U.S. Fund for UNICEF

A beautiful photo story exploring the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - nice for primary classes.

Taback, Simms. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. New York, NY: Viking Juvenile, 1999. Age Range: 5 and up Publisher's Description: When Joseph's favorite overcoat gets old and worn, he makes a jacket out of it. When the jacket is more patches than jacket, Joseph turns it into a vest. When the vest's number is up, Joseph makes a scarf. This thrifty industry continues until there's nothing left of the original garment. But clever Joseph manages to make something out of nothing! (And that's the foreshadowed moral of the story.) In today's throwaway world, Joseph's old-fashioned frugality is a welcome change. Based on a Yiddish song from Simms Taback's youth (lyrics and music reproduced on the last page), the book is filled with rhythms and arresting colors that will delight every reader. As more and more holes appear in Joseph's coat, die-cut holes appear on the pages, hinting at each next manifestation. The illustrations are striking, created with gouache, watercolor, collage, pencil, and ink. Every inch of space is crammed with fanciful, funny details,

Rockliff, Mara. Get Real: What Kind of World are YOU Buying? Philadelphia, PA: Running Press Kids, 2010. Age Range: 10 and up Publisher's Description: Rockliff outlines how mass consumerism is harming our planet, and specifically how teens can use their purchasing power to enact change. She cites examples of products that teens use frequently (high-tech electronics, clothing, junk food, etc.) and explains how their production often harms the people who make them, the environment, and, potentially, the end consumer. She explains that a chocolate bar was most likely made with cacao beans harvested by exploited workers, and that a cell phone contains enough heavy metals to seriously harm our groundwater. She covers (un)fair labor practices, environmental pillaging, factory farming, excessive marketing, local vs. corporate stores, and the pervasive throwaway mentality that drives the whole cycle. The author's in-your-face approach makes her points while still engaging readers-she is never didactic or overbearing. She encourages teens to make a difference in their world by making small changes to things they do already-buying fair-trade chocolate or saving up for an organic cotton T-shirt. The pop-art illustrations are clever and illustrative of many points. The impressive bibliography provides lists of documentaries, websites, books, articles, and other sources to help teens find out how their favorite products came to be (and came to be so cheap). Learning more about how these products are made just might make some teens think twice about their buying habits.

Larson, Jennifer S. Who's Buying? Who's Selling?: Understanding Consumers and Producers. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications, 2010. Age Range: 6 and up Publisher's Description: This book offers easy-to-read introductions to the world of economics. Addressing readers as "you," Larson asks questions such as, "Did you ever get money for your birthday?" and "How do you decide what to do with your money?" (Do I Need It?). The everyday-life examples will demonstrate to children that they can play a vital role in the economic world. Clear, age-appropriate language explains new concepts well: "When someone works at a paid job, he or she earns money. This money is called income." Simple paragraphs of two to four short sentences appear in large colored fonts against bright backgrounds that change color with every page. Each title includes an activity such as making a spend-or-save list to help decide what to do with birthday money. The books' layout is interesting and fresh, and each page features a large, well-chosen photograph with a boxed caption. A caption in What Is Money, Anyway? states that "People trade goods at swap meets," which may confuse readers who only know swap meets as a place to buy merchandise. Margaret Hall's "Earning, Saving, Spending" series (Heinemann, 2008) covers similar topics of money, banks, allowance, credit cards, and checks, but is for first through third graders. Report writers will value her longer paragraphs with detailed coverage including history and global issues. Larson's books will help ease younger readers into the world of economics.

This Discovery Channel website documents how different items are made through online videos, from frozen pancakes to rubber gloves. All videos are segments from the popular T.V. show by the same name that airs on The Discovery Channel.

dePaola, Tomie. Charlie Needs a Cloak. New York, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1973. Age Range: 6 and up Publisher's Description: A shepherd shears his sheep, cards and spins the wool, weaves and dyes the cloth, and sews a beautiful new red cloak.

This BrainPOP Jr. website provides both teachers and students with an interesting collection of background information on the use of natural resources and conservation efforts, while providing teachers with fun and exciting activities to implement in the classroom.

Deedy, Carmen Agra. Agatha's Feather Bed: Not Just Another Wild Goose Story. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers, 1994. Age Range: 5 and up Publisher's Description: Agatha, a sagacious old lady, sells her woven wares and imparts knowledge to all, "especially children: Everything comes from something, / Nothing comes from nothing ." This maxim reaches "six naked geese," who are chilly and demand the return of their feathers from Agatha's feather bed. Though "a little down in the mouth," Agatha promises a solution in three days. (The geese, meanwhile, register at the "Down Town Motel" where they "took a gander in the mirror.") Agatha's solution is inspired, as is Deedy's playful yarn. From its simple beginning--"Do you see that little shop sandwiched between two skyscrapers?"--to its intriguing conclusion--"Where do goose eggs come from, anyway?"--this finely crafted collaboration abounds with information and whimsy. It also teems with puns and word play, much of which may be of greater appeal to grownups than to the book's intended audience. Seeley's atmospheric illustrations are bathed in lavender, giving them a properly old-fashioned tone. Stylized patchwork borders contain examples of Agatha's truism--a flax plant stands by a bolt of linen, a stalk of wheat by a loaf of bread.

