dog, though, Flora proves her mettle during a dangerous mission. Jennifer Black Reinhardt’s occasional line drawings add expressiveness and humor to Chris Kurtz’s endearing novel of friendship, courage and hope.
Teens
“One Earth”
By Anuradha Rao
Orca, 2020, $24.95
Conservation biologist Anuradha Rao opens this spirited, informative tome by asking, “Who is an environmental defender? What does she or he look like?” She then offers her own early experience, as someone with Indian heritage. She often felt like an outsider, she says, the “only one with a brown face” in her field. In this book, she centers people of color who are protecting our planet. They hail from Jamaica, Kenya, Indonesia and Ecuador. They might get young people involved, as does Brandon Nguyen in Canada and the U.S., or restore ancestral waters, like Richelle Kahui-McConnell in New Zealand. These true stories spotlight contributions worldwide and demonstrate paths of possible action for others.
Mary Quattlebaum lives in Washington, DC, and is the author of 30 award-winning children’s books, most recently “Queen Elizabeth II,” an early reader biography. She teaches in the graduate program in writing for children at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, writes frequently for the “Washington Post” and is a popular school and conference speaker.
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Mary Quattlebaum lives in Washington, D.C. and is the author of 30 award-winning children’s books, most recently Queen Elizabeth II, an early reader biography. She teaches in the graduate program in writing for children at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, writes frequently for The Washington Post and is a popular school and conference speaker. maryquattlebaum.com
Mary Quattlebaum lives in Washington, D.C. and is the author of 30 award-winning children’s books, most recently Queen Elizabeth II, an early reader biography. She teaches in the graduate program in writing for children at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, writes frequently for The Washington Post and is a popular school and conference speaker. maryquattlebaum.com