Blood, Charles L., and Martin Link. The Goat in the Rug. New York, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1976. Age Range: 4 and up Publisher's Description: Geraldine is a goat, and Glenmae, a Navajo weaver. One day, Glenmae decides to weave Geraldine into a rug. First Geraldine is clipped. Then her wool is spun into fine, strong yarn. Finally, Glenmae weaves the wool on her loom. They reader learns, along with Geraldine, about the care and pride involved in the weaving of a Navajo rug -- and about cooperation between friends.

Bedford, Deborah Jackson. Garbage Disposal: Action for the Environment. North Mankato, MN: Smart Apple Media, 2006. Age Range: 9 and up Publisher's Description: Deborah Jackson Bedford discusses successful landfill and incineration alternatives, the 3Rs (reduce, recycle and reuse), composting and responsible living.

Wiesner, David. Flotsam. New York, NY: Clarion Books, 2006. Age Range: 4 - 8 years Publisher's Description: A bright, science-minded boy goes to the beach equipped to collect and examine flotsam - anything floating that has been washed ashore. Bottles, lost toys, small objects of every description are among his usual finds. But there's no way he could have prepared for one particular discovery: a barnacle-encrusted underwater camera, with its own secrets to share ...and to keep.

Vogel, Carole Garbuny. Human Impact: The Restless Sea. New York, New York: Franklin Watts, 2003. Age Range: 11 and up Publisher's Description: Learn how overpopulation, coastal development, and global warming have affected our oceans. Trace the imprint humans have made on the oceans' bounties - the dead zones, sick seas, and other symptoms of their failing health - and what this means to the future of life on Earth.

School of Fish is an interactive and exciting adventure into the awesome underworld of the sea and sea-life...from learning to protecting and even eating!

Price, Sean. Water Pollution: Saving Our World. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2008. Age Range: 9 and up Publisher's Description: Thousands of animals are dying because of water pollution. Read about all the different things that are polluting the waters-causing terrible pollution disasters-in this amazing book. The powerful images clearly show the causes and effects of water pollution, and the easy-to-read text explains how you can help change things for the better.

Jakubiak, David J. What Can We Do About Oil Spills and Ocean Pollution? New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2012. Age Range: 7 and up Publisher's Description: Frequent photographs in the news of oil-coated wildlife and massive floating trash islands offer an ugly glimpse of the sort of pollution we have unleashed in Earth's oceans. Young readers and budding environmentalists can dig deeper into the topic and explore some of the ways that people can prevent future pollution and clean up the messes humans have made. The included sidebars stimulate further interest in this very serious issue.

Inches, Alison. I Can Save the Ocean!: The Little Green Monster Cleans Up the Beach. New York, NY: Little Simon, 2010. Age Range: 4 and up Publisher's Description: Max the Little Green Monster loves the beach, but after a picnic on the shore, he leaves behind a big mess to go scuba diving. Max meets lots of new ocean-swimming friends and, along the way, learns how his littering may have harmed the beautiful ocean. He goes on a quest to clean and protect the beach, and finds out what it means to be environmentally green. Printed with vegetable ink on recycled paper, I Can Save the Ocean! includes tips for kids on what they can do to lead greener lives.

Harper, Joel. All the Way to the Ocean. Claremont, CA: Freedom Three Publishing, 2006. Age Range: 9 and up Publisher's Description: An uplifting story about two best friends, Isaac and James, and their discovery of the cause and effect relationship between our cities' storm drains and the world's oceans, lakes and rivers. It is sure to inspire both young and adult readers alike and teach a timeless life lesson--If we all do our part, a cleaner, safer environment is indeed within our reach.

Goodman, Polly. Coasts: Earth in Danger. London, England: Hodder Wayland, 2001. Age Range: 7 and up Publisher's Description: Most of the Earth's people live near coasts. Many animals and plants also make their homes here. This book tells you how coasts can be damaged or protected. It also helps you to find out how pollution and tourism are changing coastal life.

de Rothschild, David. Plastiki Across the Pacific on Plastic: An Adventure to Save Our Oceans. New York, NY: Melcher Media, 2011. Age Range: 9 and up Publisher's Description: Explorer, global green leader, and eco-TV host David de Rothschild recounts the extraordinary journey of the Plastiki, an innovative and mostly untested sixty-foot catamaran that floats on 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles. It was a voyage that took de Rothschild and a five-person crew 10,000 miles from the U.S. to Australia, sailing through rarely traveled, dangerous waters, risking their lives to call attention to our fragile oceans. Their exploration included urgent study of ocean pollution, island nations threatened by rising seas, damaged coral reefs, and the acidifying ocean itself and their discoveries are a call to action. Packed with exciting narrative, images, maps, journal entries, plans, and sketches, this is the only firsthand account of what may be the most important adventure of our time.

Burns, Loree Griffin. "The Garbage Patch." In Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007. Age Range: 10 and up Publisher's Description: Aided by an army of beachcombers, oceanographer Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer tracks trash in the name of science. From sneakers to hockey gloves, Curt monitors the watery fate of human-made cargo that has spilled into the ocean. The information he collects is much more than casual news; it is important scientific data. And with careful analysis, Curt, along with a community of scientists, friends, and beachcombers alike, is using his data to understand and protect our ocean.